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Visiting the Northwest Computer Museum

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I got the chance to visit the Northwest Computer Museum today, which was really cool. I’m a bit of a fan of older computers, I think there’s something charming about them. So when I found out this was opening a few weeks ago I knew I had to go.

I’m really glad I did - they had an amazing collection, and you’re free to try and out and play with all of them, with a few exceptions. They had the usual suspects: Commodore 64, every variant of ZX Spectrum that Sir Clive could muster up, a few different Tandys, the Commodore PET.

A bank of dozens of vintage computers, all switched on and hooked up to screens

But then there were some really standout machines. They had an original Apple Lisa, that had been donated to the museum and was undergoing refurbishment. They also had an Apple 1 behind a cabinet. Well, sort of. The board wasn’t original, it was a clone board, but the casing and keyboard were all from an original Apple 1.

An Apple 1, in chestnut-coloured wooden casing, behind a glass cabinet

They had pretty much every class of computer from the last 5 decades, including a bank of video games consoles, and a VR suite. They even had a Pebble watch, still in it’s packaging (which I’d been getting nostalgic about just the night before).

Just off from the main museum is even a room filled with BBC Micro computers, where the museum staff hold classes on maintaining & repairing electronics, as well as teaching programming (both BBC BASIC and modern programming languages). There’s even an internet café for people who need regular computer access.

![A Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80](./src/images/WhatsApp-Image-2023-03-18-at-15.18.53.jpeg)
A Radio Shack Tandy TRS-80
![A Commodore 64 with 1942 loaded](./src/images/WhatsApp-Image-2023-03-18-at-15.18.57.jpeg)
A Commodore 64 playing 1942
![A CRT monitor with Back To The Future 2 on the screen](./src/images/back-to-the-future-2.jpeg)
Playing Back To The Future 2 on a Commodore

Overall this was a great day out, and I’d highly recommend anyone in the area go and have a look - it’s a brilliant spot and the owner is very passionate about the project.

About the author

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I'm Lewis Dale, a software engineer and web developer based in the UK. I write about writing software, silly projects, and cycling. A lot of cycling. Too much, maybe.

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