MIT Museum can be a playground for older bright children

Visiting the

The MIT Museum in Cambridge

MIT Museum in Cambridge is a treat for bright kids in middle school and high school.

The robots, lasers, holograms, inventions, hands-on workshops, computers and strange things inside

Alone in the universe? Harvard researchers will be at the MIT museum Nov. 29 to talk about the nature of intellegence and how we detect it on earth and elsewhere. Professors Paul Horowitz and Richard Wrangham lead the conversation from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

the plain-looking building can make a wonderland for curious children.

And adults, too.

Engineers, MIT and Harvard faculty and assorted scientists give frequent small-group talks and presentations, often on Friday evenings and Saturdays. Check the museum web site for updates on scheduled events, some with free admission.

The museum has more than a million artifacts, prints, rare books, technical archives, drawings, photographs, films and holograms.

It's on lower Mass Ave, at 265 Massachusetts Ave., just blocks from the core Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus along the Charles River. There's on-street, metered parking (free Sundays) and parking lots. And it's walking distance from the Red Line T station in nearby Central Square.

The museum is handicapped accessible and open daily. It closes for major holidays. Admission is $8.50 for adults. Youths under 18, students and seniors pay $4. The phone is 617 253 5927.

After-museum treat: the Miracle of Science One of the nicest things about visiting the MIT Museum is having lunch or an after-museum snack at the nearby Miracle of Science Bar & Grill. Just a block up Mass Ave toward Central Square, the twelve-table corner pub Excellent burgers and an MIT vibe at State Street attracts a casual clientele with a heavy component of students and faculty from Harvard and MIT. It’s small, friendly and unassuming, and the MIT vibe fairly shouts. In place of a menu, there’s a large periodic table of elements on a wall chalkboard with the day’s dishes. And our young reviewer says the cheeseburgers are absolutely the best. 321 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617 868 2866.