Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation

The Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham traces American industry and invention from the 19th century into the 21st, focusing on what emerged in the Charles River watershed and along Route 128, once known as America’s Technology Highway. The museum is housed at the site of the Boston Manufacturing Company, considered the first industrial mill in the United States, and uses that setting to tell the story of how manufacturing changed the country.

Programs mix history with living memory. A free Mill Girls in Story and Song tour examines the women who formed the nation’s first industrial workforce in the Waltham and Lowell mills, using their songs, images and artifacts. The Tech Pioneers Oral History Project records founders, engineers, writers and advocates from the Massachusetts Miracle era. A current exhibit shows previously unseen letters and patent documents between Nikola Tesla and the Waltham Watch Co.

What to Know

• The museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Visitors can use the free Bloomberg Connects app for audio, video and extra content.
• The Tesla exhibit, The Speed of Innovation, runs through April 2027.
• Visitor parking information is available from the museum ahead of a visit.