The Program

Five Days on the MIT Campus

The inaugural MIT Future Fest comprises five days, 50+ events and 100+ speakers, artists and contributors. Learn more about the Curatorial Vision behind the Festival, discover which Featured Participants are appearing, check out the FAQs ahead of your visit, or read on and find out what’s in store. Expand each listing below for further information about the event and the people involved.

To attend MIT Future Fest, register for your Festival Pass. When event reservations open in September, you’ll be notified and invited to make your event selection. VIP Pass-holders receive priority reservation access.

Wednesday, September 30

Filter by category AI Art Climate Design Engineering Health and Life Sciences Manufacturing Oceans Robotics Social Sciences Technology

Search programme

Event Type Book Talk Celebration Conversation Exhibition Experience Future Lab Installation Lecture Panel Performance Reception Screening Symposium Walking Tour Workshop

Mode Discover Move Play Think

Time

Event

Venue & Address ACT Cube Green Building Kendall Square Plaza Kendall/MIT Open Space Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research Kresge Auditorium Kresge Little Theatre Linde Music Building List Visual Arts Center MET Warehouse MIT Computer Science & AI Lab MIT LEAP Lab MIT Media Lab MIT Museum MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center MIT Sailing Pavilion MIT Sea Grant MIT Theatre Arts Building MIT Welcome Center MIT.nano Schwarzman College of Computing Stata Center TSMC Lobby The Engine To Be Announced Various locations

Panel

THINK

3:30pm - 4:45pm

The Future Starts Here Featured

With Governor Maura Healey, MIT President Sally Kornbluth and more.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Reception

DISCOVER

5pm - 8pm

Sensing Oceans: Exhibition Opening Featured

The MIT Museum launches OCEANS, a new thematic season.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

PLAY

6pm - 9:30pm

Ocean of Dreams: Premiere Drop in Anytime

An interactive meditation on our collective future.

Kendall Square Plaza

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

PLAY

7pm - 10pm

Play the Green Drop in Anytime

Tetris. But 100ft tall.

Green Building

21 Ames Street, Cambridge, 02139

Reception

PLAY

7:30pm - 9pm

Imagine Tomorrow: MIT Media Lab VIP Only

An evening of discovery, experimentation and connection.

MIT Media Lab

75 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02142

Thursday, October 1

Event Type Book Talk Celebration Conversation Exhibition Experience Future Lab Installation Lecture Panel Performance Reception Screening Symposium Walking Tour Workshop

Mode Discover Move Play Think

Time

Event

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Adaptive Archipelago Drop in Anytime

A floating prototype conceived for tomorrow's world.

MIT Sailing Pavilion

134 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

9am - 10am

How Will We Grow Food?

With Mary Gehring, Darcy McRose, Benedetto Marelli, and Cynthia Graber.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Walking Tour

MOVE

9am - 11am

MIT: Above and Below

A whistle-stop tour of the MIT campus.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Provisional Futures Drop in Anytime

Student artists imagine futures uncertain, unfinished, and still unfolding.

Stata Center TSMC Lobby

32 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

DISCOVER

10am - 6pm

Boston 2036: "…on the line" Drop in Anytime

Stop, stand still, and listen to the future.

Kendall/MIT Open Space

292 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Exhibition

DISCOVER

10am - 5pm

Visit the MIT Museum Drop in Anytime

Free and open during MIT Future Fest. Explore galleries, ideas, and exclusive merchandise.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Panel

THINK

10:15am - 11am

How Will We Protect Coasts?

With Heidi Nepf, Miho Mazereeuw, Michael Triantafyllou, and Kate Selig.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Symposium

DISCOVER

10:30am - 4:30pm

Salon of Currents Drop in Anytime

Discover the tides that shape the world.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Panel

THINK

11:15am - 12pm

How Will We Pay for the Future?

With Gary Gensler, Jonathan Gruber, Andrew Lo, and Kara Miller.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

THINK

12pm - 7pm

BLKNWS®: MIT Edition Drop in Anytime

A site-specific chapter in an ever-expanding body of work.

List Visual Arts Center

20 Ames St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

12pm - 3pm

Future Lab: Plasma Science and Fusion Center

Bringing fusion energy closer to reality.

MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center

190 Albany Street, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

12:45pm - 1:45pm

AI & Human Flourishing

With Asu Ozdaglar, Pat Pataranutaporn, and Kara Miller.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Future Lab

DISCOVER

2pm - 4pm

Future Lab: Koch Institute

A rare look at the technologies transforming cancer research.

Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research

500 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

2pm - 3:30pm

Future Lab: Laboratory for Information & Decision Systems (LIDS)

From robotics to healthcare, discover the intelligence behind better decisions.

Schwarzman College of Computing

51 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

2pm - 2:45pm

How Do We Power the Future? Featured

With Christopher Knittel, Andy Sun, Ally Yost, and Ben Downing.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

3pm - 4pm

The Data in Us: Designing Information Featured

With Paola Antonelli, Giorgia Lupi, Kate Crawford, Mimi Ọnụọha, and Sarah Williams.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Reception

PLAY

4pm - 6pm

Computing Futures VIP Only

An exclusive reception at the Schwarzman College of Computing.

Schwarzman College of Computing

51 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

4pm - 5:30pm

The Biotech Maverick

With Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Susan Hockfield.

MIT Welcome Center

292 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Reception

PLAY

5pm - 7pm

Water's Edge: An Evening on the Charles Featured

Pause by the Charles to connect and imagine what comes next.

MIT Sailing Pavilion

134 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, 02139

Symposium

THINK

6pm - 9pm

Mind, Body and Soul: The Frontiers of Neuroscience, Health, and Artificial Intelligence Featured VIP Only

Manolis Kellis maps the convergence of minds, machines, and medicine.

To Be Announced

Installation

PLAY

6pm - 9:30pm

Ocean of Dreams Drop in Anytime

An interactive meditation on our collective future.

Kendall Square Plaza

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

PLAY

7pm - 10pm

Play the Green Drop in Anytime

Tetris. But 100ft tall.

Green Building

21 Ames Street, Cambridge, 02139

Friday, October 2

Event Type Book Talk Celebration Conversation Exhibition Experience Future Lab Installation Lecture Panel Performance Reception Screening Symposium Walking Tour Workshop

Mode Discover Move Play Think

Time

Event

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Adaptive Archipelago Drop in Anytime

A floating prototype conceived for tomorrow's world.

MIT Sailing Pavilion

134 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, 02139

Walking Tour

MOVE

9am - 10am

MIT Campus Public Art Walk

Notable art and architecture across the MIT campus.

List Visual Arts Center

20 Ames St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Provisional Futures Drop in Anytime

Student artists imagine futures uncertain, unfinished, and still unfolding.

Stata Center TSMC Lobby

32 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

9:30am - 10:30am

Why Quantum Matters

With Paola Cappellaro, Danna Freedman, Jerry M. Chow, and Troy Van Voorhis.

MIT Media Lab

75 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

DISCOVER

10am - 6pm

Boston 2036: "…on the line" Drop in Anytime

Stop, stand still, and listen to the future.

Kendall/MIT Open Space

292 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

10am - 12pm

Future Lab: Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

Explore decades of breakthroughs, and find out what CSAIL is building next.

MIT Computer Science & AI Lab

32 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Exhibition

DISCOVER

10am - 5pm

Visit the MIT Museum Drop in Anytime

Free and open during MIT Future Fest. Explore galleries, ideas, and exclusive merchandise.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Panel

THINK

10:30am - 11:30am

Floating Buildings: Designing for a Changing Planet Featured

With Skylar Tibbits, Daniel Sundlin, Themistoklis Sapsis, Carlo Ratti, and Eric Höweler.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Future Lab

DISCOVER

10:30am - 12:30pm

Future Lab: Design Intelligence Lab Drop in Anytime

Discover how intelligent objects will reshape everyday life.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

10:45am - 11:45am

AI in Healthcare: How Does it Help? How Does it Hurt?

With Marzyeh Ghassemi, Collin Stultz, Irene Y. Chen, and Usha Lee McFarling.

MIT Media Lab

75 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02142

Experience

DISCOVER

11am - 5pm

Amphibian Drift

Explore the hidden music of matter from inside a molecule.

MIT.nano

60 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

THINK

12pm - 6pm

BLKNWS®: MIT Edition Drop in Anytime

A site-specific chapter in an ever-expanding body of work.

