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What museums are listed? Museums open to the public, even if it is only by appointment
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ATT canter, New York, US editors last visit Mar 1996 |
USA | Not a very large museum but the exhibition is very professional and contains a lot of video material to watch. At the exposition there is even a gigantic talking robot. Nice gadget. |
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USA | Mailstop C330 Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA (John Rhodes) TEL: 505/667-4444 |
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editors last visit May 2002 |
UK | Bletchley Park, Bletchley, UK
The museum is housed in a historic building in Bletchley park. Here the Colossus and the famous Bombs have been constructed during WW II. A reconstruction of the colossus is completed by a group of volunteers. They are currently involved in reconstructing "the Bomb". Also enigma's are on display that were used by the Germans to code their messages. Which code was cracked by the Colossus and the Bombs. The museum is opened every day at 14:00 for special tours and in the weekends from 10:00-16:00, please refer to their site for the exact opening hours |
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Commercial Computing Museum Project Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | (Kevin Stumpf) TEL:519/744-2900 stumpf@waterloo.hp.com |
| Computermuseum | NL |
Computermuseum Binckhorstlaan 521 The museum depot is open to the public every third Sunday afternoon of the month you'll get a tour and coffee. The museum shop has one item worth of buying: a CD ROM with the entire history of computing The museum is in close collaboration with the History of Computing Foundation See for information: www.computermuseum.nl contact and other information: info@computermuseum.nl |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | Coleman College 7380 Parkway Drive La Mesa, CA TEL: 619/465-8226 |
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editors last visit Jan 8 2004 |
The Computer History Museum inherited the entire collection from The Computer Museum in Boston, which has merged with the Learning Center. This is definitely the largest computer museum on earth! They have all the originals from (pieces of) the ENIAC to the Apple I. The exhibition is a true travel through time. Supporting this organization is a must! See below for opening times. At our visit we (our president and editor in chief) were warmly welcomed by John Tool (COE) en Karen Tucker (PR) talking to them was a pleasure and a learning experience. After that we got a very lively and animated tour. Thank you John and Karen for your warm reception. The Computer Museum History Center Computer History Museum The Computer History Museum's Visible Storage exhibit area is open
on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with free tours starting at 1:00
and 2:30 p.m. A donation is suggested (avg. 10USD) Public Tours Media Tours |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | (internal) |
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editors last visit July 2003
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GE |
Deutsches Museum Telefon: ++49 / (0)89 / 2179-1 The museum, library and "Flugwerft Schleißheim" are open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Opening hours in the evening: Postfach 26 01 02 |
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Digital Equipment Museum Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | Burlington MA 01803 (Jamie Parker Pearson) |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | P.O. Box 3630 Wilmington, DE 19807 TEL: 302/658-2400 |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | Pusey library Cambridge, MA 02138 TEL: 617/495-2461 |
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editors last visit April 2000 |
GE |
One of the finest and modern computer museums in this field. We think it is the only one in Europe that is specialized on computing. (see also Deutsches Museum Munich / Berlin and Science Museum London) Possesses some fine 17/18th reconstructions of calculating devices. Some well preserved artifacts from the 1960/70's computer era. If you are in Paderborn, Germany don't miss this one. Just follow the " HNF forum" shields to get there This museum also hosts the biannual international conference on the history of computing |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA |
Intel museum From the lobby of the stark blue-and-white Robert Noyce Building, you walk up a ramp onto the raised floor of a large, dimly lit room. Spotlights focus your attention on the exhibits. As at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, most of the displays are technology tutorials for the layman. The visitor learns enough about the design, fabrication and function of semiconductors to appreciate that the microprocessor is the most complex manufactured product on earth. Of most interest to history buffs is a wall devoted to the evolution of microprocessors at Intel, from the first 4-bit chip of 1971 to today's multimillion-transistor Pentium devices. Anecdotes and photos of the engineers, silicon wafers etched with patterns as intricate as a street map of New York, and examples of applications in everyday products animate otherwise lifeless blocks of wire and plastic. (review by David A. Laws)(2)
2200 Mission College Boulevard www.intel.com/go/museum. |
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editors last visit Jan 2002 |
