At the MIT Kavli Institute a group of researchers, engineers, technicians, and students are working on a wide variety of astronomical instruments, for both ground- and space-based observatories. Currently our largest project underway is an Integral Field Spectrograph, or IFS, for the 6.5m Magellan telescope located in the Atacama region of Chile. We are creating something like a high-resolution retina, an optical nerve bundle and a processing brain for this giant 6.5m eye fixed on the sky. Comprising 2,400 fibers feeding 24 sensitive digital cameras, it enables astronomers to study not just a few objects in detail with conventional spectrographs, but also detailed observations of anything and everything that falls on this “retina”. Years of prototype development and planning preceded the development and build phase that started in 2018, and scheduled to be completed this spring. Come and visit our labs so we can show you the intricate design and challenges of this very special eye to the universe.