Announcing The Launch of MIT Future Fest: Where The Future is Made
Jun 8, 2026
This announcement was originally published by MIT Museum on May 5, 2026
This new festival welcomes all to the MIT campus in a unique celebration of the convergence of art, design, science and technology. Early confirmed speakers include: MIT President Sally Kornbluth, visionary architect Carlo Ratti, designer and computer scientist Skylar Tibbits, interdisciplinary artist and designer Behnaz Farahi, MIT Quantum lead Danna Freedman, rock climber and bionicist Hugh Herr, and aerospace engineer Danielle Wood; in conversation with luminaries such as MoMA Senior Curator of Architecture & Design Paola Antonelli.
The MIT Museum is pleased to announce the launch of MIT Future Fest, an ambitious new festival celebrating tomorrow’s possibilities at the intersections of art, design, science, and technology. Taking over the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts from September 30–October 4, 2026, the inaugural five-day festival will open the doors of MIT’s labs, workshops, and theaters for in-person conversations, experiences, exhibitions, and tours, inviting world-renowned experts and curious minds to join together in the shared thrill of discovery in action.
MIT has always been 'of the world' – a university that energetically embraces its responsibility to bring knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. With MIT Future Fest, we invite our neighbors to join us in the exhilarating work of exploration and innovation – whether they come from around the corner, across the country or around the world
MIT President Sally Kornbluth
MIT Future Fest foregrounds creative leaders in critical, timely fields from quantum and AI to climate, health and life sciences, united in their dedication to shaping our shared horizon. Every experience is tailored to connect with one or more of MIT’s strategic initiatives – the major cross-cutting bets that the MIT community is making on the future. These initiatives represent not just research priorities but a statement of institutional purpose: that the world’s most pressing problems demand the kind of convergent, interdisciplinary work that defines MIT’s mission.
MIT Future Fest opens up MIT like never before—transforming it into a living playground of ideas.This inaugural festival is about more than access; it’s about connection, creating a new global platform where people can encounter MIT’s creativity, test possibilities, and build unexpected collaborations across disciplines and borders.
The Mark R. Epstein (Class of 1963) Director, MIT Museum Michael John Gorman
MIT Future Fest is a collaboration led by MIT Museum in partnership with MIT Technology Review and MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) with support from an advisory panel of world-leading researchers and experts. The public unveiling of the MET Warehouse — a new home for the MIT School of Architecture and Planning — will occur during MIT Future Fest, and EmTech Future, a new iteration of MIT Technology Review’s flagship event, will also premiere this week as part of the MIT Future Fest experience.
“At MIT Technology Review, we believe institutions like MIT have a responsibility not only to generate ideas, but to share them boldly and openly,” shared Elizabeth Bransom, MIT Technology Review. “With the evolution of our longstanding EmTech event into EmTech Future, we are deepening that commitment—joining MIT Future Fest in bringing together global thought leaders at a moment when the exchange of ideas is critical to determining our shared future.”
John Ochsendorf, MIT Morningside Academy for Design, said: “This is a moment to celebrate the magic of MIT in its fullest sense—creative, experimental, and deeply collaborative. The opening of the MET Warehouse as the new home of the School of Architecture and Planning is long awaited, and during Future Fest we are especially excited to open its doors to the full community, from local neighbors to global visitors, as a shared space for design and imagination.”
Through MIT Future Fest, the MIT Museum cements its role as a public lab and playground for ideas, engaging the university community and the public through partnerships that extend far beyond campus.
MIT Future Fest Program Notes
Day One: Futures in Motion
A bold opening with MIT and global voices, immersive ocean explorations across art and science, and a campus-wide evening of exhibitions and installations including the opening of Sensing Oceans at the MIT Museum
Day Two: Systems in Flux
From sunrise movement to urgent conversations on climate, health, and AI, the day unfolds through labs, workshops, and global perspectives, ending in performances on a changing world.
Day Three: Frontiers in Focus
Breakthrough research in quantum science, AI, and manufacturing meets hands-on experimentation, building toward an evening of big questions and future-facing ideas.
Day Four: Human Futures Unfolding
A public-facing day spanning humanities, education, space, and AI, with hands-on exploration and creative expression that reimagines what it means to be human today. Featuring the public opening of the MET Warehouse.
Day Five: Futures Made Together Cambridge Science Carnival returns to Kendall/MIT Open Space welcoming 20,000+ visitors to 100+ hands-on STEAM experiences, including the Robot Petting Zoo and interactive demonstrations.
