Cultural
MIT Sloan provides endless possibilities for entertainment and recreation on and off campus. The MIT Activities Committee (MITAC) offers discount tickets to arts and sporting events across the region, and the MIT Department of Facilities offers information about public transportation, shuttles, Zipcars, bicycles, and other ways to get to and from the cultural resources listed below.
Arts & Culture
The Cambridge – Boston area is famous for its cultural depth and diversity. Nowhere is that more evident than in the area’s museums and galleries, from the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art to Harvard’s many museums. The Cambridge art scene is especially vibrant, diverse, and pioneering, with the world-renowned American Repertory Theater just a few subway stops away in Harvard Square.
Food & Wine
Metropolitan Cambridge – Boston is a well-known destination for foodies. Restaurants here are famous for their diversity, innovation, and refinement — you’ll find feijoada, butecha, and caviar and everything in between close to the MIT campus. Don't forget to check the food pages of The Boston Globe for the latest news on cutting-edge cuisine in the region.
Historic New England
If you’re a history buff, you’ll find many fascinating sites in New England — from Boston’s Freedom Trail, which tracks key landmarks along the country’s path to independence, to Plymouth Rock, where the pilgrims settled.
Music Scene
You’ll find that this is a community serious about music. Local clubs, concert halls, and university auditoriums offer a dizzying array of styles — you could go out and hear different music every night of the week. Check the pages of The Boston Phoenix for music listings of contemporary music and jazz. If your taste runs to classical, the region offers dozens of world-class ensembles and orchestras ranging from the Boston Modern Orchestra Project to the world-renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra. The magical Tanglewood music complex in Western Massachusetts presents a wide range of music in a beautiful mountain setting.
Shopping
The region offers excellent shopping opportunities, and two good places to start are Boston’s Back Bay and Newbury Street, where you’ll find the goods of exclusive designers and local artisans alike. Faneuil Hall and nearby Haymarket Square offer a marketplace vibe. In Cambridge, Massachusetts Avenue is lined with trendy shops from Central Square to Porter Square. You’ll also find malls, from the high-end Copley Place to the more affordable CambridgeSide Galleria, which runs a free shuttle from Kendall Square.
Sports & Recreation
Metropolitan Boston is known for both its athletes and its fans. If you like to ski, play tennis, climb mountains, sail, or surf, you’ll find yourself in good company. And team spirit is in the air all seasons of the year for the local professional hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball, and football teams. MITAC not only sells discount tickets to many games, but also organizes ski trips and other activities for members of the MIT community.
C-Functions
The weekly C-Functions (Cultural Functions), also known as “Consumption Functions,” are student-organized celebrations that have become a much-loved staple of after-hours fun. The events are open to the entire graduate community, including faculty and staff, and are held both on and off campus, depending on the evening's agenda. C-Functions are sometimes designed to celebrate the food and music of a particular culture and feature organized entertainment; at other times, they are informal opportunities to unwind and simply enjoy the company of fellow students. For MIT Sloan students with young families, C-Functions offer a number of child-friendly activities, including costume parties and picnics in the country. Whatever the theme, C-Functions are an integral part of the MIT Sloan experience. Ask any alum from across the globe about C-Functions and you are bound to hear a story or two about their favorites.
Cultural Resources
Arts at MIT: MIT is well known in Boston for its vibrant arts community; this is the guide to arts at MIT.
MIT Activities Committee (MITAC): Discount tickets to sporting and other events as diverse as sleigh rides, shopping sprees, music, and theater.
Boston Museums: A collaborative organization of more than 40 Greater Boston area museums and zoos.
Boston Symphony Orchestra: One of the great orchestras of the world, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, South America, and China.
Boston Pops: Known as “America’s Orchestra” and beloved for its famous Independence Day concert, which can be experienced firsthand on Boston’s Esplanade.
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