The Innovation Trail
Share
Why is Boston the most innovative city in America? Find out on a guided tour of The Innovation Trail!
The Innovation Trail brings you face-to-face with four centuries of breakthrough discoveries in science, medicine, entrepreneurship, and technology—innovations that sparked right here in Boston and Cambridge before taking off to change the world as we know it. From inoculations to railroad cars and subways, ice cubes to light bulbs, candy to telephones, ether to info-tech, Boston and Cambridge hav
12/21/2025
This was a BIG year for The Innovation Trail, and we wanted to recap some of the things we did in 2025, thanks to your support.
• We created a brand-new one hour walking tour in Downtown Boston, as well as a scavenger hunt activity, and ran them over the summer and fall with private groups and tourists. (Kudos to Raine Bernhard and Ben Maitland-Lewis of SVB for their help!)
• With funding from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, we created a series of videos about other revolutions that our state helped spark — in sports, social change, healthcare, and more. (See our YouTube channel, linked below.)
• Took part in the Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism, where Gov. Maura Healey presented our co-founder, Dr. Bob Krim, with a special “award of appreciation” for his impact on the tourism industry.
• Supported BioMed Realty and artist Yetti Frenkel in creating new large-scale murals in Kendall Square celebrating innovators like Edwin Land, Julia Child, Ellen Swallow Richards, and more.
• Ran our biggest walking tour to date, as part of Boston Harborfest in July. Like many of our tours, it included a cohort of students — a group from Cambridge Public Schools.
• Worked with the Museum of Science to create a free evening event looking at how the American Revolution laid the foundation for Boston’s culture of innovation, featuring Jasmine (Jazz) Dottin and Robert Allison as speakers.
• Brought on an amazing executive director, Alham Saadat, in October — a scientist, bioethicist, and non-profit leader who was previously at the Broad Institute.
• Organized the first-ever Tech Pioneers Reunion with our friends at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation. Gov. Michael Dukakis even showed up!
• Just in time for Halloween, we released a series of videos focused on Cambridge’s candy-making history… tasting different candies invented in the city with a group historians and food writers. (Link below.)
• Celebrated our board member Namrata Sengupta, Ph.D., who was awarded the Founder's Award this year from the Kendall Square Association.
• Began convening all of the great science centers and museums in the Boston area to better promote our city as THE place to visit if you — or your kids — are interested in STEM. We want to build momentum and better promote this idea in 2026, but we’ve already created a page on our website that lists them all. How many have you been to?
We’d love to see you at one of our events in 2026 — or set up a tour for a special group. You can keep tabs with what’s new here on FB, onLinkedIn, Instagram, or YouTube.
Also, this December has been our best month ever for individual donations since we were founded. Thanks, as always, for your support!
https://youtube.com/?si=AQb1tfOwiIe0xvfB
Sharing a few more of the interviews we recorded at the Tech Pioneers Reunion last month… including Sec. Eric Paley of .
Could this Cambridge-made candy be on the menu at a fine dining establishment?
Or is it the thing that gets left on the bottom of the trick-or-treating bucket?
Continuing our candy-tasting series as Halloween approaches… with:
of
of Boston Magazine
of
Marieke van Damme and Beth Folsom of
Was this really a week ago? Thanks to everyone who came out for the first-ever Massachusetts Tech Pioneers Reunion, hosted at the of Industry and Innovation. Including former Mass. governor Michael Dukakis, who expressed his thanks to the entrepreneurs and innovators in the room.
Sampling Junior Mints outside the factory where they’re made. It’s the last still-operating factory on what was once known as “Confectioners Row.” With:
of
Beth Folsom and Marieke van Damme of
In this series, we take a walk on the Innovation Trail with a group of food writers and historians to sample candies that were invented in Cambridge… Including some that are still made here!
Our last three public events of the fall are 10/17, 10/18, and 10/29. We’d love to see you in Boston or Cambridge! Info and tix (some free!) on our site.
We love the new “Genius Within” installation by , outside at One Broadway in Cambridge. Check it out and learn about inspirational pioneers past and present!
08/24/2025
From Fannie Farmer to the Frappuccino, Junior Mints to Julia Child, here’s our look at food and beverage innovations that were born in Massachusetts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX-8objg8qM
Featuring interviews with Jeremy Spindler of Spindler Chocolates, Susan Wilson of the Omni Parker House, Jim Koch of Samuel Adams, and George Howell of George Howell Coffee.
Food Innovation — from Fannie Farmer to the Frappuccino, Junior Mints to Julia Child If you’ve ever had a chocolate chip cookie or a Frappuccino … used teaspoons and cups as part of a recipe…or nuked some leftovers in the microwave… you’ve be...
08/15/2025
Our new one-hour “Hidden History + Innovation” walk starts right here at the sign. Dates and info in our profile and on our site.
Thanks + !
Shooting hoops, spiking the volleyball, throwing a touchdown, and teeing off all have ties to Massachusetts…
02/18/2025
March 26th: Join us for a special "hidden history" tour that will get you into two of Boston's most interesting STEM spaces.
Benefactor tickets include a free Innovation Trail baseball cap.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/innovation-trail-hidden-history-tour-tickets-1247632645829?aff=oddtdtcreator
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Category
Contact the business
Address
154 Moody St
Waltham, MA
02453