hacdc-wiki/Old Pages/Old Wiki/Boston_travel.md

------------------------------------------------------------------------

baghaii:

I am not sure if you are limited to public transportation or not.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Museum>

<http://www.larzanderson.org/Topics/Topic.cfm?TopicName=Home&CFID=536300&CFTOKEN=51791476>
<http://www.hammondcastle.org/common/index.php?com=HAMM&div=AA&nav=AA&page=A91>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marconi_Wireless_Station_Site>

The BU Photonics Center has some interesting sculptures that involve
light. There is a really cool sculpture on the 7th floor. There is the
thing by the elevator. I forget what it is supposed to do. Understand
commands? I don't remember what it did or if it ever quite worked.

Not relevant but I have always wanted to go.
<http://www.museumofbadart.org/>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

rmadams:

Wow! Too cool! I loved _loved_ living in Boston/Cambridge. There are
lots of great geek things to do and see in Boston. Here are a few of my
favorites:

1\. See the amazing hacks in the "Nightwork" exhibit at the MIT Museum-
geeks at MIT have been performing amazing hacks for _decades_.
Besides, the MIT museum is just plain cool. See it at:
<http://web.mit.edu/museum/> It is cool, and kind of offbeat, and a lot
of fun.

2\. You can also check out the MIT campus, which is right nearby- it is
a lot of fun to walk around there, and see the Media Lab, the AI Lab,
etc. etc. Plus, if your timing is good, you can check out such sights as
the famous "Infinite Corridor," etc. in the buildings. You might even
run into folks like Marvin Minsky hanging around. If you read Levy's
"Hackers"
(http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Levy/dp/0141000511)
before you go, you will get some of the history and local color.

3\. While you are there in Cambridge, have lunch/dinner at the amazing
"Miracle of Science" bar/grill. All of their tables are laboratory
soapstone, and the menus is chalked up on a chalkboard in "periodic
table" form. Very amusing. They don't serve their drinks in laboratory
glassware, but the food good and the place is fun. You can overhear some
very interesting tech/science conversations there.
(http://www.miracleofscience.us/)

4\. After lunch/dinner, grab drinks (and maybe catch some music/dancing)
at the Enormous Room, one T stop up in Central Square:
<http://www.enormous.tv/ENORMOUS_2004/main1.html>

5\. Across the River (almost) you can visit the Boston Museum of
Science, which has a lot of really fun stuff, but don't miss the
electricity show, using some of the original "atom smashers" giant Van
de Graaff generators. Very, very cool. And loud. Also check out the
scale model of the solar system. To get to Pluto, you need to take the T
(Green Line) all the way out to the end of the line in Riverside...
(http://www.mos.org/)

6\. Check out Willoughby and Baltic at their new digs in Union Square:
<http://willoughbybaltic.ning.com/>. They might have some fun
hacker-type stuff going on while you are there. Totally cool tech/arts
collective.

Sheesh. I could go on forever. Hope this gives you a start- contact me
if you want more of the same!

Everyone's suggestions are great! I completely forgot about the atrium
at the Broad (pronounced to rhyme with "road" in case you have to ask
around to find it.) I spend so much time that there that I forgot about
the displays in the atrium. It is really neat. If you are down that
road, you can walk through the atrium at Draper Labs, where a bunch of
the hardware they designed for the lunar landings is displayed. It is
actually very cool. <http://www.draper.com/Apollo/apollo_at_draper.html>

If you take the Red Line "T" the rest of the way up to Harvard Square,
you can check out my personal favorite comic book store, "Million Year
Picnic" (http://themillionyearpicnic.com/) My brother ran into Ben
Affleck there- apparently it is his favorite comic book store, too. As
for bookstores, check out the Harvard Coop, right around the corner
there- they have a pretty remarkable selection of stuff academic and
otherwise.

Okay- I promised that I would not go on and on- I am making myself
homesick!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

mml:

These are slightly adjacent to the topic directly at hand (already well
covered)

If you are in to bookstores. (I was so excited when I found out about
Reiter's here in DC). - MIT Press book store is cool - Schoenhof's, the
most amazing foreign language store anywhere, with tons of useful stuff
for learners. <http://www.schoenhofs.com/>

I enjoyed The Computer Museum, but it's gone now. I hear the Museum of
Science is good, though.

Um, if bikes appeal at all, Broadway Bicycle School is cool and has a
nice DIY angle. <http://www.broadwaybicycleschool.com/>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

curiouslee:

Adding to all the great suggestions (I'm at the Media Lab this coming
Tue-Thu)...

Not far from MIT Press are:

- The DNAtrium\*

<http://www.broadinstitute.org/outreach/dnatrium/dnatrium> This is a
lobby museum on genome mapping with huge curved interactive video walls.

- Stata Center\*

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stata_Center> Amazing Frank Gehry building
if you're into crazy architecture. There's an elevated central
courtyard. During day hours, you should be able to get inside.

- The Media Lab\*

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Media_Lab> Access to the lab spaces is
controlled, but you can walk the upper atrium where there is the List
Visual Arts Center <http://listart.mit.edu/> and the lower atrium where
you can press your nose up against the Lifelong Kindergarten Lab or even
step inside if you are nice to one of the lab staff that might be
inside. The Media Lab is also nearing completion of a new expansion out
back <http://www.media.mit.edu/about/building>

I'd offer up a peek into the offices of One Laptop per Child (and
Nicholas Negroponte's office), but I know they are swamped this weekend
with visiting students.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

dcmk1mr2:

While in Harvard Sq, check out the sign in one of the corner windows for
the law firm DEWEY, CHEETHAM & HOWE. They're the lawyers for NPR's Car
Talk.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Category:Hacker Travel](Category:Hacker_Travel "wikilink")