Help save the legacy of the WWII codebreakers – join The National Museum of Computing crowdfunder
The UK’s largest collection of working computers, housed at the historic Block H on Bletchley Park, is threatened with closure because of the Covid-19 lockdown and the expected social distancing requirements thereafter.
The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) houses 50,000 artefacts – big and small, spanning every decade of computing history. Crucially, we maintain the legacy of Alan Turing, Bill Tutte and Tommy Flowers and the other wartime codebreakers through our world-famous
rebuilds of the Colossus and Bombe machines. These vital systems were on the frontline of the intelligence battle against the Nazis, decoding key enemy messages and thereby shaping the war’s outcome.
We are also home to the pioneering BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum and many other much-loved, legendary PCs from the 1980s and 1990s. We house systems that shaped business, leisure - and the internet; systems that helped organisations to function and for people to alleviate their isolation during the pandemic.
We are a living, breathing, hands-on organisation whose workshops, projects, exhibitions and on-site training appeals to all generations and people from all backgrounds.
But TNMOC and our work are in desperate need of your financial help.
We are independently funded and rely heavily for revenue on the thousands of visitors who come through our doors each year. Covid-19 restrictions mean we have lost all of our income.
Most of our staff have been furloughed but we still have bills to pay – including our rent. Disappointingly, we’ve also failed to qualify for emergency Government funding that could have helped. And of course, it’s impossible to say when we will be able to reopen.
Please join our crowdfunder to help ensure TNMOC can survive the pandemic and continue in its mission to bring the unique story of our nation’s technology heritage to a wider world.
Thank you for your support – we look forward to welcoming you to The National Museum of Computing on Bletchley Park again.
TNMOC Team