Educational Programming
Museum Curriculums
Katherine "Kitty" Knox : Cycling Towards Change
In collaboration with the Fletcher Maynard Academy, the Cambridge Museum organized a presentation by City Councilor Denise Simmons, historian Lorenz Finison, and arts advocate James Pierre. They discussed the history of cycling, the story of the Cambridge-born athlete and activist Kittie Knox, and the ways in which students can get involved with cycling in Cambridge. Supported by MIT and the CRA, the event took place on March 31st.
The Ackerman Room Project
This event marked the culmination of the Ackermann Room Project, begun in 2021 by then-City Councilor Denise Simmons. The project aimed to replace portraiture in the Ackermann Room at City Hall to highlight a diverse group of Cambridge women who have lived lives of notable public service to the city. The unveiling of the newly-installed portraits took place at City Hall the evening of March 6th, 2024.
From Slavery to Freedom: The Story of How Harriet Jacobs Freed Herself
Welcome to a powerful, youth-led local history exhibit that honors the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of Harriet Jacobs—abolitionist, author, and the first Black woman in the United States to publish an autobiography chronicling her experiences under slavery. This compelling exhibit was created by the 2025 Civic Designers, a cohort hired through the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program and hosted by the Cambridge Museum of History & Culture.
Roundtable Talks
Not Cambridge, but Anmoughcawgen: Reclaiming Indigenous Peoples' Narratives in Cambridge (CCTV Roundtable Talk) — November, 2022
Cambridge City Councilor E. Denise Simmons sat down with David Shane Lowry (PhD & 2021-2022 MIT Distinguished Fellow in Native American Studies) and Sage Carbone (Northern Narragansett Indian Tribe & Cambridge Resident) to discuss Indigenous peoples' past, present, and future in Cambridge. This talk follows up on a Policy Order calling for the creation of an advisory group for finding ways to better uplift the voices and acknowledge the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Cambridge.
Cambridge Pride: Looking Backward/Looking Ahead (CCTV Roundtable Talk) — June, 2022
Cambridge City Councilor Denise Simmons moderated a Pride Month talk on the topic of the past, the present, and the future of LGBTQ+ rights in Cambridge. Panel members included: Sue Hyde, Matthew Martin, Timothy McCarthy, and Puja Kranz-Howe.
MIT
Introduction to Design Project
MIT Student-Designed Mobile Story Booth: In Fall 2025, the Cambridge Museum of History & Culture partnered with MIT’s Introduction to Design course, led by School of Engineering Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow George Moore. Students designed an interactive, travelling story booth where visitors could record their personal histories and add them to a digital map of Cambridge. Inspired by the city’s rich past, the students created a custom keyboard with each key representing a different piece of Cambridge. Their innovative project was presented at MIT in Fall 2025.
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