Blue Collar 101: Working on the Railroad

NOTE: This Blue Collar 101 Session is a special DAY & TIME

FREE to the Public
Registration Required

What actually happens to keep thousands of commuters moving across our regional rail network every single day? Who operates the locomotives, manages passenger safety on the move, and maintains the heavy machinery that keeps one of America's busiest transit systems running on time?

For the third session of Blue Collar 101, we're bringing together workers from the regional commuter rail network's crew operations. Frontline rail professionals will walk us through what the job actually looks like: the operational mechanics, the split-second safety protocols, the physical demands, and the career pathways into this high-consequence transit work.

This is a panel conversation for the general public and those curious about the skilled workforce that keeps our transit infrastructure functioning. Expect honest, ground-level discussion about what it means to manage transportation systems that cannot fail, how the work is learned on the tracks, and what most commuters never see because it happens in the cabs and the rail yards. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, alongside public agencies, unions, and educational institutions, is prioritizing the importance and future of our industrial labor force.

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Mill Talk: Yankees, Immigrants, and the Path to Political Power: the mill towns of Dedham and Waltham

presented by Judy Neiswander, author of Mother Brook and the Mills of East Dedham

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Many of New England’s early mill villages, such as Lowell and Lawrence, were planned as new, purpose-built industrial sites in isolated locations with little or no existing settlement. In contrast, the mill district in Dedham flourished within the boundaries of an old Yankee town with a well-established regional identity. This talk will explore tensions between the native-born residents of Dedham and the working-class neighborhood that developed around the mills, where the largely immigrant population differed in language, religion, and traditional customs. Although such tensions appeared in Waltham as well, for various reasons, immigrants achieved local political influence much more quickly in Waltham than in Dedham.

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Gallery Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Walking Tour:
From Bale to Bolt

Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

Painting with Light: the Craft, Color, and Conservation of Stained Glass: an evening of demonstration and elucidation with master craftsman Victor Azer

presented by Victor Azer, founder and owner of Azer Stained Glass Studio

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

In this one-hour talk and demonstration, Victor Azer will take audiences inside the art and craft of stained glass, from his early fascination with the medium growing up in Egypt, to his formal fine arts training at Alexandria University, to thirty years of work at the intersection of preservation and original design.

Since founding Azer Stained Glass Studio in Waltham in 1995, Victor has created custom stained glass for homes, churches, historic buildings, and municipal spaces across the region, and has specialized in the restoration and conservation of historic windows. His work ranges from Victorian entry doors to century-old ecclesiastical windows, combining traditional techniques with meticulous attention to the original materials and craftsmanship of each piece.

Victor will demonstrate the fundamentals of the craft live, including glass cutting, shaping, and assembly, giving visitors an up-close look at a skill tradition that has changed little over centuries. He will also speak about what historic restoration actually involves, what it takes to bring a damaged or deteriorating window back to life, and what a career in this remarkable and rarely seen craft looks like from the inside.

Time for audience questions will be included. This is a chance to watch a master at work and to discover a living art form thriving right here in Waltham.

Victor earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Alexandria University before moving to the United States, where he began working in stained glass studios alongside fellow artists and craftsmen. Over the course of his career, he has designed and created original stained glass windows for residential, commercial, ecclesiastical, and municipal clients, and has led the restoration and conservation of historic windows throughout the region. His studio is widely regarded for combining old-world craftsmanship with meticulous attention to the integrity of each original piece.

Mill Talk: Work, Democracy, & Your Paycheck: What Paystubs Can Tell Us About American Democracy & American Capitalism

presented by Elizabeth Tandy Shermer

When’s the last time you checked your paystub?

Most Americans don’t anymore. It can be hard to find them on HR websites. But Americans really should be checking their paystubs. Each of those deductions is a monument to fierce battles over what life should be like, on and off the job. They are also a reminder, every few weeks, that so much of what it has meant to be a citizen has been tied to the work that Americans have done.

W1BB Returns to the Air!

Honoring the legacy of Mr. Stew Perry, W1BB “Mr. 160.”

Join us in person, on the air, or online!

As part of International Museums Weekend, amateur radio operators Eric Pfeifer (NJUR) and Shannon Gibney (KC10HT) will operate the historic W1BB callsign from the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Gallery Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Walking Tour:
From Bale to Bolt

Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Blue Collar 101: Water, Sewer, and the Hidden Infrastructure of a City

A discussion with a representative of the Mass. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Division of Apprentice Standards

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

What actually happens when you turn on a tap or flush a drain in any given city? Who maintains the pipes, fixes the breaks, and keeps one of America's oldest urban areas supplied with clean water around the clock?

For the second session of Blue Collar 101, we're bringing together workers from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, the public agency responsible for delivering clean water to the city of Boston and removing wastewater from it. BWSC skilled tradespeople will walk us through what the job actually looks like: the tools, the problem-solving, the physical demands, and the career pathways into this essential public work.

We will also once again host a representative of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development's Division of Apprentice Standards into career development options available through the Commonwealth, whether you are a new graduate or mid-career changer interested in the trades and industrial work.

This is a panel conversation for the general public and those curious about the skilled workforce that keeps our cities functioning. Expect honest, ground-level discussion about what it means to maintain infrastructure that cannot fail, how the work is learned, and what most Bostonians never see because it happens underground. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, alongside public agencies, unions, and educational institutions, is prioritizing the importance and future of our industrial labor force.

Blue Collar 101 is a public education series based at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation. At a moment when conversations about workforce development and the future of work often happen without workers in the room, this program starts from a different premise: the people who build, maintain, and repair the physical world are experts, and their knowledge deserves a public platform.

This will be the first of a recurring series of events, each spotlighting a different trade or type of industrial work, including those that keep our electrical grid powered, water flowing, transit systems running on time, and our modern world functioning around us.

Gallery Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

SOLD OUT Mill Talk: The Invention of Rum: A View from Massachusetts

presented by Jordan B. Smith

THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Jordan B. Smith presents a new story of how rum was invented, made, sold, and consumed in the Atlantic world, and how that expansive story structured life and labor in colonial Massachusetts. He'll introduce you to a commodity that transformed cultures of making and drinking in large part due to its ubiquity and affordability. Moreover, he argues, rum’s emergence as the quintessential Atlantic commodity tied together myriad innovations to inspire a broader reimagining of what commodities were and how they were made. This talk builds on Jordan’s 2025 book, The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity.

Speaker Bio:

Jordan B. Smith teaches early American and Atlantic history at Widener University, where he is an associate professor of history and the pre-law advisor. He is the author of The Invention of Rum: Creating the Quintessential Atlantic Commodity (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025). Jordan received his BA in History from Carleton College and his MA and PhD from Georgetown University. His essays have appeared in Early American Studies, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, and Commonplace. Jordan and his family live in South Philadelphia.

Mill Talks at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation are free and open to the public and are made possible by the generous support of the Lowell Institute.

MILL TALK: Fantrip! Enthusiast Outings on the Boston & Maine Railroad

presented by Rick Kfoury

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

PLEASE NOTE:
This is a lecture, not a tour.

Chartered by the Mass Bay chapter of the Railroad Enthusiasts, fantrips were sponsored by the Boston & Maine, which used its equipment and ran everywhere from the 1930s onwards. They rambled over mainlines and crept up weed-choked branchlines.

These trips allowed passengers to ride on lines that had long since become freight-only, and gave photographers the chance to snap photos in unlikely places.

Many of the photos come from the J. Leonard Bachelder Collection, part of a massive collection that the B&MRRHS has helped preserve.

Rick Kfoury is a railroad historian and author with an express interest in New England railroading in the second half of the twentieth century. He has authored four books on the subject, The New England Southern Railroad Volumes I and II, Queen City Rails: Manchester's Railroads 1965-1990, and Steam Trains of Yesteryear: The Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern Story.

A 2018 graduate of the Keene State College history program, Rick currently serves as President and Newsletter Editor for the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society and is employed in college admissions for Southern New Hampshire University.

The Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization composed of people who want to share their knowledge, and learn more about, the history and operations of the Boston and Maine Railroad, its predecessors, and successors. The Society was founded in 1971 and consists of over 1,000 active members from the New England region and beyond.