List Visual Arts Center

20 Ames St, Cambridge, 02142

Book Talk

THINK

12pm - 12:45pm

How AI Sees the City Featured

Carlo Ratti asks what machines see when they read cities.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Book Talk

THINK

1pm - 1:45pm

What happened to Liberal Democracy? Featured

Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu on rebuilding democracy.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

1pm - 4pm

Future Lab: Senseable City Lab Drop in Anytime

See how data and design are reshaping tomorrow’s cities.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Future Lab

DISCOVER

1pm - 4pm

Future Lab: The MIT Learning Engineering and Practice Group

See how MIT is redesigning education for tomorrow’s workforce.

MIT LEAP Lab

50 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Workshop

DISCOVER

1:30pm - 3:30pm

The Thing From The Future

The award-winning playable workshop from Dr. Stuart Candy

MIT Media Lab

75 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

2pm - 4pm

Future Lab: MIT.nano

Explore the lab revealing and reshaping matter at atomic scale.

MIT.nano

60 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

2pm - 3pm

The Future of Building in the Age of AI

With John Ochsendorf, Mariana Popescu, Caitlin Mueller, and Liz Stinson.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Lecture

PLAY

2:15pm - 2:45pm

Dreaming Together: Collective Imagination and Future-Making

Behnaz Farahi traces the conceptual journey behind Ocean of Dreams.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Panel

THINK

2:30pm - 3:30pm

Partnering for Ocean Health: How Philanthropy Can Advance Marine Innovation

Can philanthropy unlock the next wave of marine innovation?

The Engine

750 Main St, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

DISCOVER

3pm - 4pm

Inside jam_bot: Building an AI Musical Partner VIP Only

Jordan Rudess and MIT researchers reveal how jam_bot thinks musically.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Lecture

THINK

3:10pm - 3:25pm

The Agentic Web

Explore the next era of the internet.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Conversation

THINK

3:30pm - 4:30pm

AI + Hardware Featured

Explore the future of objects with Tony Fadell and Marcelo Coelho.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

3:30pm - 4:30pm

AI and the Creative Imagination Featured

With Daniela Rus, Refik Anadol, and Pelin Kivrak.

MIT Media Lab

75 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02142

Performance

PLAY

5:30pm - 6:30pm

INVISIBLETOWHOM Arc 2 (2026)

Pap Souleye Fall inhabits DEAD PIXEL, conjuring spirits through disruption.

ACT Cube

20 Ames St, Cambridge, 02142

Book Talk

THINK

6pm - 8pm

Artificial Intimacy Featured

Sherry Turkle and Rosalind Picard explore emotional entanglement with AI.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Installation

PLAY

6pm - 9:30pm

Ocean of Dreams Drop in Anytime

An interactive meditation on our collective future.

Kendall Square Plaza

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Panel

PLAY

7pm - 9pm

BLKNWS®: MIT Edition Screening & Talkback Featured

An evening with Kahlil Joseph and the world of BLKNWS®.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

PLAY

7pm - 10pm

Play the Green Drop in Anytime

Tetris. But 100ft tall.

Green Building

21 Ames Street, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

PLAY

7pm - 9pm

The Weavers

A century-old question returns: will AI take my job?

MIT Theatre Arts Building

345 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Saturday, October 3

Event Type Book Talk Celebration Conversation Exhibition Experience Future Lab Installation Lecture Panel Performance Reception Screening Symposium Walking Tour Workshop

Mode Discover Move Play Think

Time

Event

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Adaptive Archipelago Drop in Anytime

A floating prototype conceived for tomorrow's world.

MIT Sailing Pavilion

134 Memorial Dr, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

DISCOVER

9am - 5pm

Provisional Futures Drop in Anytime

Student artists imagine futures uncertain, unfinished, and still unfolding.

Stata Center TSMC Lobby

32 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

DISCOVER

10am - 6pm

Boston 2036: "…on the line" Drop in Anytime

Stop, stand still, and listen to the future.

Kendall/MIT Open Space

292 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Walking Tour

MOVE

10am - 11:30am

Joost Bonsen's MIT Innovation Tour VIP Only

Trace the people and places that turned research into industries.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Exhibition

DISCOVER

10am - 5pm

Visit the MIT Museum Drop in Anytime

Free and open during MIT Future Fest. Explore galleries, ideas, and exclusive merchandise.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Celebration

DISCOVER

10am - 4pm

Introducing the MET Warehouse Featured Drop in Anytime

MIT's new home for architecture and design, open to the public.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

10am - 11:15am

When Human Insight Meets Technical Expertise

With William Frank, William Broadhead, Admir Masic, Amy Moran-Thomas, Seth Mnookin, and Heather Anne Paxson.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Experience

DISCOVER

11am - 5pm

Amphibian Drift

Explore the hidden music of matter from inside a molecule.

MIT.nano

60 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Conversation

THINK

11am - 12pm

Humanity Becoming Interplanetary

Imagining interplanetary futures without losing sight of Spaceship Earth.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Experience

MOVE

11am - 11:30am

Supra-Organism: Workshop

Explore how bodies move, sense, and sound as living systems.

Kresge Little Theatre

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Conversation

THINK

11:30am - 12:15pm

The Future of Learning: Cultivating Curiosity and Creativity

With Mitch Resnick, Natalie Rusk, Eric Rosenbaum, and Jaleesa Trapp.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

THINK

12pm - 6pm

BLKNWS®: MIT Edition Drop in Anytime

A site-specific chapter in an ever-expanding body of work.

List Visual Arts Center

20 Ames St, Cambridge, 02142

Future Lab

DISCOVER

12pm - 4pm

Future Labs: Maker and Creative Spaces Drop in Anytime

Step inside the spaces where MIT turns ideas into reality.

Various locations

265 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Experience

MOVE

1pm - 1:30pm

Supra-Organism: Workshop

Explore how bodies move, sense, and sound as living systems.

Kresge Little Theatre

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

1:30pm - 2:30pm

The Body Reimagined: When Anatomy Becomes a Site of Design Featured

With Hugh Herr, Ana Rajčević, and Paola Antonelli.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Future Lab

DISCOVER

2pm - 4pm

Future Lab: Sea Grant

Explore the robotics and biology advancing ocean research at MIT.

MIT Sea Grant

12 Emily St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

2:15pm - 3:15pm

Laboratories of Imagination: The Future as a Cultural Project

With Gerfried Stocker, Honor Harger, Keeril Makan, and Andrea Lipps.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

PLAY

2:30pm - 4:30pm

The Weavers

A century-old question returns: will AI take my job?

MIT Theatre Arts Building

345 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

3pm - 4pm

The Reef of the Future: From Vision to Deployment Featured

Building coastal resilience with nature, culture, design, and time.

MET Warehouse

134 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

PLAY

5pm - 6pm

Jordan Rudess + jam_bot: A Human-AI Musical Dialogue

The GRAMMY-winning Dream Theater keyboardist returns to MIT.

Linde Music Building

201 Amherst St, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

PLAY

5pm - 5:30pm

Supra-Organism

An embodied performance dissolving boundaries between body, space, and system.

Kresge Little Theatre

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Panel

THINK

5pm - 6:30pm

The Next 250 Years Featured

Short conversations. Big ideas. A time capsule for America’s future.

Kresge Auditorium

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

PLAY

6pm - 9:30pm

Ocean of Dreams Drop in Anytime

An interactive meditation on our collective future.

Kendall Square Plaza

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Performance

PLAY

6:30pm - 7pm

Supra-Organism

An embodied performance dissolving boundaries between body, space, and system.

Kresge Little Theatre

48 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 02139

Installation

PLAY

7pm - 10pm

Play the Green Drop in Anytime

Tetris. But 100ft tall.

Green Building

21 Ames Street, Cambridge, 02139

Performance

PLAY

7pm - 8pm

Terraforming Blues

Danielle Wood turns planetary change into poetry, music, and movement.

MIT Museum

314 Main St, Cambridge, 02142

Performance

PLAY

7pm - 9pm

The Weavers Featured

A century-old question returns: will AI take my job?

MIT Theatre Arts Building

345 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139

Sunday, October 4

Event Type Book Talk Celebration Conversation Exhibition Experience Future Lab Installation Lecture Panel Performance Reception Screening Symposium Walking Tour Workshop