Davey Winder
Friday, 04 July 2008 18:35
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The first museum in the UK dedicated entirely to the history of computing has been forced to put its exhibits into storage. Does this mean that the museum will itself become just a footnote in the history of British computing? Or is it just the start of a new era, as the National Museum of Computing opens its doors at Bletchley Park, home to the wartime code breaking Colossus machines...
If you do not count the Science Museum in London, which has a much
broader remit, then the
Museum of Computing in Swindon can claim to
be the first museum in the UK devoted to the history of computers and
related technology.
Launched in 2003, the museum has been a great
example of a typically British, run on a shoestring, volunteer staffed
institution. Don't let that description fool you. With more than 2000
hardware exhibits covering pretty much the entire history of computing,
at least 85 percent of them restored to full working order, the museum
is nothing if not serious about what it does.
With no public funding, and instead relying entirely upon public
donations and the work of a team of dedicated volunteers, it has
somehow managed to collect 2500 items of software and 1500 books,
manuals and magazines. All of historical interest.
Distinguished names in the visitors book include Sir Clive Sinclair and
HRH The Duke of Kent. Not forgetting, of course, the members of the
public who have visited in their thousands over the years. Schools have
been amongst the most welcomed of these, with kids being able to
experience the birth of video gaming through working exhibits as well
as discovering the roots of the technology they all take for granted in
the classroom.
So why has it closed and is this the end of the museum for good? read on to find out...
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