The Seattle museum founded by Paul Allen as a means of preserving and honoring computer technology has undergone a name change and expansion to better serve future visitors. Living Computers: Museum + Labs, previously known as the Living Computer Museum, will have a grand reopening to the public on Nov. 18.
The 4-year-old museum, which has a new logo and website, too, says the name change emphasizes its commitment to providing educational opportunities for youth.
“Living Computers: Museum + Labs aims to ignite curiosity and inspire innovation by providing our community a unique way to understand computer technology,” Lath Carlson, executive director, said in a statement Tuesday. “The addition of ‘Labs’ to our name reflects our ongoing commitment to offer access to education on what is possible by harnessing the power of computers.”
The first floor of the museum, at at 2245 First Ave. S., is being renovated to include a rotating gallery of exhibits, “putting today’s computer technology in the context of how it’s being used to tackle real-world issues,” the museum said in a news release. Visitors will directly engage with robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, big data, the Internet of Things, video-game making, and digital art. The inaugural temporary exhibition in the new space will be focused on the first 50 years of educational technology.
On the second floor, the world’s largest collection of operating vintage computers will remain available to the public.
Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist who also founded EMP and owns the Seattle Seahawks, started Living Computers: Museum + Labs in 2012.
Rebooted @LivingComputers to give more hands-on experiences to flip switches, tinker w/robots & learn AI. Opens 11.18 pic.twitter.com/718pTL1GG5
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) October 25, 2016