Speakers
Initially confirmed speakers and participants include:
- Daron Acemoğlu, 2024 Nobel Prize Winner and Institute Professor, Department of Economics, MIT
- Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture and Design and Head of Research and Development at the Museum of Modern Art
- Behnaz Farahi, Artist, Designer and Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences; Morningside Academy for Design Professor, MIT
- Danna Freedman, Frederick George Keyes Professor of Chemistry, MIT Quantum Initiative Faculty Director
- Hugh Herr, Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT
- Manolis Kellis, Professor, Computer Science, MIT; Head, MIT Computational Biology Group; Principal Investigator, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, MIT
- Sally Kornbluth, President of MIT
- Dava Newman, Apollo Program Professor; Director, Human Systems Lab, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
- Ana Rajčević, Distinguished Artist and Research Scientist, MIT
- Carlo Ratti, Architect; Curator of the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture; Professor of Practice of Urban Technologies and Planning, MIT; and Designer of the 2026 Winter Olympics Torch
- Sanjay Sarma, Fred Fort Flowers (1941) & Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) Professor in Mechanical Engineering, MIT
- Daniel Sundlin, Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group
- Skylar Tibbits, Designer and Computer Scientist; Associate Professor; Director of Undergraduate Programs; and Assistant Director for Education at the Morningside Academy for Design, MIT
- Danielle Wood, Aerospace Engineer and Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences; Associate Professor (Joint) of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
MIT Future Fest’s launch on Wednesday, September 30, will coincide with the opening of the MIT Museum’s new thematic season on OCEANS, drawing on new ocean research at MIT and beyond, and featuring two new major exhibitions bringing together art, science and technology to expand our perceptions of our ocean planet: Sensing Oceans, featuring the immersive work of Marshmallow Laser Feast and Crochet Coral Reef, a collaboration between artist Margaret Wertheim and mathematician Erik Demaine.
The final day of MIT Future Fest, Sunday, October 4, will mark the return of the Cambridge Science Carnival, a family-friendly science extravaganza featuring over 100 booths and activities, including the popular Robot Petting Zoo. The Cambridge Science Carnival is produced by the MIT Museum in collaboration with the City of Cambridge. Registration opens on May 5 and more information can be found at cambridgesciencecarnival.org.
Festival passes will be available starting on sale June 15, 2026, with a range of tiers matching various experiences available. Discounts and other promotions will be offered to students, Cambridge residents, and members of the MIT community. Joint passes to MIT Future Fest and EmTech Future will also be available.
To join the MIT Future Fest experience, and stay up-to-date with programming, please visit mitfuturefest.org.
NOTES TO EDITORS
MIT Future Fest Advisory Group:
- Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of Architecture & Design and Director of R&D, MoMA
- Christl Baur, Head, Ars Electronica Festival
- Elizabeth Bramson, CEO and Publisher, MIT Technology Review
- Stuart Candy, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Tecnológico de Monterrey
- Iain M. Cheeseman, Herman and Margaret Sokol Professor of Biology; Core Member, Whitehead Institute; Associate Department Head, MIT
- José Luis de Vicente, Co-Founder and Principal, FAST
- Juan Enríquez, Managing Director, Excel Venture Management
- Behnaz Farahi, Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Morningside Academy for Design Professor, MIT
- Manolis Kellis, Professor, Computer Science, MIT; Head, MIT Computational Biology Group; Principal Investigator, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, MIT
- David Kong, Director of Community Biotechnology Initiative; Research Scientist, MIT
- Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media Partners
- David Mindell, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing, MIT
- John Ochsendorf, Founding Director, MIT Morningside Academy for Design and Associate Dean for Research for the School of Architecture and Planning, MIT
- Desirée Plata, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, MIT, Co-Director, MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, MIT
- Jay Scheib, Professor for Music and Theater Arts, MIT
- Skylar Tibbits, Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Assistant Director for Education at the Morningside Academy for Design, MIT
- John Werner, Managing Director and Partner, LINK Ventures
About the MIT Museum:
The MIT Museum welcomes all to participate in MIT’s unique culture of problem-solving and playful creativity, bringing together science, technology, art, and design in surprising ways to explore potential futures.
In addition to exhibitions, programs, a maker hub, and learning labs, the museum invites visitors to take part in ongoing research while demonstrating how science and innovation will shape the future of society. In October 2022, a reinvented MIT Museum opened in a new location in the heart of Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA.
Highlights of the Museum include freshly conceived exhibitions featuring objects from the Museum’s collections of over 1.5 million objects, along with loans of art and other objects; the Lee Family Exchange event space for public dialogue and conversation; the hands-on Heide Maker Hub, where audiences can create and invent; and an expanded MIT Museum Store. The MIT Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
For more information, including accessibility and amenities, please visit mitmuseum.mit.edu
Address: MIT Museum, Gambrill Center, 314 Main Street (MIT Building E28), Cambridge, MA 02142.
Located next to the Kendall/MIT MBTA Red Line stop at the new Kendall Gateway to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Campus.
About MIT Technology Review:
MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned independent media company founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899. MIT Technology Review’s insight and analysis explain the newest technologies and their commercial, social, and political impacts through award-winning journalism and premium live events. Our mission is to empower our audience with credible insights to understand what’s coming next in emerging technology, and why it matters.
MIT Technology Review’s relationship to the world’s foremost technology institution—and its editors’ deep technical knowledge, capacity to see technologies in their broadest context, and access to leading innovators and researchers—provide a degree of authority unmatched by any other technology publication.
About MIT MAD:
The MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD) is an interdisciplinary hub that celebrates the transformative power of design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and beyond. MAD exists to foster innovation, empower individuals, and reshape the way we learn. MAD weaves in science, engineering, architecture, planning, humanities, and business to foster an environment where design acts a catalyst for positive change.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Sasha Wallinger, Director of Marketing and Communications, MIT Museum [email protected]
Jill Robinson, Camron [email protected]
Adam Mulder, Camron [email protected]