Museum of Science

EXHIBITS include over 900 standing exhibits, housed in 132,000 sq ft of gallery and related space, providing hands-on experiences in all areas of science, technology, and their social impact. The Museum creates permanent and travelling exhibits both on its own and in collaboration with other institutions, and is one of three lead partners in the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISENet), a network of approximately 600 museums, colleges/universities, libraries, scientific professional organizations, and research institutions which creates and shares exhibits and programs relating to important current science and technology topics. The Museum also hosts travelling exhibits produced by other institutions. Traveling exhibits hosted by the Museum this year included: Many Faces of Our Mental Health; POPnology; Gridiron Glory; Mirror Maze: Numbers in Nature; Dora and Diego: Let's Explore!; New England Caterpillars; Crocs: Ancient Predators in a Modern World

EDUCATION PROGRAMS include summer courses for children, overnight programs, an Educator Resource Center, and field trip programs for school groups. The Museum is also the home of the National Center for Technological Literacy (NCTL) which works with education, government, and industry to integrate engineering in schools and museums nationwide. The NCTL has developed standards-based K-12 curriculum materials and provides professional development programs in math and engineering, as well as online teacher resources. (150,800 visitors and participants, not including many thousands of children using NCTL curricula worldwide)

PUBLIC PROGRAMS include exhibit interpretation, lecture series, live animal demonstrations (the Museum is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums), physical science demonstrations, lightning shows in the Thomson Theater of Electricity, special events, demonstrations and podcasts relating to topics of current science and technology, hands-on Design Challenges and a walk-through Butterfly Garden. The Museum's community outreach programs provide access to these and other programs to underrepresented audiences, and the Museum's Traveling Programs' fleet of vans bring programming out to schools, libraries, and community centers across New England. (1,152,900 onsite visitors and 100,200 offsite participants served.)