London: Group Visit to the The National Museum of Computing

Group Visit to The National Museum of Computing

The National Museum of Computing is an independent charity. It houses the world’s largest collection of functional historic computers and World War II machines.

The venue is a museum situated adjacent to the main Bletchley Park complex and is an independent museum with its own separate entrance and admission fee (currently £15, with some concessions). Their website is tnmoc.org.

There is a car park (Postcode MK3 6DS), but the site is only a short walk (less than 15 minutes) from Bletchley train station. Trains run from London Euston and typically take around 53 minutes. Tell the person at the entrance barrier you want to visit the Museum of Computing in Block H for directions.

It is home to the world’s largest collection of working historic computers and is recognised as one of England’s top 100 “irreplaceable places”. It houses the functional historic computers and World War II machines, including Enigma, Lorenz, the working Turing-Welchman Bombe, the rebuilt Colossus (the world’s first electronic computer), and the WITCH (the world’s oldest working digital computer).

The Museum enables visitors to follow the development of computing from the ultra-secret pioneering efforts of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the rise of personal computing in the 1980s and beyond.

We will meet at the museum, but we need to know in advance who will be coming as the museum needs to know numbers to ensure there are enough volunteers present, and to arrange a steady flow through the museum. So please let Brian know if you are interested in coming by the 15^th April using this dedicated email  brian.events@techie.com.

Proposed outline itinerary

• Arrive around 10:30 am when the museum opens.
• Purchase a ticket at the entrance: current adult day ticket is £15.00
• Meet in the cafe (with shop and toilets) for a brief introduction
• 11:00 am: Start the visit in the Bombe Gallery with a 30-minute talk and demonstration about the WWII code breaking machine (If you arrive after the 11:00 talk has started do not worry as the talks will be held at several other times during the day)
• 11:45 am: Move to the Tunny Gallery and then the Colossus Gallery for a 45-minute talk and demonstration of the Lorenz code breaking machines together with the world’s first electronic digital computer.
• 12:30 pm: Lunch break in the cafe (hot and cold drinks and snacks available) or bring a picnic and eat outdoors (weather permitting)
• After lunch have a free-flow visit around the rest of the museum
• Volunteer guides will be available to tell you about the collections
• Other galleries to see include:
  • The first-generation gallery – early valve-based computers and the WITCH computer
  • The large systems gallery – mainframe computers
  • The pop-up gallery – temporary mini exhibitions
  • The software gallery – the evolution of computer programs
  • The PC gallery – personal computer advancements
  • The Internet gallery – the internet’s history and impact
  • There are also cabinets in the corridors displaying items such as slide rules and calculators
• 5:00 pm: The museum closes