Experience Kendall Venues

MIT’s Open Space Programming team organizes an eclectic mix of free events and activities designed to engage and connect the Cambridge, MIT, and Kendall Square communities. From Family Movie Nights to speed networking, food trucks, and the Cambridge Science festival, the Kendall/MIT Open Space is an active, welcoming place for everyone in Kendall Square. Visitors are encouraged to stop by to enjoy and explore the outdoor Kendall/MIT Open Space and the adjacent MIT Welcome Center. Learn more here. We will be playing videos featuring a spectrum of people and organizations from across Kendall Square from 2 – 5 pm to enhance your Kendall Experience.

Experience Kendall visitors will find the Kendall/MIT Open Space near the Kendall/MIT subway stop, or what locals call the T stop. Simply, head west, away from Main Street, and this beautiful plaza will come into view.

Bayer Co.Lab Cambridge is part of Bayer’s global network of life science incubators built to accelerate early stage innovation. Entrepreneurs within the Co.Lab community have access to Bayer’s global research, development, commercialization and manufacturing expertise to bring their brilliant ideas to life. Bayer Co.Lab Cambridge is strategically co-located with Bayer Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) and BlueRock , placing expertise in cell and gene therapy, oncology, cardiovascular, neurology and rare diseases in close proximity.

Experience Kendall visitors will appreciate the opportunity to peek inside Bayer Co.Lab’s state-of-the-art lab facilities at 238 Main Street, a building which combines Kendall Square’s past, present, and future.  The clock tower that fronts Main Street was built in 1925 to attract businesses to Kendall Square. Almost 100 years later, MIT built the modern tower behind it as a sustainable home for ground-breaking research and development to improve the human condition–come learn more  about all that is happening within Bayer Co.Lab Cambridge.  

Kendall Square is the epicenter of innovation. Join us for a 50-minute walking tour through Kendall’s incredible past and present. With guides from Boston History Tours, you will learn how Kendall Square became the global hub of life sciences through a combination of factors: Cambridge’s acceptance of recombinant DNA research; MIT’s role in scientific advancements and entrepreneurship; and a supportive startup ecosystem. You will see where life sciences breakthroughs happen–from the Human Genome Project to COVID-19 vaccines and more happening now. You will gain a sense of the breadth of innovation happening here. Our ecosystem includes Google, Microsoft, and numerous startups innovating in AI, climate tech, quantum, tough tech, and converging with life science.

Experience Kendall visitors are welcome to explore Kendall Square on their own, with the help of our venue map, or to register for one of four tours offered at 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, and 4:00 pm. Space is limited, so we recommend pre-registration for a tour. Tour registration will open here on June 1.  

Johnson & Johnson works across the innovative medicine and medical technology sectors to accelerate early-stage, transformational solutions by catalyzing the most promising ideas, wherever they are in the world. The company achieves this mission by harnessing their deep scientific capabilities coupled with a wide range of tools, including customized deal structures, company creation, incubation and startup services, capital investments and other innovative business models that aim to meet the diverse needs of entrepreneurs, scientists, and emerging companies. Johnson & Johnson’s external innovation team here in Kendall Square is committed to solving the world’s toughest health challenges and driving scientific breakthroughs that improve health for everyone, everywhere.

Experience Kendall visitors can engage with Johnson & Johnson’s partnering team and explore Johnson & Johnson’s impact on science and human health here, and around the globe, all in the ground floor lobby of the MIT Museum.

The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research takes a uniquely MIT approach to solving some of the most difficult problems in cancer. The Koch institute’s research combines MIT’s rich traditions of interdisciplinary inquiry and technological innovation with the most advanced investigation into the fundamental biology of cancer. With an unprecedented commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration, The Koch Institute is accelerating the discovery and application of new ways to detect, monitor, treat, and prevent the disease.

Experience Kendall visitors will have the opportunity to view spectacular,  award-winning images of life sciences and biomedical research from across MIT.  The Koch hosts an annual competition to select stunning visuals generated by the contributors’ own MIT-connected research. The Koch invites submissions by MIT students, faculty, staff, affiliates, and MIT collaborators at other universities, hospitals, and private companies to submit visuals—illustrating the depth and breadth of both the research and the collaboration happening here.

LabCentral, an economic development non-profit, supports the creation of innovative startup biotechnology companies in Massachusetts by providing a world-class environment for entrepreneurs, fully functional life sciences laboratory space and a broad range of educational and community programming within the Kendall Square innovation hub. Its resident entrepreneurs have raised over $20 billion over 11 years, making it a key ecosystem driver.

