If you think MIT is all work and no play, let us take you for a spin in the big, wacky, comfortable chair called IAP. Sandwiched between the spring and fall semesters, the Independent Activities Period is a special four-week term at MIT that fills the month of January.
For more than 50 years, IAP has given MIT students, faculty, and staff a unique opportunity to organize, sponsor and participate in a wide variety of personal and intellectual adventures beyond their academic routine. IAP activities may take almost any form, from how-to sessions, forums, lecture series and films, to tours, recitals, and contests. Here are some offerings from over the years:
- BioHab Mycotecture: the coming (r)evolution in regenerative food and materials
- Beekeeping 101
- Make it: Pinball
- Ikebana: The Art of Japanese Flower Arranging
- MIT Mystery Hunt
- Ballroom Dancing