This is where we show you why it is amazing to be in grad school, at MIT and at NSE!
hmmm "fun things to do" is probably too big of a title.....
The full list of MIT student groups is available at ASA (Association of Student Activity) website here.
To learn more about different groups, go to the Activities Midway to find most student groups represented to learn about what they do and how you can join. Warning you might end up on a lot of email lists if you check out too many groups, but never fear you can unsubscribe using either moira or mailman's link at the bottom of the email to unsubscribe.
The following is some of the activities that we have enjoyed:
MITOC is outdoors club for anyone interested in having adventures and meeting cool people. MITOC activities are diverse and include just about anything that one can do outdoors: biking, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, rafting, kayaking, cross-country skiing, ice skating, down-hill skiing, back country skiing, snowshoeing, etc…. The best way to get involved in MITOC is to sign up on the MITOC website and attend one of the many circuses or the January winter school. MITOC owns two cabins in New Hampshire which are open to all MITOC members. During the circuses ~30-60 MITOC members travel up to the main cabin near Rumney. You spend the night there and the days going on epic hiking trips or other adventures and meeting new folks. The winter school is the best event of the year. It attracts over 500 students annually from MIT and the surrounding boston colleges, Harvard etc… In winter school you spend two evenings a week learning about the essentials of dressing, eating, packing, hydrating, planning, and organizing winter hiking trips. Often MITOC will bring in famous mountaineers to give lectures as well. Every weekend for the month of January you will be able to attend epic hiking trips like: sleeping in snow caves and eating dumplings on top of a mountain for new years, ice hockey on frozen lakes in the wilderness, ice climbing on the cliffs of Rumney, or winter mountaineering on Mt Washington (home of the worst weather in the world).
With MITOC you will make lifelong friends and have many adventures during your time at MIT and afterwards. My own adventures after MITOC have included 2 successful summits on Mt. Rainier, Mt. Whitney in California, and next month Mount Fuji in Japan.
Don't see a group that fits what you're looking for? You can start your own!
Intramural Sports
NSE has a Athletics chair who helps organize intramural (IM) sports teams for the department. There are a wide array of different sports. Our department has typically had teams who play football, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, and volleyball. There are three IM Sports seasons so look out for emails from the athletics chair for how and when to participate. Even if our department doesn't have a team your living community might or you can sign up as a free agent to join a random team (athletics chair may be able to help you find a team too).
Club Sports
Lulu Li has been enjoying MIT kickboxing club, which meets bi-weekly for 2 hours each. Becky Romatoski plays on the Women's Ice Hockey team. Most of these clubs have their own website so you can just search the internet for MIT followed by the club you are interested in or use the ASA database here and search the athletics category. Most teams allow you to join regardless of skill level or previous experience so it's a great time to try things out. Don't see your sport? You can start you own.
Recreational Sports and Physical Education (PE) Classes
PE: grad students can sign up for PE classes too (through MIT rec sports' own website system at the beginning of each semester). Certain classes are more popular than others, and undergrad does have priority over grad students in signing up for classes.
Group Exercise: MIT gyms offer group exercise classes throughout the day. You need to purchase a pass to join these exercises, but there is one free session at noon Monday through Friday that everyone can attend. Just show up 5-10 minutes early to make sure you get a spot. Also these sessions tend to be more crowded at the beginning of each semester.
Community Wellness Classes
These are classes offered through MIT medical, mostly yoga and pilate type of classes, and they generally cost some of amount of $$. See complete list of classes at http://wellness.mit.edu/classes/wellness/index
In addition to the more regimented athletic activities, MIT has many facilities for you to use from the Olympic-sized swimming pool for laps to squash courts, a multipurpose rink, basketballs, badminton and volleyball nets, and our very own sailing pavilion (highly recommended to take the sailing class so you can sail whenever you want) which are all free!
In addition, there are other events that happen less frequently but here's how you can find out about them:
Special thanks to the following contributors: