Gems from the Museum

MIT's museum originally collected artifacts of teaching and research at the Institute. But today it offers some unusual bits of technological history you cant find anyplace else.

MIT has a museum?

Such was the surprised reaction of electrical engineer Dan Grunberg 82, SM 83, PhD 86, one weekend about 10 years ago, as he was looking for an interesting way to spend a Saturday afternoon with his wife and their two children. The whole family went to the MIT Museum soon after, and the kids loved it. The holograms and the Math Space, an area with puzzles, games, and books, fascinated them. It wasnt long before the Grunberg family became frequent visitors to the museum, which is known for its extensive collection of artifacts documenting the colorful history of science and technology at MIT. There are things there you just cant see anywhere else, Grunberg says.

Its not surprising that Grunberg had never heard of the museum; when he started his academic career at MIT, it didnt exist. Instead, the MIT Historical Collections functioned as an institutional archive. Its founding director, Warren Seamans HM, gathered materials used in teaching and research from the academic departments. The collection steadily grew in size and sophistication, and when Seamans garnered accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1984, the museums statureand its claims on fundingimmediately jumped. It has been called the MIT Museum since 1980.

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Unlike the Grunberg family, however, most alumni and students are barely aware of its existence. Of the museums 75,000 visitors last year, only about 20 percent had MIT connections, says acting director Mary Leen. The museum is now in the final year of a five-year plan to attract more visitors and to build awareness among alumni and the local community. A new faade and entry have made it easier to find, and inside there are new permanent exhibits that cover much of MITs history and a wide range of accomplishments. The museums public programs have also mushroomed. The best known is the Friday after Thanksgiving (FAT) chain reaction: participants build contraptions and then put them together to create a domino-like performance event.

Grunberg appreciated the museum enough to join its board of advisors, where he heads the membership committee, helps advise the museum on policies and procedures, and helps raise 40 percent of the annual budget. Grunberg delights in the unusual items in the collection and points proudly to the recent acquisition of nearly 600 slide rules and a radar tube from a German U-boat. Its a safe bet that few museums in the world can count such items among their holdings. TR brings you a selection of other gems from the museums collection.