Explore MIT's Nuclear Reactor Lab through a unique opportunity to tour the MIT Reactor (MITR) and its facilities, offered to school groups, professionals, and the public. Choose between our in-person and virtual lectures and tours to learn facts and insights about nuclear science, radiation safety, how we use the MITR, and our reactor is operated. Lectures and tours aren't offered outside of normal business hours or on MIT Holidays. We're excited to feed your curiosity about nuclear science and engineering through our lectures and tours!

In-Person Tour Requests

When we're accepting tour requests again..

In-person tours for groups of up to 20 people run on weekdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm, and last 60-90 minutes. Please request tours at least 7 business days in advance, with a 2:00pm latest start time if having an optional lecture. Small groups (5 or fewer people) and individuals can join tours based on availability listed on the tour request form. Larger groups should submit a contact form before submitting a tour request to discuss if we'd be able to accommodate the size of the group.

The reactor shuts down for quarterly routine maintenance outages during the first two to two-and-a-half weeks of January, April, July, and October. We do not offer tours during our quarterly outages. Each request is manually reviewed by one person; please reach out to nrl-outreach@mit.edu if your requested tour dates are within the next 2 weeks and you haven't heard back about your request (delays are usually based on form submission volume)

➡️ If you have 5 or fewer people in your group, you'll need to select a predetermined tour date and time. Help us offer combined general interest tours that match people's actual availabilities by submitting this survey

Virtual Tour Registration

Individuals or groups can sign up for a virtual tour using the form below - our virtual tours don't have a participant limit. Our virtual tours have a 60-minute dedicated time slot to accommodate questions from the audience, but can end early or run long depending on questions or discussion at the end (we love questions!).

After being introduced to the design and use of the MITR in a few primer slides, you’ll watch footage of the stops along our in-person tour route while being live-narrated by one of our staff members. Virtual tours are family-friendly and available to the public.

Educational or large sized groups can request a private tour, with or without a full 60 minute lecture presentation before the tour, by submitting a contact form inquiry.
 

Here are some bonus videos to introduce you to our facility before you come for a tour or have your virtual one. These videos are different than our virtual tour and can help tour participants become more engaged by introducing them to topics in advance to create a small amount of familiarity behind them.

Reactor Tour Video

Take a look inside MIT's Nuclear Reactor Lab (K-12 audience):

5 Things You Wouldn't Expect a Nuclear Reactor To Do

Some surprising ways you can utilize a nuclear reactor, specifically at MIT's Nuclear Reactor Lab: