Lectures & Walking Tours   

Dr. Kenn Sebesta, Director of Robotics & Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center at Boston University, will discuss Artificial Intelligence and the ethical dilemmas autonomous car programmers face with exceptional driving situations - instances where the car cannot at the same time fulfill its obligations to all road users and its passengers.  Are there solutions to this problem? Whether you are a tech enthusiast or simply curious, this lecture promises to be thought-provoking! All are welcome.  No discounts. 

Dr. Brian Kulis, Associate Professor at Boston University and Amazon Scholar, will discuss deep learning, which generates new types of data that have never existed before.  The rate of acceleration in deep learning has been shocking but exciting for most and scary to some of its practitioners and end-users.  Beyond creating images, videos, stories and more, people can now generate fulll synthetic environments in which activities are realistic, such as learning how to drive.  Where is this technology taking us and how might we apply it to our businesses and personal lives? Whether you are a tech enthusiast or simply curious about Artificial Intelligence, this lecture pomises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking experience. No discounts.

This lively 90-minute tour visits three sites to tell the history and stories of slavery and freedom. We begin at Town Hall where participants look for evidence of slavery that is hidden but in plain sight. The walk continues to an Underground Railroad house to hear the story of a person sheltered here after a daring escape to freedom. Justice seekers, Black & white are highlighted. The walk ends with a story of restorative justice at the Old Burying Ground on Walnut St. While the walk isn’t strenuous, participants can easily drive the distances from Town Hall to the 2 sites on Walnut Street. Young people ages 12 and up are most welcome. Meet in front of the main door of Brookline Town Hall, 333 Washington Street.

Did you know that there is a river running through Brookline Village? Boston's Muddy River is a significant part of Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, a string of parks from Boston Common to Franklin Park. For years the river has been easy to ignore, hidden as it is by stone and earthen walls, scrubby plants, bridges, and wide busy streets. Recently, a $93 million restoration aimed at flood control has exposed the river's beauty. Join us to stroll from Brookline Village to the Charles River in Back Bay, following the river's path. We will visit the famous Dutch House, Longwood, the Landmark Center, and the Fens with its rose garden, war memorials, and victory gardens. We end at Charlesgate for a glimpse of the river as it wends its way beneath roadways and bridges to the Charles. Meet at the Brookline Village T-stop, 31 Station Street.

Go back in time to the 1850s when Brookline's Beacon Street was still a narrow country road. By 1890, Frederick Law Olmsted had transformed it into a wide boulevard lined by apartment blocks and stores and included the nation's second electric trolley line. Join us for a stroll from Cleveland Circle to Audubon Circle as we talk about the development of Beacon Street over the years, including important historical moments as well as more contemporary changes and its reconstruction. You'll learn about the Beaconsfield Terraces, hidden paths, Stoneholm, Brandon Hall, "Taxpayer Buildings," and Coolidge-Bros. Market, S.S. Pierce, tiled MBTA Spanish-style shelters, Richmond Court, Amory Park, Longwood Mall, Cottage Farm, St. Mary's, and Audubon Circle. We'll discuss the zoning, layout, and architecture of the street, and how politics and the values of the day shaped changes. We'll cover about two miles and end at Audubon Circle. Meet at the CVS parking lot in Cleveland Circle.

Calling all chocoholics! Let us romance your senses on a Harvard Square, Cambridge Chocolate Tour! Ready to park your cah in Hahvahd and have some fun? 
Join us for a delectable adventure through historical Harvard Square where you’ll hear interesting stories about the area, learn fun facts about chocolate, and sample the best chocolate treats around from hidden gems around the city.
Whether you’re going on a date night in Boston or relaxing with friends, we can’t wait to take you on a unique, chocolate adventure with some surprises along the way!

Shawmut Peninsula is the promontory of land on which Boston, Massachusetts was built. In other words, downtown Boston was originally a hilly little peninsula almost surrounded by water. Over the past 400 years, a series of landfills terraformed this tiny outpost into the bustling metropolis it is today. Come trace Boston's original shoreline and see how cutting down a series of hills and hauling in earth from the suburbs allowed the creation of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, West End, Mill Pond, and Haymarket and complicated the construction of the Big Dig. Meet on the steps of the Arlington Church just outside the Arlington MBTA Green Line Station which is downtown, across from the Public Garden.