Lowell Institute facts for kids

The Lowell Institute is an educational foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It offers both free public talks and advanced learning programs. The Institute was started with a large gift of money from John Lowell Jr., who passed away in 1836. It began its work in the winter of 1839, with the first lecture given on December 31, 1839, by Edward Everett.

How the Lowell Institute Started

John Lowell Jr. left a significant amount of money in his will to create the Lowell Institute. He wanted 10% of the money's yearly earnings to be added back to help it grow even more. He also said that none of the money should be used to build a special building for the lectures.

The will also set up rules for who would manage the fund. The person in charge, called the trustee, gets to choose their own replacement. However, they must always pick a male descendant from Lowell's grandfather, John Lowell, if there is one who is capable and has the Lowell name. This single trustee is completely responsible for choosing all the speakers and the topics of the lectures.

The first trustee was Lowell's cousin, John Amory Lowell. He managed the trust for over 40 years. After him, his son Augustus Lowell took over in 1881. Then, in 1900, Augustus's son Abbott Lawrence Lowell became the trustee. He also became the president of Harvard University in 1909.

What the Lowell Institute Does

The founder of the Institute planned for two main types of learning programs: popular lectures for everyone and more advanced lectures for deeper study.

Public Lectures for Everyone

The popular lectures are usually a series of about six to twelve talks. They cover many different subjects, from science to history. The Institute has always paid its speakers well, which has attracted many famous people from America and Europe to give talks. Many books have even been published based on these lectures.

In the middle of the 20th century, the Lowell Institute decided to get into broadcasting. This led to the creation of the WGBH-FM radio station in 1952 and the WGBH-TV television station in 1955. Today, the WGBH Educational Foundation is one of the largest producers of public television and public radio programs in the United States.

As of 2013, the Lowell Institute still sponsors a yearly series of free public lectures on current science topics. These talks are held at the Museum of Science Boston. The Institute also supports the Forum Network, which is a public media service from WGBH. It shares free public lectures online from many different partners in Boston and beyond.

Advanced Learning Programs

The founder also had a vision for advanced learning, which was quite ahead of his time. This idea is now known as "university extension," where university-level learning is offered to the public. Over the years, the Institute has provided many kinds of advanced instruction.

For example, the first freehand drawing classes in Boston were taught there. Later, when public schools started offering drawing, the Institute stopped its program. A school for practical design was also run for many years. In 1903, it moved to the Museum of Fine Arts. The Institute also provided instruction for working people at the Wells Memorial Institute until 1908. This work was then taken over by the Franklin Foundation, which led to the creation of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (BFIT).

The Institute also worked with the Boston Society of Natural History (now the Museum of Science Boston) to maintain a Teacher's School of Science. This program still offers professional development courses for high school science teachers.

For many years, professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) gave advanced lecture courses. In 1903, these were replaced by an evening "School for Industrial Foremen," which shared MIT's classrooms and labs. This became known as the Lowell Institute School. It stayed on the MIT campus until 1996, when it moved to the Northeastern University Engineering School. Today, the Lowell Institute School is part of Northeastern's School of Professional Studies. It offers programs that lead to certificates, associate's degrees, or bachelor's degrees.

In 1907, the Institute began offering some basic courses from Harvard University for free to the public. These courses had the same study and exam requirements as those for university students. This program eventually grew into the Harvard University Extension School. It now offers hundreds of courses and degree programs to people living in Greater Boston.