Prototyping in Public: Where Art and Science Get Tested on the Gallery Floor

What if a museum ran like a lab, with the experiment still in progress? Ann Neumann is Director of Galleries and Exhibitions at the MIT Museum. Her question for the evening: can a museum serve as infrastructure for public experimentation, a place where visitors take part in the work rather than just walk through it? If you build products, run pilots, or spend your days deciding what's ready to put in front of real people, this is a look at how one of the best-known science museums handles prototyping in public. In collaboration with the National Arts Club and its Art and Technology Committee, Ann will walk through the interactive projects she's shepherded at the MIT Museum. Each one works as a prototype for engaging the public with technologies like CRISPR, machine learning, and sensory neuroscience. Reserve your spot and arrive early. Space is limited. Founded in 1898, the National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate the American people in the fine arts. Annually, the Club offers more than 150 free programs—both in-person and virtually—to the public, including exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, lectures, and readings, attracting an audience of over 30,000 in-person visitors and thousands more online.