The National Museum of Computing facts for kids
The Entrance
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| Established | 2007 |
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| Location | Bletchley Park, UK |
The National Museum of Computing is a special place in the United Kingdom. It collects and fixes old computer systems. The museum is located at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It first opened its doors in 2007.
The museum is in a building called Block H. This building was the world's first place built just for computers! By the end of World War II, it held six Colossus computers.
Inside, you can see a rebuilt Colossus computer. There are also exhibits about how codes were broken at Bletchley Park. The museum shows how computers have grown from the 1940s until today. Many of the machines on display actually work!
Even though it's at Bletchley Park, The National Museum of Computing is a separate charity. It raises its own money and has its own entrance. The museum does not get money from the government. It depends on people and groups who want to support it.
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Discover Amazing Computers
The museum has many famous early computers. One of the most important is a working Colossus Mark 2 computer. A team of volunteers, led by Tony Sale, rebuilt it between 1993 and 2008. Colossus was a secret machine that helped break enemy codes during World War II.
Since 2018, you can also see a rebuilt Turing-Welchman Bombe. This machine was used to help break codes from the Enigma machine.
Historic Machines on Display
The museum is home to the world's oldest working digital computer. It's called the Harwell Dekatron / WITCH. You can also find computers from the 1960s, like the Marconi Transistorised Automatic Computer (T.A.C.), Elliott 803, and 905.
There's also a large ICL 2966 mainframe from the 1980s. An IBM 1130 from the 1960s and an analogue computer are also there.
Hands-On Fun
The museum has a fun retrocomputing gallery where you can try out old computers. Several machines are being fixed, like the PDP-8 and a PDP-11 system. This system was once used for air traffic control near London.
You can also see mechanical and electronic calculators. There's a display about slide rules and two Cray supercomputers. A special gallery lets you try ten different personal computing machines.
A team is also rebuilding the Cambridge University EDSAC computer. You can see their progress!
Learn to Code and Play Games
There's a special room with many BBC Micro personal computers. These are used to teach visitors how to program. The museum also has a space for temporary exhibits. You can even play video game consoles from different time periods.
All these displays show how computing has changed from the 1960s to today.
The Internet's Story
Since 2009, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has supported a gallery about the Internet. It shows how packet switching was first developed. This led to the creation of the first public data networks.
The museum also has a cafe and a gift shop.
Plan Your Visit
The museum is open six days a week, from Tuesday to Sunday. It's open from 10:30 am to 5 pm. It's also open on most school and bank holidays.
You can join a guided tour at 2 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and at 10:30 am on Thursday. It's a good idea to book your tour ahead of time because spots are limited.
There is a small fee to enter the museum. This money helps cover the museum's costs. They also offer family tickets and yearly passes.
Demonstrations and talks about the Colossus and Tunny machines usually happen every hour. The times might change a little depending on how many visitors are there.
How the Museum is Supported
The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) relies on donations from people and companies. It also uses the money from admission fees. Many groups have helped the museum. These include Fujitsu, Google UK, IBM, and the British Computer Society (BCS).
In March 2018, the museum asked for help to build a new gallery for the Turing-Welchman Bombe. They raised over £43,000 through a special online campaign. They also received an extra £20,000 in direct donations.
