Massachusetts Institute of Technology Parent Guide
What to Do On the MIT Campus
The MIT Information Center: Start Here
Enter the doors at 77 Massachusetts Avenue, and immediately on your right (room 7-121) is your source for maps, directions, and answers to everything MIT. The Information Center also organizes the campus tours.
Campus Tours
MIT’s campus vision is to create infrastructure that fosters the cross-fertilization of ideas, with architecture that reinforces the vital, forward-thinking spirit of the community it serves. Such modern masters as Alvar Aalto (Baker House), Eero Saarinen (MIT Chapel, Kresge Auditorium), I.M. Pei (Wiesner Building, Green Building, Dreyfus Building, Landau Building), Steven Holl (Simmons Hall), and Frank Gehry (The Ray & Maria Stata Center) have all designed buildings for MIT.
Organized Tours
Campus tours depart from the lobby of Building 7, located at 77 Massachusetts Avenue. The student-led tours last 75-90 minutes and cover some of the most popular areas of the campus, including the Stratton Student Center, the Zesiger Athletic Center, Kresge Auditorium, the MIT Chapel, the Infinite Corridor, and the Stata Center. There is no charge and no reservation needed for parties of seven or fewer.
Holidays and Institute events affect the tour schedule periodically throughout the year. Please check the MIT Events Calendar for summer tour departure locations and holidays when tours may not be offered. Contact the Information Center for questions about campus tours Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. by calling (617) 253-4795.
Self-guided Tours
Tour the campus on your own using the map available at the Information Center, room 7-121, or stop by the info desk at the Ray & Maria Stata Center for a map of the public areas of this iconic building. (The info desk can be identified by its giant, lighted question mark.)
Campus Art
Public Art Collection
We invite you to take a walk around MIT’s public art collection, which includes works from Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Jacques Lipchitz, Matthew Ritchie, and Frank Stella. View the public art collection map, or make arrangements for a group tour by calling Mark Linga at (617) 452-3586.
List Visual Arts Center
The List Visual Arts Center is at 20 Ames Street (Building E15), atrium level. It houses a collection of contemporary art in all media, in addition to managing the Artists-in-Residence and Percent-for-Art programs.
Hours and directions are available on the List website Admission to all exhibitions is free and open to the general public during regular gallery hours. These tours are led by curatorial and education staff. To make arrangements for a tour, contact Mark Linga at (617) 452-3586.
The galleries and Bartos Theatre (20 Ames Street, lower level) are wheelchair accessible. Other assistive accommodations (listening devices, ASL interpretation) may be arranged two weeks in advance by calling (617) 253-4400. The Massachusetts Relay Service number (for calls originating within Massachusetts) is 800-439-2370 (TTY).
MIT Museum
The MIT Museum is located at 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Building N52. In addition to the world’s largest collection of holography, the museum features Kismet and other MIT robots, the interactive sculpture of Arthur Ganson, and “Doc” Edgerton’s famous stop-motion photography, as well as programs and activities for all ages.
Hours and visitors’ tips are available at the MIT Museum website, as are the hours of the Compton Gallery in Bldg 10 and the Hart Nautical Gallery in Bldg 5.
All facilities at the Museum and its galleries are wheelchair accessible, and sign language interpretation and disability assistance are available through Visitors’ Services by calling (617) 253-5927.
MIT Events Calendar
On the MIT Events Calendar, you can find lectures, performances, and other events throughout the year. Departments are not required to submit information to the calendar; if you are looking for the location of an event that is not listed, please call the department directly.
