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Computer Structures book by Bell and Newell. The book established the artifact "collection list" for museum. Conversations regarding a museum begins at DEC Maynard. The Whirlwind Computer is rescued from the junkpile by Ken Olsen and Bob Everett. First exhibit opens in a converted closet in the lobby of DEC Building 12, Maynard, MA. Generations exhibit. The Digital Computer Museum (TDCM) is founded at DEC Marlboro, MA. Located in the "tower building" ground lobby and open balcony. SEPTEMBER: TDCM in Marlboro opens to the public. APRIL: First TDCM annual report. OCTOBER: Exhibit - Pioneer Computer Timeline MARCH: TDCM becomes The Compuer Museum (TCM) as an independent, non-profit, charitable foundation SUMMER: TCM employs their first interns. The Computer Museum Report is issued an ISSN (an International Standard Serial Number). MAY: TCM hosts symposium on Creating Archives of Information Processing. Video archiving was featured.  OCTOBER: TCM holds its first cash and carry indoor yard sale. MAY: Pre-Preview Party for the museum's new wharf location. SPRING: Museum Mouseathon. Teams built microprocessor-based robots to find their way through a maze to the cheese. SEPTEMBER: Exhibit of Robert Tinney's original artwork for BYTE magazine covers. Honoring the 10th anniversary of the magazine. NOVEMBER: Exhibit - MicroMouse JANUARY: Exhibit - The Electronic Paintbush. Results of a competition sponsored by CalCamp in honor of their 25th anniversary. SPRING: Personal Computer Competition. AUGUST:  participates in 10,000 sq. ft. "Computer Wonderland" exhibit in the Seibu Department Store in Japan. MARCH: SIGGRAPH '86, Part I and II. JULY: Building Blocks quilt by Penny Nii TCM signs a joint collecting agreement with the National Museum of American History. First TCM Annual Report APRIL: Exhibit - By Kids Design. Features winners of national computing creativity contest for students and teachers. JULY: Pilot PC Resource Center opens. OCTOBER: First Computer Bowl DECEMBER: Educational program featuring The Computer as an Artist's Tool: Boston Artists Show Their Methods.  Exhibit - How Tall Are You? FEBRUARY: Exhibit software shows visitors how core memory works. MAY: TCM sponsors Creativity in the Computer Arts: A NEWCOMP Symposium. FALL: Exhibit - Atari Race Car Simulator. Enhancement of the "The Computer and the Image" Gallery, AKA the Graphics Gallery. New Resource Center opens featuring computer-based instructional software and hardware. JUNE: The Walk-Through Computer: How Computers Work OCTOBER: TCM and MIT volunteers rebuild the Johnniac. MARCH: Exhibit - Science in Depth JUNE: Exhibit - People and Computers: Milestones of the Revolutiion OCTOBER: Exhibit - Computers in Art and Design: The 1991 Sigggraph Traveling Exhibition. TCM receives grant from the National Endowment for Humanities for "People and Computers" exhibit. APRIL:  Two Days in "Virtual Reality. One of the first public networked virtual world demonstrations. Award-winning advertising agency, Mullen, South Hampton designs four posters for TCM. FEBRUARY: The Smart Machines gallery is enhanced and is devoted to artificial intelligence Two-year grant from NSF enabling TCM to explore OLCM (Online Computer Museum). Hewlett-Packard gifts TCM with high-end graphics workstation in which visitors can design their own bicycle. APRIL: TCM holds the first ever Internet auction JULY: Museum creates a 45-minute audiotaped tour of the major galleries. NOVEMBER: Exhibit - The Networked Planet: Traveling the Internet Highway. TCM creates email service establishing a museum presence on the Internet. APRIL: Exhibit - The Robotic Artist: AARON in Living Color. OCTOBER: The Walk-Through Computer 2000. Simmons College awards Gwen Bell an honorary degree for her role as Founding President of the Museum. JUNE: Best Software for Kids gallery opens. AUGUST: Best of Boston award from Boston Magazine. OCTOBER: "25Years of the Microprocessor" poster is created by the History Center. The Official Computer Bowl Trivia Book by Christopher Morgan is published. JANUARY: Celebration of the birthday of 2001's computer Hal. MARCH: Ken Olsen is named Museum Fellow. JUNE: Education Program  Center (EPC) established. Exhibit - Flight Simulator which mimics the thrills of a stunt pilot. Additional exhibits are added that build on TCM's historical offerings. First TCM Fellow Awards ceremony held in California. Gene Amdahl. TCM closes doors at Museum Wharf. TCMHC becomes Computer History Museum.
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First official publication - Computer Generations booklet which accompanied the exhibit. NOVEMBER: Gwendolyn Bell joins museum operations and becomes first director of TDCM. SEPTEMBER: Maurice Wilkes, inventor of the EDSAC, gives the TDCM inaugural lecture. SEPTEMBER: Exhibit - Art by Computer - The Program and Art Behind the Museum's Murals. Harold Cohen and AARON. JUNE: Archives and library established for scholarly use. First Archives Advisory Committee meeting. FALL: Four Computer Generations Gallery is added to the Pioneer Computer Timeline exhibit. DECEMBER: Maurice Wilkes' play "Pray Mr. Babbage" is performed at TCM FALL: TCM relocates to 300 Congress Street at the Museum Wharf in Boston, MA. First TCM Store Catalog JULY: The "teapot" comes to TCM as reported by Gwen Bell. The teapot was a 3D computer model which became a standard reference object in computer graphics. MAY:COBOL's 25th anniversary celebrated at TCM. SEPTEMBER: Second Annual Attic Sale. Previously named the Yard Sale. DECEMBER: Real-Time Event, Fashion Show, and Auction. FEBRUARY: TCM celebrates ENIAC's 40th birthday. SPRING: TCM assembles a set of classic clips showing computing from 1920 to 1980. MAY: TCM's fifth birthday party. NOVEMBER: 25th anniversary of computer games featuring exhibits and symposia on past, present, and future games. First TCM Fellows Awards honoring Commodore Grace Hopper. FEBRUARY: Compare the Candidates program allows visitors to contrast presidential candidates' views. MAY: First Teachers Worksshop supported by the Massachusertts Council on the Arts and Humanities. AUGUST: First traveling exhibit, Computers in Your Pocket: The History of Handheld Calculators, opens at Science Museum in Richmond, VA. NOVEMBER: Exhibit - Terra Firma in Focus: The Art and Science of Digital Satellite Images. The Earth From Space: Detailed Images From the SPOT Satellite. Milestones: The History of Computer Graphics starts, supported by SIGGRAPH. Exhibit - How Fast Are Computers. Updates CRAY exhibition pf supercomputers. MARCH: TCM takes on Time-Life Project. JUNE: Exhibit - Computer Art in Context: Siggraph '89 Art Show. DECEMBER: Exhibit - Acer bi-lingual PC. First computer to use both the English alphabet and the Chinese character system. DEC awards TCM a 3-year grant in cash and equipment to supports its long-term development and eductional programs. Capricious Constellation sculpture by Nobel laureate Arnos Penzias and Lillian Schwartz shows at TCM. JUNE: Exhibit Journey of a Keypress DECEMBER: Popular Science names The Walk-Through Computer its "Best of What's New" award. APRIL: Exhibit - Local Heros: Kurzweil Personal Reader. JULY: Computer Animation Festival NOVEMBER: TCM hosts the 1991 Loebner Prize Competition. Exhibit - Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia MAY: Exhibit: Silicon Sailing. Technology which helped America win the America's Cup. Computer Museum Designer Ted Groves wins the 1992 AAM Publications Design Competition. FEBRUARY: Smart Art: The First Artificial Intellegence-Based Arts Exhibition. Computer Clubhouse learning center is established in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab. Ken Olsen transfer DEC leasehold ownership of the building to TCM. APRIL: Exhibit - Virtual Reality technology. AUGUST: The TCM Camp is established. NOVEMBER: TCM 10th anniversary at the Boston Wharf location. The TCM Overnight Program is established. MAY: Second Internet Auction held. TCM publishes its first book, Guide to the Best Software for Kids by Cathy Miranker and Alison Elliot. The Networked Planet exhibit is finalist for the 1995 Computerworld Smithsonian Awards in the category of education. JULY:  TCM launches TCM Network Interactive - The Computer Museum Network. AUGUST: NASA Ames Research Center provides the first 5000 sq. ft. of warehouse space at Moffett Field to TCM. OCTOBER: TCM officially announces establishment of the TCM History Center in Silicon Valley. TCM experiments with a new logo look. FEBRUARY: Exhibit - Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits in Computing. Previews at ACM 97 50th Anniversary APRIL: First live broadcast, hosted by PC Week Radio. JUNE: Exhibit - The Hacker's Garage. Part of Snapshots of a Revolution. TCM website selected as Gold Site by NetGuide JUNE: TCM bids farewell to Oliver Strimpel as Executive  Director. TCM History Center (TCMHC) becomes independent non-profit entity. Final collection items travel from Boston to Moffett Field.
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NOVEMBER: First employee, Jamie Parker, was hired as Exhibit Coordinator, and the museum became operable on a daily basis. JUNE: TCM formally opens at Marlboro FALL: Bits and Bites inaugurated as a series of informal Sunday afternoon talks, ranging from technical presentations to everyday use and developoment of computers. FALL : TCM edits "See It Then: Classic Films of Early Computing". Eniac, Edsac, Whirlwind, The Thinking Machine computer-written Western. . NOVEMBER: Public opening of TCM in Boston. MAY: Exhibit - The Enchanting Dragon and Other Honeywell Information Systems Computer Component Sculptures OCTOBER: SIGGRAPH Video Fest. The Best Computer Video of SIGGRAPH 85. Exhibit - Robot  Colony FEBRUARY: First Annual Kids Computer Fair. JUNE: TCM and Raster Tecnologies co-sponsor The Second Annual International Computer Graphics Image Contest. JUNE: Software archive study. Exhibit - Pocket Calculators MARCH: Siggraph Electronic Theatre 1987, Part I and II. JUNE: The TCM "Dinosaurs" - vintage machines - are moved into Visual Storage Area. AUGUST: Exhibit - Imagine: Art with the Macintosh NOVEMBER: Exhibit - The Interactive Image adds six state-of-the-art graphics workstations to the Image Gallery. Gifts from The National Computer Graphics Education Foundation and ACM SIGGRAPH to enhance TCM's graphics gallery. APRIL: TCM joins 15 other science centers to create a hands-on-science museum for members of Congress. JUNE: NECC '89 presents a 10th anniversary retrospective at TCM. The Breakfast Seminar Series is established. Governor Michael Dukakis meets with Massachusetts software executives at TCM. JUNE: How Computers Work: A Journey Into the Walk-Through Computer education video is produced. APRIL: Robo-Pong AUGUST: Exhibit Kits now available as affordable kits for museums and science centers around the world. DECEMBER: TCM tracks sailor via satellite transmissions and ELSA computer program. Arrival in Boston in May 1992. JUNE: Exhibit - Tools and Toys: The Amazing Personal Computer. Formerly known as the Discovery Center. People and Computers exhibit wins the 1992 Dibner Prize, awarded by the Society for the History of Technology. APRIL: Exhibit - Programming Languages Exhibit. Three new interactive exhibits - White House, Person-to Person, Networked Puzzle R2D2 joins robots and other smart machines exhibit. July: Computer Animation Festival. SEPTEMBER: Computer in the Studio: New England Artists and the Computer. In  collaboration with DeCordova. West Coast office is opened in Menlo Park, CA Exhibit of cartoonist Rich Tennant JULY: Internet Seminars offered by the Museum. www.tcm.org goes live. 100,000 hits a month - 8 times the number who visit the musuem. TCM adds a web store. JULY: Audio tours of exhibit galleries introduced in French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and English. SEPTEMBER: NSF awards TCM $600 grant for The Virtual Fishtank exhibit. OCTOBER: TCM Network receives the MIMC award for non-profit/public service online site. FEBRUARY: "Careers in Computing" is introduced on the TCM website. MAY: Administrative offices relocate to Moffett Field. OCTOBER: The Computer Clubhouse is selected to receive the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. History of Computing Timeline on the TCM website is expanded, and "This Day in History" feature is added. Exhibit - Virtual Fish Tank
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Exhibit - Tinker Toy Computer built by Danny Hillis and Brian Silverman. JUNE: First board meeting held. OCTOBER: First fieldtrip for TCM members - to the SAGE site and Canadian Museum of Science & Technology. FALL: Exhibit - Semiconductor DECEMBER: Exhibit - The Computer and the Image. Also known as the Graphics Gallery. SUMMER: The First Annual International Computer Graphics Contest, co-sponsored by TCM and Raster Technologies. Don Stredney, winner. OCTOBER: A Look at the Firsts. Exhibit - Expert Systems Wall APRIL: Exhibit - The Colors of Chaos JULY: Exhibit - Animation Theatre in the graphics gallery. Started the Museum on a series of programs featuring computer-generated films. JUNE: Exhibit - Smart Machines, a major new gallery on robots and artifical intelligence. Memories Poster public service campaign. APRIL: Exhibit - Awesome Adventures: interactive exhibit of maze exploration, flight simulation, and 3-D animation. JULY: The Computer Animation Video Fest. SEPTEMBER: TCM receives award for collections conservation study from the Institute of Museum Sciences DECEMBER: First Build Your Own Robot Workshop. Massachusetts Council of Arts and Humanities awards Grant to Museum for low-income area students. APRIL: Exhibit - Treasures Within Your Reach JULY: The TCM's Animation Theater is updated and enhanced. TCM co-sponsors with Acer a national competition called Excellence in Technology Communications 1989. Dr. Oliver Strimpel appointed Executive Director OCTOBER: Exhibit - Digital Image/Digital Photography. The 1990 Siggraph Traveling Art Show. FALL: Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation gives grant to TCM for Tools and Toys exhibit. LATE: Exhibit - Reality on Wheels, the third traveling exhibit. A vehicle that will tour the country providing access and information about the new phenomen of "virtual reality". . TCM joins with the Children's Museum to plan a giant wave structure outside the museums. Founder and Board member, Gordon Bell, awarded the first IEEE John von Neumann medal, gives the grant accompanying the medal to TCM. NOVEMBER: 4th Harvard Cup Human vs Computer Chess and Challenge held at TCM. TCM's mission expands to include education. JULY: Exhibit - From Drawing to Montage: Computers in Art. OCTOBER: 5th Annual Harvard Cup Human vs Computer Chess Challenge. TCM joins with StrideRite for interactive exhibits. . OCTOBER: 6th Annual Harvard Cup and Youth Chess Challenge.  TCM opens an online gallery of Computer Clubhouse computer graphics. JULY: TCM and the ACM collaborate to produce the first two installments of the Computer Pioneers and Pioneer Computers video series SEPTEMBER: First semi trailer of Boston museum's collection arrive at Moffett Field. OCTOBER: Museum is designated "NetDay Central" for Massachusetts for NetDay96. MARCH: First History Center talk takes place at Moffett Field. Gary Starkweather. MAY: TCM generates 1.5 million hits for the month of May, an all-time high. FALL: TCM and ACM co-publish Wizards and Their Wonders book by Christopher Morgan. The Museum partners with Continental Cablevision in "Ultimate Inventions". Grant from Mellon Trust for Internet workshops for teachers.
LECTURE SERIES

Wilkes, Maurice
EDSAC
LECTURE SERIES

Atanasoff, John
Forces that Led to the Design of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer

Cohen, Harold
How I Produce Computer Generated Art

Forrester, Jay
Whirlwind

Stibitz, George
Design of the Bell Labs Relay Computers
LECTURE SERIES

Brainerd, John
ENIAC

Clark, Wes
LINC

Edwards, Dai
Early Manchester Computers

Flowers, Tom H.
Design and Use of Colossus: WWII Code-Breaking Machine

Wilkinson, James
The Pilot ACE

Zuse, Konrad
Z1, Z2, and Z3 1936-1947
LECTURE SERIES

Burks, Arthur
The Origin of the Stored Program

Grosch, Herbert
The Watson Scientific Laboratory 1945-1950

Huskey, Harry
From Pilot ACE to the G-15

Lehmer, D.H.
History of the Sieve Machines
LECTURE SERIES

Amdahl, Gene
Deom WISC to TRILOGY

Hopper, Grace
Howard Aiken and the Harvard Mark I

Hogan, Les
The Origin, Evolution, and Future of the Semicondustor Industry
LECTURE SERIES

Noyce, Robert N.
Invention of the Integrated Circuit