FR | Parque La Vilette, Paris, France
Science and Technique, a very large modern museum. Targeted especially to the educational elements in technology. There is tons of interactive material. There is now a special section on informatics on the second floor (level 1) Well done. The video material on display is a must see! In some cases is a little shield referring to : www.mo5.com should be done more with this link. metro: Porte la vilette line 7 It only is a pity that much of the interactive stuff is broken or out of service when the tourist season is over |
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Manchester Museum of Science and Industry Not visited by the HoCF |
UK | Manchester Museum of Science and Industry
, Liverpool Road, Castlefield , Manchester M3 4JP, UK, +44 61
832 2244 Open every day 1000-1700 Curator of Science: Dr Jenny Wetton Based on site of the world's first railway station, and has an extensive collection of early steam-power plant. Computer collection includes a Ferranti Pegasus and Hartree's mechanical differential analyzer, and some other Manchester University derived exhibits. (Information provided by Chris P. Burton, 1994-02-20) |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | (internal) One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 (Kass Smith) TEL:206/936-8824 |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | Minnesota History Center 345 Kellogg Boulevard W. St. Paul, MN 55102-1906 USA (Marcia Anderson) TEL: 612/296-0150 |
| Minotaurz computermuseum | USA |
The museum is in Los Angeles and visitors can contact p_reale@minotaurz.com by e mail at least 24 hrs. prior to visiting. contact curator on 818-884-1306 for an appointment |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA | 265 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA 02139 TEL: 617/253-4444 |
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editors last visit Jan 2002 |
FR |
Musee National Des Techniques , Conservatoire National Des
Arts et Metiers , 292 rue Saint Martin, 75003 Paris, France The building alone is beautiful enough to pay a visit. It has been
one of the most remarkable renovations I ever saw done. What a difference
with ten years ago. My fear is will they follow the Centre Pompidou
and leave maintenance aside? (Information provided by Laurent Bloch / Cornelis Robat) |
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not visited by the HoCF |
Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto Hours: 11 am to 4 PM, Friday, Saturday, Sunday How to get there: take the 101 south from San Francisco, exit at Palo Alto Located in the historic Williams House and Gardens near downtown
Palo Alto E-mail: mail@moah.org |
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Muzeum Tecniki Warszawa editors last visit Apr 2002 |
PL |
Technik Museum, housed in the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, you can not miss the building in the center of the city. Open 7 days per week. Different tickets apply, cheapest on Monday There is a unique collection on the second floor of Polish build
machines, if you understand Polish ask the wardens for info they are
very eager to explain anything to you. Taking pictures is no problem. |
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Museum fuer Verkehr und Technik Not visited by the HoCF |
GE | Museum fuer Verkehr und Technik Berlin,
Germany
General museum of traffic and technology. A small area is dedicated
to computing. The collection contains also a replica of the Z-1, re-engineered
with the help of Konrad Zuse. There is also a Z-1 simulator that runs
on a PC (on-line documentation in German). |
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Museum XX'th century editors last visit Mar 1999 |
NL | Het museum van de XX eeuw, Hoorn,
NL In cooperation with the Stichting het Computermuseum. A small exhibition is on display. |
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National Archive of the History of Computing Not visited by the HoCF |
UK | National Archive of the History of Computing
, Mathematics Tower , University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL,
United Kingdom, Telephone: +44 61 275 5845 Mostly documents relating to the computer industry, predominately in the UK, but also document collections of pioneers who may have had an international interest. ICL photograph collection. (Information provided by Chris P. Burton, 1994-02-20) |
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Persondatorns fudelse Not visited by the HoCF |
SE |
Hakenes gord, Stenungsund |
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Science and Technology Museum Not visited by the HoCF |
USA |
(located close to the university in southern Chicago) Important faculty of computing that is sponsored by IBM, and therefor
a lot about the history of IBM. And why not! |
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editors last visit May 2002 |
UK | the Science Museum, London, UK , Exhibition
Road , London SW7 2DD, UK +44 71 938 8000 Open Sunday 1100-1800, Monday-Saturday 1000-1800 The museum is free, as all other museums are in London. Scientists from the museum have reconstructed Babbage's difference engine. One can admire the contraption live in this museum. In the room where a permanent exhibition can been seen a lot of documentation is displayed on the walls. It is a pity that no printed material is available. The rest of the exhibition needs a bit of revitalizing, it looks
like an exhibition not overhauled for the past 20 years.