It’s BACK!
NextGenSTEM Fest is a different STEM festival

To learn all about the Fest, exhibitors and the planned activities and workshops, visit:

At the NextGen STEMFest, come let your curiosity wander with interactive learning activities and experiences from some of the world's top STEM companies and University research labs. You will see and learn about regenerative medicine, new biotechnologies, hear from young people about their college STEM experiences, learn about physical computing, and more.

You can sign up to learn how to use a laser, how to 3D print nearly anything, and screen printing at Massachusetts’ only youth-led innovation maker-space, the Charles River Collaboratory, located at the Charles River Museum of Industry &Innovation.

While you are at NextGen STEMFest, you can also visit the Charles River Museum, which will be free for visitors all day!

2026 Exhibitors

For more on what each exhibitor will be showcasing, visit
nextgenstemfest.org/about-nextgen-stemfest/2026-exhibitors

Without the support of our wonderful sponsors, we would not be able to have STEMFest be a free event.

Gallery Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Mill Talk: AT&T's Idea Factory: How Bell Labs invented the technology of the future

Presented by Jon Gertner

FREE to the Public, REGISTRATION REQUIRED

The presentation will explain the origins and unique capabilities of Bell Laboratories, AT&T’s vaunted R&D organization. The work at the Labs led to many of the most revolutionary technologies of the 20th Century, including the transistor, the laser, digital communications, the solar cell, and communications satellites.

But why was Bell Labs so innovative? What went on inside this remarkable organization? How did its engineers and scientists organize and conduct their work—and how did it help the phone company and enable modern communications?

This 45-minute talk will explain the importance and function of Bell Labs; it will also tell the in-depth story of two of the Labs’ most formative technologies: the transistor and solar cell. A question-and-answer period will follow afterwards.

Jon Gertner, a journalist and historian, is the author of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of Innovation (2012) and The Ice at the End of the World: Greenland’s Buried Past and Earth’s Perilous Future (2019). His next book, about NASA’s long-running Voyager mission, will be published by Random House in the summer of 2027. A longtime feature writer on science and technology for the New York Times Magazine, Jon's stories and book reviews have also appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Book Review, and Wired Magazine. He is the recipient of grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; a fellowship from the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers; and a “public scholar” fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2020, Jon served as Princeton University’s McGraw Visiting Professor of Writing. Jon grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, and now lives with his family in nearby Maplewood.

FAQ: https://www.walthamrc.org/faq
Volunteer sign up: https://www.walthamrc.org/volunteer
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/walthamrc

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Blue Collar 101: Building Trades & the Path Through Apprenticeship

Inaugural Session 

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

What does it actually take to become a carpenter in the 21st century? What range of skills and specialties does the trade encompass, and how does someone learn them?

For the inaugural session of Blue Collar 101, we're bringing together voices from across the carpentry and building trades to answer those questions directly. Joining us will be members of Local 339 of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, including a working carpenter who has moved through the apprenticeship pathway alongside a representative from the Massachusetts Division of Apprentice Standards (Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development), who will offer a policy and workforce perspective on how apprenticeship programs function across the Commonwealth.

This is a panel conversation for the general public and those interested in pathways to the trades and industrial work. Expect honest, ground-level discussion about what the work looks like day to day, how skills are acquired, what the apprenticeship pipeline actually offers, and what the public often gets wrong about the trades. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, alongside unions, industry, and educational institutions, are prioritizing the importance and future of our industrial labor force.

Blue Collar 101 is a public education series based at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation. At a moment when conversations about workforce development and the future of work often happen without workers in the room, this program starts from a different premise: the people who build, maintain, and repair the physical world are experts, and their knowledge deserves a public platform.

This will be the first of a recurring series of events, each spotlighting a different trade or type of industrial work, including those that keep our electrical grid powered, water flowing, transit systems running on time, and our modern world functioning around us.

Free and open to the public through a generous grant from the Lowell Institute.

