The Innovation Trail

07/01/2025

What are we looking forward to in 2025? The Massachusetts Tech Pioneers Reunion!

The Innovation Trail and the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation are inviting leaders who helped build the Massachusetts tech economy from the 1960s to the modern era to join us for a once-in-a-lifetime reunion.
If you were part of the Massachusetts Miracle… if you rode on the DEC chopper… worked in Wang
T owers… or built your career on America’s T echnology Highway (a/k/a Route 128), you’re invited. We’re building this event around 15 amazing leaders from the various “eras” of technology in Massachusetts — from minicomputers to spreadsheets to networking to e-commerce to SaaS. And yes, Bose and Polaroid, too!
Limited tickets will be available to people with ties to the MA tech sector. More details to follow!

05/12/2024

Excited to get a mention on one of the world’s most popular travel podcasts, the Atlas Obscura podcast. They visited the Ether Dome at Mass General Hospital, and spoke with Sarah Alger in an episode released this week. Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ether-dome/id1555769970?i=1000679002694
or here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/518VB3zvTYff8NobSGiXUR?si=rhrsHL2IS96Juy8_dzwfMQ
(Sarah is pictured below, hosting a special tour in 2023.)

The descrip:

The Ether Dome in Boston was once filled with the screams of patients undergoing painful surgeries. In 1846, everything changed with the first successful use of anesthesia, transforming medicine forever. Dylan Thuras explores the room where pain-free surgery began.

The Ether Dome is part of the Innovation Trail, which highlights four centuries of world-changing breakthroughs from Boston.

26/11/2024

Support Innovation Education this holiday season! We are dedicated to telling the important stories about Boston’s innovation history and why Boston is the hub of innovation. Next year we are driving to get students out on the Innovation Trail at no cost to them- join us! Donate today: https://www.theinnovationtrail.org/

19/11/2024

Our public guided tour season may have ended but there are still plenty of ways you can experience the Innovation Trail! Link in the bio or visit our website to learn more about our private tours, events, and scavenger hunts. You can also utilize our free audio guide on our website, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

14/11/2024

Thank you to Rhyan Montes Wells for designing the artwork for our new limited edition Innovation Trail water bottles! We were thrilled to partner with Rhyan and on this project. Lucky winners of our new Scavenger Hunt have received their very own limited edition water bottle.

08/11/2024

Our public tour season may have ended but you can still experience the Innovation Trail through our free audio guide! Walk along the Innovation Trail with us in your AirPods or stay bundled up at home learning about Boston’s innovation history. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or our website.

05/11/2024

So much to unpack along the Innovation Trail!

01/11/2024

A huge thank you to our exclusive banking sponsor at the Gold Champion of Innovation level, for bringing together this innovative and enthusiastic group for the Innovation Scavenger hunt this past Wednesday! SVB has been a lead sponsor of the Innovation Trail since its inception and it’s no wonder with their work with start ups and innovators to change the world. A special shout out to for organizing this event. We saw a lot of bumping and connecting out there!

31/10/2024

Hoping to collect Junior Mints tonight trick or treating? Did you know that every Junior Mint in the world is made in Cambridge? Cambridge was once the home of 66 different candy companies but now there is only one left, owned by Tootsie Brands. Learn more on the Innovation Trail!

30/10/2024

Another happy partner out on the Trail! Thank you for your support and .

Posted • Thank you for the tour of Kendall Square yesterday! The team had the best time with our guide, Alissa, and enjoyed learning about all of the history and innovation in the area.

Special shout out to our tenant .inc who is at stop #20 on the tour! Be sure to check out their display in the lobby at 700 Main Street next time you’re in the neighborhood.

23/10/2024

Congratulations to Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard on your 20th anniversary! We are so lucky to have you here in MA and on the Innovation Trail!

Last night, Boston's Prudential building lit up “Broad blue” to celebrate our 20th anniversary! We're proud to be part of the vibrant Massachusetts life sciences ecosystem, making an impact both locally and globally. Thank you to this amazing community for your collaboration and inspiration over the past two decades!

18/10/2024

Thank you to the students of the 4 Amazing Centuries of Boston Innovation Seminar at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement for joining us on the Innovation Trail this week! Innovation Trail co-founder, Bob Krim, leads this seminar along with David Mann. Thank you to founder for leading the group along the Trail!

07/10/2024

Check out Innovation Trail co-founder Scott Kirsner on Workbar's Setting the Bar podcast! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_9PxvXMb9A

What do a wrench, a radio, and a polaroid camera have in common? Watch this episode of Setting the Bar with Scott Kirsner to find out!

03/10/2024

Did you miss the fun this past weekend? Don’t worry! We’re running our new Scavenger Hunt again this Sunday! Register here: https://bit.ly/4dunCFQ

02/10/2024

Have you experienced the Innovation Trail? Tell us about it! Thank you .kinsella !

Posted • .kinsella For today’s walk I decided to follow a modified version of the Boston Innovation Trail (theinnovationtrail.org). This is an incredibly thoroughly researched and engaging walk that takes you through many of the world changing innovations that came from Boston - e.g. the first color movie, the telephone, anesthesia, CRISPR, the Human Genome Project, the guidance software that landed humans on the moon, mRNA, the Polaroid instant camera, and more. I stretched the walk to six miles with several of my own detours, but it can be done much more efficiently. The website includes a map with a description and audio for each stop.

I plan to return in the next couple weeks and see if I can take some artsy photos from the trail. Great work and .

30/09/2024

We couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better crowd for our Family Scavenger Hunt this past Saturday! Thank you to and for sponsoring this event. It was such a success that we’re doing it again this Sunday- join us! Register here: https://bit.ly/4dunCFQ