Program areas at CHM
Collections and research:chm stewards the world's foremost collection of computing artifacts and oral histories to generate profound insights grounded in History. We advance knowledge and the exchange of ideas through focused research and scholarship.see schedule ochm's collecting scope spans calculators to robots and provides unique perspectives into the online world, entrepreneurship, and software. Chm's comprehensive collection of over a million artifacts, documents, photographs, moving images, digital objects, and oral histories lies at the heart of everything we do. The collection covers a vast array of iconic computers and companies, from an apple 1 Computer to the latest trillion-transistor ai computer-on-a-chip. The Museum's invaluable collection of 1372 oral histories with 1,828 participants and archival collections bring critical histories and personal stories to light.at the core of chm's preservation and access efforts is the shustek research archives, the Museum's 25,000-square-foot research and storage facility. Established in 2015 and named for Museum founder len shustek, the shustek research archives houses the Museum's acquisitions, archival collections, software preservation, and research operations. The facility promotes access to and preservation of chm's world-class collections with acquisitions receiving, digitization workstations, and study space for visiting scholars. In fy2024, despite being closed for three months for upgrades, archival staff fulfilled 464 research queries, 127 of which originated from outside the united states, and 74 of which involved a researcher visiting the shustek archives in person. There were also 16 researchers who came to research a physical artifact. Chm's centers of expertise advance understanding of technology through research, publishing, and programming efforts that build community, disseminate knowledge, and offer unique insights. Chm's centers amplify existing work and provide new lenses into technology that connect the past with a vision of the future. The software History center, established in 2016 collects and preserves historical software, archives, and oral histories. The center explores people-centered stories, documents software-in-action, and leverages the Museum's rich collections to tell the story of software. A popular initiative works to restore the original source code of historically significant products and make them publicly available.
Public programming:chm convenes dialogue and stimulates debate through public and community programming to encourage civic discourse about critical issues and to inspire the next generation of creators and innovators.see schedule olive programming and public events convene today's thought leaders, entrepreneurs, historians, scholars, authors, company founders, and journalists from a wide variety of fields and disciplines. Chm's live programming series connects its community with diverse viewpoints and unique perspectives at the intersection of technology and humanity. In fiscal 2024, chm produced 11 hybrid events with 5,828 in-person and online attendees. Notable programs included "ai + humanity," where reid hoffman, cofounder of inflection ai and former board member of openai expanded on key issues from his new book cowritten with ai chatbot gpt-4; "equalizing equity" answered the question of whether or not it's possible to create wealth and foster social justice through venture investing in startups; new york times bestselling author andrew mcafee shared the elements of what he calls "the geek way," a new corporate culture that's fast-moving, egalitarian, evidence-driven, and more; and "insanely great: the apple mac at 40" shared insider stories of the mac and apple's early days from key members of the original hardware, software, design, and marketing/pr teams. The 2024 programming calendar also honored chm fellow award recipients rodney brooks, thomas e. kurtz, and barbara liskov. The chm fellow awards program honors the distinguished technology pioneers - unsung heroes and legends - for their outstanding merits and significant contributions to the advancement of computing and the evolution of the digital age. The program is supported with collecting, education, research, and media activities that reflect the seminal work of each fellow and preserves their stories for future generations.in fy2024, chm introduced all-day techfest events that offer special family-oriented experiences included in the price of Museum admission. Visitors enjoy tech-themed demos, performances, hands-on activities, and more. The themes for the two events in fy2024 included create and innovate and "gameplay. "chm also launched a podcast in fy2024 in collaboration with audible originals and treefort media. Hosted by reshma saujani, founder of girls who code, recoding History is an immersive look into the lives of some of Computer History's most ingenious and audacious women. In stories culled largely from chm's oral History interviews, 12 remarkable women recount their personal journeys in their own words, including jean bartik, original eniac programmer; evelyn boyd granville, the second black woman in the us to earn a phd in mathematics; margaret hamilton, who helped put the men on the moon; grace hopper, computing pioneer and navy admiral; and, ai expert fei-fei li.chm supports a suite of virtual educational programs and resources to meet the needs of learners of all ages. Exhibit guides designed for families facilitate theme-based exploration in the Museum's signature revolution exhibit. The #mychmexhibit challenge allows youth participants to create their very own exhibit at home; instruction, advice, and resources are made available to let participants learn to be curators, registrars, experience designers, and filmmakers. Revolution: virtual scavenger hunt engages a target audience of students in grades 6 through 12 on a virtual educational journey through the Museum's revolution exhibit. Resources on innovation and entrepreneurship serve college and adult audiences with unique curricula on topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, and the silicon valley ecosystem model. Lessons are provided for educators on women in computing, the History of silicon valley, and the engineering design process, while discussion guides on women in tech and a select group of events provide additional opportunities for enrichment. Chm also hosts school groups for educational tours. In 2024, 65 school groups with 2,441 students and teachers visited the museum.in chm's two digital games, students around the world are exploring Museum artifacts, meeting historical figures, seeing how tech can solve important global challenges, and applying what they learn about technology, building their capacity as active problem solvers, digital citizens, and future innovators. The great tech story, chm's world in minecraft: education edition, immerses students ages 8-18 in a virtual exhibit and teleports them to learn hardware and software concepts, meet a startup team, debate ethics in tech, and reflect on how technology is used in daily life. Techquest, chm's game on roblox, teaches kids 8-14 how technology can solve real-world challenges. In conservation world and automation world, students track animals to monitor biodiversity, measure the health of coral reefs, see how automation can make life easier and safer, and much more.chm has an active volunteer program, with over 100 volunteers working to digitize collections and serve as docents who conduct daily tours and demonstrations. Over 9,000 visitors participated in exhibit tours in fy2024.
Exhibitions:through comprehensive and timely exhibits, interactive learning experiences, dynamic programming, thought-provoking publications, and original media productions, chm facilitates learning and encourages personal connections with the History of computing and the possibilities of technology.see schedule othe Museum has more than 40,000 square feet of exhibit halls designed to engage, educate, and entertain the general public. Signature exhibits include revolution: the first 2000 years of computing and make software: change the world. In fy2024, guests also experienced a display of iconic artifacts related to the macintosh Computer on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. Visitors also enjoyed the restorations of historic machines in action in the ibm 1401 and pdp-1 demo labs.in 2024, about 91,000 visitors came to the Museum to see the exhibits, and an additional 42,000 people attended events for organizations that rented the Museum as a venue. The Museum hosted 442 group tours with over 14,000 attendees. Since 2011, chm has welcomed over 1 million visitors, including those who came for venue rental events, from 120 countries.chm's ongoing goal of engaging with audiences beyond its walls was accomplished through a rich series of editorial and publishing endeavors that reached global audiences. The chm website - the digital portal to its collection, exhibits, blogs, timelines, events, and more - received 2.9 million page views in fiscal 2024. The site has had more than 118 million views and 27 million users since its inception.chm's digital distribution and social channels included 356,000 followers from facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin, and youtube. The channels received over 11 million video views. The chm youtube channel has 1,745 published videos, has now grown to approximately 152,000 subscribers and 22 million views since it debuted in 2007. The institution's digital publishing platforms include the chm blog, which had more than 293,000 views in fiscal 2024, and medium core+. Since being introduced in 2017, these forums have published 200+ stories and have 5,000 regular followers. They publish thought pieces, research essays, and articles on computing History by chm's community of curators, academics, journalists, and others. Earlier issues of chm's core magazine are available on the website.