Pilot Programs Archive
Our pilot programs were launched prior to the opening of our outdoor space. Read on to learn about all the fun we had and the wonderful people we collaborated with.
Film Screening: Elder’s Corner
April 25, 2021
A virtual screening of "Elder’s Corner: A Musical Voyage of Rediscovery.” This event was presented in collaboration with The Community SoundLab, a Cambridge-based organization that enables community members to experience and create music of all genres and feature music from the various cultures within the community. Following the screening, we had a lively conversation with the filmmaker and musician Siji Awoyinka.
Workout with InnerCity Weightlifting
February 24, 2021
For this virtual program, we partnered with InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW), an organization that uses the gym to replace segregation, isolation, and systemic racism with social inclusion and economic mobility, disrupting the cycle that leads to urban street violence. A talented ICW trainer led a 35 minute at-home circuit workout, with full body weight movements. After the work out, participants stayed on for a few minutes to chat with others for a social moment.
Winter Family Day
January 25, 2020 from 11:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Koch Institute, the Stata Center, and Hockfield Court.
Our second annual Winter Family Day featured hands-on STEAM activities, music and dance performances, games, playful demos, and more. Our fantastic Cambridge and MIT collaborators included: MIT Museum; Department of Play; DJ Philip Tan; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT; Jean Appolon Expressions; MIT MechE Biomimetic Robotics Lab; Band Land Brass Band; Math Talk; and MIT Beaver Works.
Photo credit: Jake Belcher.
Games + Hot Apple Cider in the Outfinite
November 4, 2019, 12 - 2pm
On one of the last warm days of November, we set up games and hot apple cider in the “outfinite” or North Corridor space on MIT’s campus. We collaborated with the MIT Game Lab and students shared their game prototypes with participants.
Cambridge (PARK)ing Day
September 20, 2019, 8am - 6pm
We participated in this city-wide (PARK)ing Day, organized by the City of Cambridge’s Community Development Department (CDD). We created a “mini park” for a day, transforming two parking spots in MIT’s Ford Lot into a space for relaxation, connection, and play. Talented arts apprentices from the Community Art Center led art-making activities, participants enjoyed games and puzzles, and we offered cool drinks to dogs and humans passing by.
A Breath of Fresh Air: Outdoor Fitness & Wellness Classes
August 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2019, from 12 - 12:45 pm
In collaboration with Community Wellness at MIT Medical, we presented Hip-hop Dance, Qigong, BollyX, and Mindfulness Meditation classes on the beautiful Saxon Court.
Photo credit: Community Wellness at MIT Medical
HubWeek Open Doors: Kendall Square
July 10, 2019, 6 - 7:30pm
As part of the HubWeek Open Doors: Kendall Square event, we hosted an evening networking reception in the public galleries at the The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.
Photo credit: HubWeek.
Cambridge Science Festival event with MIT.nano
April 16, 2019, 11am - 3pm
We collaborated with MIT.nano on an event, MIT.nano: Step into the Nano Age, for the Cambridge Science Festival. We organized an outdoor activity with popcorn and post-its, inviting participants to imagine how nanoscale research might make the world a better place.
Winter Family Day
March 3, 2019, from 11 am - 3pm
This program featured outdoor and indoor activities for the whole family. Our amazing collaborators included the Community Art Center; Learning Beautiful; the Department of Play; the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, the MIT Curling Club, Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion with friends from the Dance Complex community, and Alexander Hattori (MIT MechE senior and six-time national yo-yo champion). This event took place on the first floor of the Koch Institute and on MIT’s North Court (now known as Hockfield Court).
Photo credit: Jake Belcher
Art, Cocoa, and Conversation
February 26, 2019, from 7 - 8pm
Working closely with the MIT List Visual Art Center and MIT.nano, we organized an informal hot cocoa gathering underneath Olafur Eliasson’s newly created artwork, Northwest Passage, in the breezeway of the MIT.nano building.
Winter Series, featuring MIT Spinning Arts
February 6, 2019, from 5:30 - 6:30pm
We collaborated with the incredible MIT Spinning Arts Club on an evening performance that took place in MIT’s North Court (now known as Hockfield Court).
Photo credit: Jake Belcher.