While PEMS is under development, we are participating in public programming such as Pi Day and creating one temporary exhibit annually. These pop-up shows give visitors a sense of what the new museum will be like, and help to get everyone from funders to teachers to families excited about the new museum.
Albert Einstein: Champion of Racial Justice
Albert Einstein: Champion of Racial Justice
Visit this 2023 pop-up show about Einstein’s close friendships with African Americans in Princeton, and with national leaders such as Paul Robeson (left).
Find background resources and the current location on the detail page.
Einstein’s Attraction to Magnetism
Einstein’s Attraction to Magnetism
When he was five years old, Albert’s father gave him a compass, sparking the boy’s curiosity in invisible forces. Learn more about his interest and about the wonders of magnetism at a free exhibit, "Einstein's Attraction to Magnetism," funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.
The exhibit has been extended through November, 2024. Watch Facebook for announcements of weekend family fun in October and November.
Einstein’s Brain: Mind of a Genius
Einstein’s Brain: Mind of a Genius
Dr. Einstein often said he thought in pictures, not words. His imaginative methods for working out problems are well established, but did you know that he intentionally fueled his subconscious by taking breaks to play his violin or walk across Princeton?
The 2025 pop-up exhibit, "Einstein's Brain: Mind of a Genius," offers a glimpse into the workings of the human brain and how one of history's greatest thinkers used ingenuity, visualizations, experience, and persistence to reveal a wholly new understanding of the universe.
Exhibit visitors can explore questions about the human mind, how we think, and what role creativity played in Einstein's work. They can even try a few visualization challenges for themselves.
We are creating two versions of the exhibit.
The first is for families and will open May 9 across from Concord Pet store at the Princeton Shopping Center, North Harrison Street, Princeton. The other, for a general audience, will be on display in Dohm Alley, next to 102 Nassau Street in Princeton, opening May 21. Both are outdoors and open around the clock. They include:
-- The Structure of the Human Brain
-- Einstein's Thinking Processes and the Power of Play
-- What We Have Learned (Or Not) From Examining Einstein's Brain
-- Where is Einstein's Brain Today?
-- Minds-on Mental Challenges
Sponsored by the William Watt Family Foundation and the FirstBank Charitable Foundation. Special thanks to the Princeton Shopping Center, Stanley Dohm, Experience Princeton, and the Municipality of Princeton.
Sample panels from the Nassau Street exhibit opening May 21, 2025. Photos of Einstein's brain used by permission, OHA 184.06 Harvey Collection, Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine.
