The Centre for Computing History — Attraction in Cambridge

This was by far the best part of my vacation in the UK. It is one of the (unfortunately) rare "hands on" museums - a large number of the exhibits is not locked away in glass cases but completely set up - and the ones which are plugged in and switched on can be used. When entering, you are greeted with a discrete implementation of an 8-bit microprocessor that spans an entire room and can be slowed down so you can actually see it working. The main attraction though is the wide range of primarily home computers and games consoles from the late 1970s until about 2004 - the newest "Wintel" machine I saw was a 486 era Compaq Presario running Windows 3.11 and the latest Mac was a PPC G4 iMac (The "lamp"). They not only have the common computers like Atari 8bit, C64 and the Spectrum, but also uncommon ones like the "Mega PC" which had a Sega Mega Drive built in, Dragon 32, EACA Color Genie and the like. There was no emulation going on (except for one or two arcade machines), and there were no "Fake machines", i.e., with a Raspberry Pi inside the old case. You really used the real things - even with their original CRT monitors or period-appropriate colour or black&white TVs. The information besides the machines was a bit scarce, mainly bits you could also find out by googling, but that is not a problem, since the focus of the museum is really getting you in front of the old machines, play the old games or hack in some BASIC programs. They do have a gallery of the most important and influential people in the history of computers though - there are the portraits of people like Alan Turing on the ceiling with a multimedia presentation about them. Apart from the main hall, there is a late 1970s/early 1980s office with original furniture and a TRS80 set up as a business computer - unfortunately the power switch didn't work on this one on the day of my visit. Furthermore, there was an ensemble of early mainframes and mini computers with the oldest working one being an Elliott 903. This is not hands-on though, but is demonstrated frequently when the volunteers do a guided tour at no extra cost besides general admission fee. Another highlight is the 1980s computer room as it was set up in British schools - with a selection of BBC Micro machines and a big bookcase full of old books on BASIC programming. You could take out a book and type in the programs and pretend it was 1988 instead of 2018. Unfortunately they didn't attach any means of saving your programs - they should at least give you a tape drive and a cassette if you asked. In the same room there are also some Raspberry Pi with Raspbian with which some of the programming courses for children are done. Speaking of which, I attended a "Twine" course just for fun, and although it was done by another person who usually does not teach the programming courses, it was much fun and as a child, you really could learn a lot and get your curiosity kick-started. The friendly staff is also very different from other museums. You don't feel like you are in a museum at all - it feels more like an 1980s/1990s computer club or a retro computing convention - and you can easily lose yourself in talking about fun (or not so fun) anecdotes from the past like becoming the #1 target for bullying when you were interested in those things. If you are interested in technology and computers, and spend a vacation in the vicinity (you can still reach Cambridge quite well from London by train, there are direct connections from King's Cross and Liverpool Street) you should pass on the typical tourist traps like the Dungeon, London Eye or Thorpe Park but rather spend the money on a trip to the CFCH (or two because one day won't be enough if you thoroughly want to test all the computers there). You'll roughly pay the same, as an anytime return ticket from London to Cambridge is £37 and admission is £8 or £12 if you want to attend a course, but have so...

This is a hidden gem a little off the beaten track but it is well worth making that turn into the industrial estate and following the road around to the unassuming building which, in the it can be guaranteed, holds memories for everyone from days gone by.

I'm there is a charge to get in but this money goes towards maintaining and improving the centre and its exhibits as the employees are volunteers. Eight pounds might seem like a lot when you first enter, but there is so much here that you could easily spend most of the day enjoying yourself.

To say that this centre offers a 'hands-on' experience is an understatement. From the moment you walk through the door you are drawn in by the sounds of Sonic the Hedgehog and Donkey Kong and transported to another time, where computer games were more simple affairs, if somewhat more cumbersome physically, and a joystick and fire button were all you needed to be transported into the Green Hill zone with the Blue Speedster.

The Centre is home to a huge number of games consoles from different eras, from early Pong systems to Mega Drives, Amigas and PlayStations. You can literally sit for hours playing with friends and family, or why not make new friends and challenge another visitor.

Throughout the Centre you will find attractive and informative display boards with information about what you are looking at. A geek's paradise? Possibly, but if you are less computer literate and didn't spend your childhood waiting for the latest Spectrum game to load then you will definitely learn something too. You will be reunited with old friends in the form of games, computer systems, phones or even the televisions themselves and that sense of familiarity will make you feel at home here.

There is something for all generations too. Some might remember working with machines similar to those in the Seventies Office. Others will recall the early personal computer systems from their primary schools. My parents (in their sixties) loved playing Pong, having owned the system in the seventies; my sister and I (in our thirties) were drawn to Sonic, having grown up with a Mega Drive.

My favourite part of the Centre is the Eighties classroom. My primary school had a couple of BBC Micros that I remember using and spending time here writing basic programs is a joy. I only follow the useful instructions provided in the booklets but it's always rewarding to spend a few minutes typing lines of code to get some colourful text or a sound at the end of it.

You do not have to go near the daunting streets of Central Cambridge to visit the Centre for Computing History. There is plenty of free parking yards from the door and you can buy merchandise from the main desk and snacks and drinks from a small kiosk. There is a wealth of knowledge and history in this place that should be supported and visited time after time- I have been twice and will definitely be back. If you have any sort of interest in computers or computer games then this should...

Brought my kids here, to get them off their own screens! And show them how things were when I was their age. I think, they quite enjoyed the visit (I certainly did). The layout is good, and the fact that you can try most computers/consoles out is a real bonus.

The only slight negative for me personally, no ACORN ELECTRON anywhere!!!  Even the guy at the reception desk was surprised.  I and quite a few friends grew up with this home computer (we fell into that category in the mid 80's when you ask for Spectrums etc for christmas, and your parents bought an Electron instead because it had "educational value") And it was the same for other owners. I met a new neighbour in the street recently who said his parents did the exact same thing for him.  Admittedly, at that time the school classrooms were full of BBC Micros and to be honest, in my Computer Studies GCSE class, fellow pupils knew I had an Electron and knew they could ask me for 'BBC Basic' help).  I did think I would find one here for sure, being in Cambridge (getting ready to really impress/bore my kids). *Oh well.

Being able to see/play Astro Blaster at the small handhelds/tabletop was something else. I wanted that desperately as a kid, although I did have arguably the even better Astro Wars (also on the same table).  Centipede arcade machine looked/sounded/played great, although I thought there would be more like this because of the pop-up store they had in Grand Arcade last year.

I could easily go back to this place. I think it would be nice though to have some kind of discount for return visit(s) inside 12 months. Leicester Space Museum allows you to visit again for free once within a year. They probably couldn't do this, but some kind of offer might tempt visitors back multiple times.

*I did trawl through all the pictures on the Google listing and there was an Electron set-up with a game on it a few years ago and another one in a display cabinet incl 'Plus 1' back in 2020.  May I suggest, bring one back, load up 'Positron' and let people have a blast!

Overall, an...