Mill Talk: The Legacy of 1812: How a Little War Shaped the Trans-Atlantic World

Don Hickey in dialogue with Bob Allison
Pre-Talk award ceremony at 6:15, the Mill Talk itself will begin at 7PM

Co-sponsored by The Society of the War of 1812 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

FREE to the Public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

In this engaging dialogue, noted historians Don Hickey and Bob Allison explore the enduring legacy of the War of 1812—how a seemingly small conflict reshaped the relationships among the United States, Britain, and Canada. They’ll discuss the war’s political and economic reverberations in New England, its impact on trans-Atlantic trade and diplomacy, and the ways it continues to influence North American identity and memory today. This topic has particular resonance here at the Charles River Museum, at the site of Francis Cabot Lowell’s Boston Manufacturing Company, whose prosperity was only possible due to trade disruptions caused by the War of 1812.

Public Award Ceremony: 6:15 PM

Join The Society of the War of 1812 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation for a public recognition of Professor Don Hickey, widely regarded as the foremost scholar of the War of 1812, and Suffolk University Professor Robert Allison, President of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and Chair of Revolution 250.

The Society will present each scholar with a commemorative medallion in recognition of their lifetime contributions to the field of American history.

Speaker Bio: Don Hickey

Don Hickey, a retired history professor, is a longtime student of the War of 1812. He taught for many years at Wayne State College in Wayne, NE. Called "the dean of 1812 scholarship" by the New Yorker, he has written a dozen books and more than a hundred articles. He is best known for The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict, which has been in print since 1989 and is generally considered the standard American treatment of the subject. His latest book is Tecumseh's War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America.

Links: hickeyhistory.com

In Dialogue With: Bob Allison

Robert J. Allison, a professor of history at Suffolk University, also teaches in the Harvard Extension School. He has written a series of short books about the American Revolution, on the histories of Boston and of Cape Cod, as well as longer works on the Barbary Wars and Naval hero Stephen Decatur. He edited an edition of The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Allison created two classes for The Teaching Company’s series “The Great Courses,” on colonial America (“Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies) and “The Age of Benjamin Franklin,” drawn from his teaching which has covered all phases of American history, though his primary focus is the American Revolution and the early American republic. He is president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts (https://www.colonialsociety.org/), a scholarly organization which publishes primary documents on early American history, a life-trustee of the USS CONSTITUTION Museum, and as chair of Revolution 250 Allison hosts its weekly podcast, (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1336051) a series of conversations on the Revolution with historians, museum curators, and re-enactors.

2nd SHIFT Concert: Laurie MacAllister

Tickets $25

lauriemacallister.net

In late 2024, Laurie MacAllister embarked on an exciting new chapter, launching a solo career with a sold-out performance at the legendary Club Passim.

Two decades earlier, she co-founded the beloved Americana trio Red Molly, which released seven acclaimed albums and toured both the U.S. and internationally, including appearances at MerleFest, Cayamo, and Boston Symphony Hall.

Her 2018 self-produced solo album "The Lies the Poets Tell" is a heartfelt tribute to the contemporary folk music scene, celebrating a handful of its best songs and songwriters. It features duets with six male artists, including the late Americana master Jimmy LaFave. SiriusXM praised the album as “Defining. A curated collection packed with emotional vibrancy.”

From a young girl with a quiet dream of becoming a singer, Laurie’s journey has unfolded one song at a time. Over more than two decades, she’s made her dream into a reality.

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Vacation Week: Take Flight!

Join us for a high-flying adventure where history meets modern technology! This hands-on program is designed specifically for young innovators ready to master the skies.

Program Details

• Who: Children Ages 9 and Up

• When: April 24, 2026

• Time: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

• Where: Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation

• Activities:

  • Drone Piloting: Learn the basics of flight and take the controls of a drone.

  • Aero-Design: Use engineering principles to design, make, and fly your own custom paper airplanes.

  • Innovation Challenges: Discover how historical industrial breakthroughs paved the way for modern aviation.

Plan Your Visit

• Location: 154 Moody Street, Waltham, MA.

• Parking: Free street parking and nearby paid lots/garages are available.

• Accessibility: The museum features a wheelchair-accessible entrance, parking, and restrooms.

• Admission: General museum admission is $5.00 for children and teens (ages 6-17).

  Charles River Museum +1

Don't just watch history—make it fly!

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission