MIT Museum

The MIT Museum, founded in 1971 is located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyin Cambridge, Massachusetts. It hosts collections of holography, technology-related artworks, artificial intelligence, robotics, maritime history, and the history of MIT. Its holography collection of 1800 pieces is the largest in the world, though not all of it is exhibited. As of 2014, works of high-speed photographer Harold Edgerton and kinetic artist Arthur Ganson are the two largest long-running displays. There is a regular program of temporary special exhibitions, often on the intersections of art and technology In addition to serving the MIT community, the museum offers numerous outreach programs to school-age children and adults in the public at large. The widely attended annual Cambridge Science Festival was originated by and continues to be coordinated by the museum.

The museum was founded in 1971 by Warren Seamans, and was initially called the "MIT Historical Collections". Its purpose was to collect and preserve historical artifacts and documents scattered throughout MIT. It was renamed the "MIT Museum" in 1980, and began developing exhibits and educational programs for the MIT community as well as society at large.

Since 2005 the official mission of the MIT Museum has been, "to engage the wider community with MIT’s science, technology and other areas of scholarship in ways that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century."

The museum is directed by MIT Professor John Durant, and operates under MIT's Associate Provost for the Arts, who also oversees the List Visual Arts Center and the MIT Office of the Arts.

The museum was accredited by the organization now called the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) in 1984, and reaccredited in 2002 and 2013. The MIT Museum also belongs to the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), Museum Computer Network, New England Museum Association, International Confederation of Architectural Museums, and the International Council of Maritime Museums.