Whether you're a a science-lover, tech-savvy traveler, or a history fanatic, it's time to get up an "atom" and visit some of Cambridge, Massachusetts' famous science and technology sites. Cambridge is home to award-winning science museums, cutting-edge research institutions, and more innovation-related hidden gems!
1. Innovation Trail
What better way to discover Cambridge's numerous inventions than through a tour? The Innovation Trail offers guided walks around Kendall Square, aka The Most Innovative Square Mile on the Planet. Or you can grab a map from our Visitor Center and follow the trail at your own pace.
2. MIT Museum
Step into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) fascinating world at the MIT Museum. Spot the fake in their deep-fake exhibit, interact with AI robots (Ask Jibo if he can dance!), and learn about research happening at this top institution. Plus once a month the museum stays open late for their popular After Dark Series–open to guests ages 21 and up.
3. Harvard College Observatory
Open to the public on select nights, Harvard College Observatory is a hidden treasure you have to visit. On the last Thursday of most months, the observatory welcomes guests for free Public Observatory Nights. Guest speakers deliver talks tailored to what is currently happening in the sky before the group heads to the rooftop to see for themselves using high-powered telescopes.
4. Broad Discovery Center
Learn more about how scientists are working to treat and understand human diseases at the Broad Discovery Center, a joint research institution between MIT and Harvard University. The free, interactive museum is open Thursday–Saturday from 10am–5pm.
5. Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
Another free museum to check out is the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, one of Harvard’s four science and culture museums. While the museum is small in size, its impressive collection contains over 20,000 objects! Disciplines represented in the collection range from astronomy to medicine.
6. Museum of Science
Cambridge’s Museum of Science is one of the largest science centers in the world! The exhibits cover a vast range of interests, from space to dinosaurs. The museum also features a planetarium, live animal exhibits, and New England’s only IMAX® Dome screen.
7. Draper Museum
Draper Labs is an engineering and research organization located in Kendall Square. They create cutting-edge technology, including technologies that helped make the Apollo Moon landings possible. Uncover more of their 90-year history at the Draper Museum, open to the public on Friday afternoons.
8. Stata Center
The Stata Center is not-to-be missed on your visit to Cambridge and thanks to its whimsical design, it’s also impossible to miss as you walk through Kendall Square. Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, the classrooms and labs inside are used by MIT departments like CSAIL (Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), but visitors are welcome to check out the space.
9. Entrepreneur Walk of Fame
Discover some of the founders and inventors who made a mark on the tech and science worlds at the Entrepreneur Walk of Fame. Just outside of the MBTA Red Line station you’ll find plaques honoring entrepreneurs like Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs.
10. Confectioner's Row
Once home to 66 candy factories, Cambridge’s Main Street was once given the nickname Confectioner's Row. While only the Junior Mints factory still stands, there are traces of Cambridge’s candy-making past around Central Square. Look for the Necco Wafers sculpture in Sidney Park and the cookie plaques at the nearby Kennedy Biscuit Lofts, former site of Fig Newtons bakery. Learn more with History Cambridge’s self-guided tour and at Spindler Confections’ Museum of Chocolate.
