About the MIT Edgerton Center
Established in 1992, the MIT Edgerton Center continues the mens et manus (mind and hand) legacy of beloved Institute Professor Harold (Doc) Edgerton who believed that learning by doing was integral to an MIT education. For MIT students the Center supports student teams in engineering competitions, offers hands-on classes and workshop space, and engages students in service projects in developing countries. Outside of MIT the Center advances kindergarten to 12th grade hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education through on-site workshops and intensive summer programs for youth, distribution of curricula developed at the Center, and professional development workshops for teachers.Staff
For more information, you can use our general email address or for specific inquiries, you can email individual staff members by clicking on their names:Jessica Garrett, M.Ed.
617-253-2865 MIT Edgerton Center 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-405 Cambridge, MA 02139Jessica is the K-12 Outreach Project Coordinator for the Mind and Hand Alliance. Contact her for information about the Gloucester Public Schools Project, or for support/questions about our hands-on curriculum packages.
Amanda Gruhl, Ph.D.
617-253-1053 MIT Edgerton Center 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-405 Cambridge, MA 02139Amanda is an instructor at the Edgerton Center and the MIT Museum. Contact her about booking biology museum workshops.
Amy Fitzgerald, M.Ed.
617-253-7931 MIT Edgerton Center 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-406 Cambridge, MA 02139Amy Fitzgerald is the K-12 Outreach Program Coordinator for the Edgerton Center. Contact her for information about volunteering with the Edgerton Outreach Program, or for support/questions about our hands-on curriculum. For scheduling a school visit, please go to the main Edgerton Center Outreach Program page.
Ed Moriarty
617-452-3857 MIT Edgerton Center 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-409 Cambridge, MA 02139Ed Moriarty is the instructor for 6.070/SP.705, Intro to Electronics, works with student clubs and teams, and is involved in the high school levels of our K-12 Outreach program. Contact him for information about high school programs such as the John D. O’Bryant school and the “Saturday Thing”.
Kathleen M. Vandiver, Ph.D.
617 324-0252 MIT, Center for Environmental Health Sciences Room 56-211 Cambridge, MA 02139 http://cehs.mit.edu/index.htmlKathy Vandiver, is the outreach director for the Center for Environmental Health Sciences at MIT. Kathy is also the Edgerton Center’s major K-12 curriculum developer and has sixteen years of experience as public school science teacher. Contact her for matters regarding curriculum development.
Professor J. Kim Vandiver
617-258-0207 MIT Edgerton Center 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 4-110 Cambridge, MA 02139Kim Vandiver is the faculty director of the Mind and Hand Alliance, a project of the Edgerton Center. Kim is also the Director of the Edgerton Center, faculty in the Mechancial Engineering department, the Dean for Undergraduate Research, and Director of the Office for Experiential Learning.
Partners:
Other K-12 Contributors:
Statement of Purpose
It has been well documented that the United States is not attracting a sufficient number of K-12 students into higher education and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Our best scientists and engineers have career opportunities in private industry that are far more lucrative than teaching K-12, and students in K-12 are not well informed about the challenges, excitement, and opportunities that exist in these fields. MIT and other research universities are now well positioned to help inspire interest in STEM careers through their graduates and resources.
The MIT Edgerton Center was founded to provide hands-on educational experiences for MIT undergraduates. Carrying on the legacy of MIT professor Harold E. Edgerton, our center creates opportunities for MIT students to engage in challenging activities and projects in engineering and science. In 1998, the Edgerton Center started to create opportunities for hands-on science and engineering education outside of MIT by partnering with Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School to form a FIRST Robotics Competition Team. Now our center provides hands-on curriculum, resources, and volunteers to many schools around Boston and the surrounding area, including the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury, MA and the Gloucester Public School System. Local school groups can also visit the Edgerton Center for a day of hands-on curriculum through the Educational Outreach Program.
The Mind and Hand Alliance is a subset of the Edgerton Center’s K-12 programs, specifically designed to provide STEM curriculum packages with accompanying materials and support to K-12 teachers and other educators.