(Information provided by Chris P. Burton / Cornelis Robat) |
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Smithsonian Museum of American History editors last visit Aug 1996 |
USA |
Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington DC, USA
A lot of interactive expositions. This is an exhibition that is a
must for all to see. Especially appealing to those who are not computer
enthusiasts. Very professional and easy accessible for wheel chairs. - a part of the ENIAC (the other part is in Philadelphia), - an Enigma, - a Bomb (de code-break machine and predecessor of the Colossus), - an IAS, - an Apple I (in wood!), - an Altair, - a Stretch, and many other machines, movies etc. (Information provided by Stephane Bortzmeyer / Cornelis Robat) |
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Technical Museum Delft Not visited by the HoCF |
NL | Technical Museum Delft, Holland Here are the remnants of the post war computers in the Netherlands |
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Tekniska museet Not visited by the HoCF |
SE | Tekniska museet Stockholm , Sweden General museum on technology. Small section devoted to computers,
primarily items from Swedish computer history. Collection includes
the operator's console of BESK (the rest of the machine was scrapped
before anybody thought of sending it to a museum), its successor TRASK
(apparently complete, but not running due to broken parts), one DATASAAB
D21 (?) system and a few old micros (ABC 80, Compis). |
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Not visited by the HoCF |
USA |
234 East Babcock Street ; Bozeman, Montana 59771, USA; (406) 587-7545 fax (406) 587-9620 Our displays are designed to appeal from the beginner through the expert in computing. All visitors have an opportunity to view in our theater a video introducing the museum and its collections. All visitors are given an option to join regularly scheduled tours conducted by knowledgeable and friendly tour guides. We have literally hosted visitors from 3 to 93 years of age - it is an ideal family destination. Probably the biggest surprise that visitors have expressed is the unexpectedly comprehensive assortment of antique office appliance such as typewriters, arithmometers, adding machines, furniture, electric fans, staplers, pencil sharpeners, etc. that await them - not to mention hundreds of slide rules, dozens of mainframe computers and peripherals and scores of personal computers - all presented in a timeline fashion. Over 1,000 artifacts are on display in a 6,000 square foot area. The hands-on area allows the visitors to interact with antique office equipment such as typewriters, a telegraph, mechanical calculators, slide rules, etc.... Young people especially appreciate the opportunity to try for themselves these early devices. Look around you and chances are that you are near a computer or computing device. Be you in your home, car or out for a stroll - you are most probably near one. Your watch, microwave, car, ATM bank machine, telephone, pager, CD player, clock, VCR, laser disk player, dvd player - computer. All of these devices and many more have tiny silicon devices that compute and store information. By traveling through our museum's timeline you will grasp the exciting 4,000 year history of the information age. Technology becomes easier to accept when one learns about its origins in the natural process of human development. Come and join us in exploring this world! Our Location We are located 90 miles North of Yellowstone National Park in beautiful downtown Bozeman, Montana. Our street (Babcock) parallels and is one block from Main Street. The American Computer Museum is ideally situated to cater to the millions of visitors that Montana hosts annually on their way to Glacier or Yellowstone National Parks or any number of incredibly beautiful places in our state. The Gallatin Field Airport (9 miles from Bozeman) is serviced by Delta, Northwest and Horizon Air. Our museum is detailed in many tourist publications including the AAA Tourbook for Idaho, Montana & Wyoming. Hours: June/July/August: 10am to 4pm, 7 days a week September - May: 10am to 4pm, Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday & Saturday Closed July 4th, Christmas Day, New Years Day Admission: Adults 13 and over: $3.00 Children 6 to 12: $2.00, under 6 years of age: Free Contacting Us
By Phone: (406) 587-7545 By Fax: (406) 587-9620 By email americancomputermuseum@computer.org |
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editors last visit Aug 1996 |
USA |
Computer Museum Boston USA, the physical collection of this museum has been transferred to www.computerhistory.org The collection contains:
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Totnes Museum Not visited by the HoCF |
UK | Totnes Museum , 70 Fore Street, Totnes,
Devon, UK, +44 803 863 821 Interesting fact is that Charles Babbage was born in Totnes, and there is a collection and exhibition of Babbage memorabilia. (Information provided by Chris P. Burton, 1994-02-20) |
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Last Updated on February 29, 2004 | Feel free to mail the editors |
Footnotes & References
| 1 | Though we would like to include every possible museum, we limit the listing to museums that are freely accessible by the public, or on appointment, that have a significant computer(history) department or displays of significant developments in that field. Or museums that have a connection to the History of computing through their collections otherwise. |
| 2 | ( David A. Laws - Special to the Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/destinations/u_s_regions/west/northern_california/bay_area/2560491.htm) |