Bugbook Historical Computer Museum facts for kids
The Bugbook Historical Microcomputer Museum was a special place that showed off hundreds of old computers and related items. It was created by a computer enthusiast named David G. Larsen. The museum was located in Floyd, Virginia, and was open from 2008 to 2016. Its name came from a series of teaching books called "Bugbooks," which David Larsen helped create in the 1970s and 80s. In May 2016, the museum closed. Most of David Larsen's amazing collection was then given to the Computer Museum of America in Roswell, Georgia.
History of the Museum
David Larsen, who started the museum, collected computer items for over 40 years. He loved electronics from a young age. His journey with computers began in 1957. This was when he worked for the Navy at Remington Rand UNIVAC in St. Paul.
David's whole career involved electronics and microcomputers. He taught about instruments and automation for 31 years. This was at Virginia Tech. He has also been an amateur radio operator for six decades.
Key Computers in the Collection
The museum mainly focused on computers made between 1971 and 1981. This was when personal computers first started to appear. Some of the important items on display included:
- An exact working copy of an Apple I computer. Four original Apple-1 computers were also in the collection.
- A Mark-8 computer.
- An Altair 8800 computer, which was one of the very first ones made (serial number #21).
- A Commodore 64 computer.
