DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: When people think of MITAC,
it's primarily of the cultural and recreational discounts
that we've been offering to the MIT community with sports,
and theater, and family events, and music,
all those types of things.
But really, MITAC is much more than that.
It's connecting, and engaging, and building community.
- So, we're going to start off with--
DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: And we found,
even in this wild new world, this COVID world that we
have now, that this is still not only possible but also very
important to keep connecting with the MIT community
in this way.
- "Forge" is both a noun and a verb.
ANTHONY P. FARRELL: MITAC has two offices, one in the Stata
Center and one at Lincoln Laboratory,
and so we would see our customers four days a week
and be able to talk with them, chat with them,
tell them about what's new and what's coming down
the pipeline in terms of events and tickets,
and that's something we really miss being able to do.
That face-to-face communication.
DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: We said, how can we connect people still
in this virtual Zoom world?
- I love all the ones that are in the works, too.
DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: And we started with just everything.
We did food classes.
We connected with the glass lab and did a glass lab tour.
The Distinctive Collections, we worked with them
on an amazing tarot card collection.
- --right in the middle of the hand.
So what we're looking to do--
DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: We did a physics of golf talk
with DAPER, which was amazing.
- The randomness--
- Yeah, yeah.
- It's just wonderful.
Everyone has different interests,
and things appeal in different ways.
- I'm here at the far side of our chimpanzee enclosure.
SAMANTHA RUSSAK: Like everyone else, when COVID hit,
we had a lot of talks and discussions about how to pivot.
So the idea of these MITAC talks was a really great opportunity.
I was very happy to accept to take part,
because we were trying to figure out
how to still engage the community,
especially on the education side of things.
- Here with Pickles, our Cape porcupine, and Lauren, our head
education coordinator.
SAMANTHA RUSSAK: I do have to credit MITAC
with giving us the initial push into this virtual world.
And it's been an interesting transition,
but so far it seems to be working,
which is really great for us.
ANTHONY P. FARRELL: We put a lot of time and effort
into making sure that people were able to access our events.
That's one of the reasons why we started our own YouTube
channel, had to figure all of that
out so that people could watch on their own time.
Whether they missed an event that they were planning
to go to because something came up,
or they just couldn't see it at all,
it's been really good to be able to offer
that flexibility to people.
JEFFREY GOTTSCHALK: I think some of these virtual experiences,
in some ways, this is something that the pandemic has
done that's really kind of transformative
in a positive way.
Because I can see these things continuing in this way.
You know, obviously the lab is an important part of MIT,
but we're separate.
We're, like, 14 miles away.
And a lot of people who work at Lincoln Lab
don't have a real close relationship with campus.
Particularly during the pandemic,
where we're all sort of separate,
it's great that MITAC has been able to open
the doors virtually.
And through these activities, there's
been a way to have the lab community and the broader MIT
community interact in a way that's
really super and really great, and helpful
during this difficult time.
DIANE BETZ TAVITIAN: And I think, moving forward, the Zoom
events and talks will continue.
Well over 1,000, 1,300 people who
have attended some of these talks,
it has shown the need to stay connected,
to stay in touch with one another.
In a new way, but a beautiful way.
[HOPEFUL MUSIC]