Heather Kissinger
As the home of companies like Microsoft and Amazon, Seattle, Washington, is a major tech hub, making it the perfect location for a museum dedicated to the history of computers. Living Computers: Museum + Labs, located in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, was created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2006, and ever since opening to the public in 2012, the museum has engaged visitors through interactive experiences with all kinds of technology.
Unlike a traditional museum, visitors to Living Computers are encouraged to touch, use, and play with most of the objects on display. This was obvious from the moment I entered the first gallery – this wide, open area contained several robots that guests could control and play with. I moved a telepresence robot around the room from a control panel, and while I stayed in place, I was able to meet and talk to people on the other side of the room through a video screen on the robot. Another robot performed different dance moves when I touched certain words on a panel nearby.
Most of the first floor is dedicated to modern and emerging technologies. In addition to robots, I was able to experience a self-driving car simulator, design a video game, collect marine data from an underwater camera, and play games with Amazon Alexa and Google Home. I enjoyed experiencing these technologies, but being so modern, they felt very “normal” to me. I was more interested in the “Vintage Collection” of older computers on the second floor. One large, air-conditioned room filled with several old mainframes had a smart phone just outside the door with a sign explaining that this phone has more power than all the mainframes in that room combined. This visual really helped put in perspective how much our technology has evolved in such a short period of time. Most of the rest of the second floor contained early personal computers that were set up to allow visitors to play video games from the time period in which those devices were used. I had a great time reliving my childhood by playing the original Oregon Trail video game.
One of my favorite exhibits was Totally 80s Rewind, a temporary exhibit located on the first floor. The exhibit immerses visitors into the world of a 1980s high schooler as they explore three rooms representing daily life for a teen in the eighties. As I walked into the first room, I entered a computer lab classroom with early Apple computers on every desk and a projector at the front of the class outlining the lesson plan – how to use the coding language BASIC. I was able to sit at a desk and use the computer in front of me to follow along with the lesson plan. Continuing on into the second room, I entered a black-lit arcade featuring several 1980s arcade games, all of which I could play. The third room was a dimly lit living room containing an old TV connected to original Nintendo and Atari game consoles that I also played with. All three rooms had additional immersive features that really made the experience come alive, such as a locker with posters of ‘80s heartthrobs in the classroom, cups filled with tokens for playing games in the arcade, and 1980s records that I could play on a working record player in the living room.
The museum has labs where visitors can participate in workshops to dive even deeper into the technology. Recent examples included building an electronic clock including LEDs, resistors, and microcontrollers, and creating a video game by learning about inputs, outputs, and coding. I didn’t participate in a workshop this time around, but I’d definitely like to sign up for one on my next visit.
Living Computers is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. General admission is $22, although you can get a $4 discount by ordering tickets online. The museum has a convenient free parking lot.
Website: https://livingcomputers.org/
Address: 2245 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134
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