Museum of Computing re-opens this weekend

Fancy a day out in Swindon?

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7 August 2009 12:15 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

18 months after it closed, the re-opening of the UK's first dedicated Museum of Computing takes place tomorrow, Saturday 8 August, in its new premises at Theatre Square in Swindon.

The Museum's latest exhibition, with hundreds of exhibits, "traces the evolution of computing beyond the mainframe; through desktop PCs at work and at home, portables, arcade games, games consoles, handhelds and mobile devices".

There's also the "Pong to Playstation" Zone, allowing visitors to try their hand at working vintage games consoles with Pong, Pacman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario Bros and Space Invaders.

Unusual items highlighted as on display include a 1989 Nintendo Power Glove with early motion-controlled sensor tech, Intel's full-size, real-life surfboard with an inbuilt tablet and touchscreen computer and a Science of Cambridge Mark 14 with a calculator style LED display, the first computer designed by Sir Clive Sinclair.

With funding from Intel, and run by volunteers, the Museum, which is twice the size of its previous venue, will initially open every Saturday from 9.30am to 5pm.

Admission fees are £7.00 for a family ticket, £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for kids, although children under 5 go free.

The Museum is in Swindon town centre at 6-7 Theatre Square, Swindon SN1 1QN, at the top of Regent Street opposite the new Central Library. There's more info, including special events, to be found at www.museumofcomputing.org.uk.