LabCentral’s flagship location is a historic building rich in innovation dating back to the 1830’s when the first center aisle train cars were developed and produced here. This building has been the site of multiple inventions including the first two-way phone call between Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson. LabCentral’s dynamic ecosystem of resident and alumni companies drives transformative progress, raising over $20.6 billion and creating 7,178 jobs since 2013.

Experience Kendall visitors will explore past and present innovations here, and can join tours at 20 minute intervals beginning at 2:20 pm, with the last tour starting at 4:40 pm. Pre-registration is strongly recommended as tours are limited to 15 visitors. Click here to sign-up for a tour slot! Be sure to select one of the tour options on June 15^th, 2025 for the Experience Kendall Square event.

MIT Corporate Relations facilitates and guides companies seeking multidisciplinary engagement with the Institute. It helps companies establish relationships with MIT’s research and startup communities, access emerging talent, and develop strategic alliances that benefit both the company and the Institute. Corporate Relations enables discussion and connection through two key programs, the Industrial Liaison Program and MIT Startup Exchange, , for corporations and startups to engage with MIT in new ways.

Experience Kendall visitors can connect with MIT Corporate Relations at Catalyst Restaurant at 300 Technology Square for the Dinner Soiree at 5 pm.

The MIT Museum connects curious minds to MIT’s unique culture of problem-solving and playful creativity, bringing together science, technology, art and design in surprising ways to explore our future. Located in the heart of Kendall Square, at the base of the MIT/Kendall T station, highlights 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, our lobby which features exhibitions and is free and open to all; and an expanded Museum Store.  Welcoming visitors with exhibitions, programs, a maker hub and learning labs, the Museum invites visitors to take part in on-going research while demonstrating how science, technology,  and innovation will shape the future of society. 

Experience Kendall visitors will meet Johnson & Johnson representatives in the Museum‘s public lobby, which also features the exhibit Hallucinating Traditions. The MIT Museum is open daily 10 am – 5:00 pm (last admission at 4:30 pm) and you are welcome to visit the entire Museum, including The Maker Hub open from 12:30 – 4:30 p.m., with an admission fee of $18 for adults, $12 seniors, $10 for college students with ID and children ages 6 – 18, free for children 5 and under. More information here.

The Ragon Institute brings together scientists, engineers, and clinicians from Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard to harness the immune system in combating and curing human disease. With a unique commitment to collaboration and interdisciplinary research, the institute merges scientific innovation and clinical application to address global infectious diseases and advance understanding of the immune system—ultimately improving the lives of patients around the world. The Ragon Institute is working to transform our understanding of the immune system and create solutions to some of the world’s most pressing health challenges.

Experience Kendall visitors will have the opportunity to connect with Ragon Institute researchers, explore groundbreaking discoveries in immunology, and gain firsthand insight into how collaborative science is driving innovations in global health.

Kendall Square is the epicenter of innovation. Join us for a 50-minute walking tour through Kendall’s incredible past and present. With guides from Boston History Tours, you will learn how Kendall Square became the global hub of life sciences through a combination of factors: Cambridge’s acceptance of recombinant DNA research; MIT’s role in scientific advancements and entrepreneurship; and a supportive startup ecosystem. You will see where life sciences breakthroughs happen–from the Human Genome Project to COVID-19 vaccines and more happening now. You will also gain a sense of the breadth of industry here, with tech leaders Akamai, Google, and Microsoft, life science innovation happens here alongside all kinds of tech innovation in AI, climate tech, quantum, and tough tech.

Experience Kendall visitors are welcome to explore Kendall Square on their own, with the help of our venue map, or to register for one of four tours offered at 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, and 4:00 pm. Space is limited, so we recommend pre-registration for a tour. Tour registration will open here on June 1.  

Catalyst Restaurant is an innovative dining destination on Main Street in Kendall’s Tech Square, and it’s the site of our Soiree. Owned by Chef William Kovel, Catalyst offers an entertaining and interactive dining scene for guests to enjoy delicious quality food and service. Catalyst is known for its award-winning food, creative cocktails, and  inviting lounge and patio spaces. Catalyst is “popular with biotech entrepreneurs and scientists on the hunt for investment capital or research collaborators” according to the local newspaper, The Boston Globe.  

Experience Kendall visitors will enjoy Catalyst, with members of the Kendall Square Orchestra adding to the vibe. It’s the perfect place to build relationships, and even make a deal.