Keep an eye out for the special events held at this museum as I always have a good time! This year…read moreI have been to the annual yard sale on the grounds and an annual holiday tea in the museum, both of which were very well run. The holiday tea was my first experience inside the full museum. Upstairs was a display of items made and invented in Sunnyvale, which was really interesting! Downstairs, there are historical exhibits about the Murphy family, showing off many of their wares. There are additional exhibits that feature history of the Ohlone tribe as well as information about agriculture and innovation in Sunnyvale. The teas throughout the year are held by the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association and are run by volunteers as fundraisers, and we had a lovely time. I would highly recommend attending! Lots of easy parking is available in front of the museum. There is a museum store that, in addition to museum merchandise, sells vintage jewelry and other fun treasures.

We enjoyed checking this place out over the weekend. An outdoor courtyard in front of the museum,…read moreas well as two levels of exhibits inside, showcased the history of Sunnyvale and the surrounding area, staged rooms (bedroom, kitchen, living area) presenting plenty of interesting pieces in the Murphy home, old photos of Libby's water tower (the giant fruit can that still stands today), antique instruments such as an 1895 graphophone along with several different pianos, vintage toys and technology with an impressive timeline display that brought a feeling of nostalgia, and of course the temporary Baylug Gingerbread Village Lego exhibit, charming in the details including a model railroad, planes, trains, and boats (with the option of a scavenger hunt too). The staff and volunteers here were helpful and cordial during our visit, and we appreciated getting to explore the various rooms at our own pace. We picked up a few items from the gift shop before leaving, some cool lego glasses and sunglasses for kids, the timing during the holidays working in our favor as they had some quite unique stuff. We also walked around the Orchard Heritage Park and Interpretive Exhibit, adjacent to the museum. We viewed the informational boards on site, about the community who cared for the land as well as apricots! Sure there were plenty of bare trees in winter, but the scenery was still so lovely. It was a great way to end our time here. Days/hours of operation are limited during the week, just Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays (for 2024, closed xmas eve and new years eve, but open an extra day Saturday 12/28). Free parking and free admission.

I have visited other computer history collections, including the National Museum of American…read moreHistory in Washington, D.C. I also went to school learning to program on some of the types of computers displayed here and later worked in software engineering. So I came into the Computer History Museum with a bit of a "seen it, done it, why do it again?" attitude. My husband and I ended up spending five hours here. Does that make us nerds? Probably. One of the highlights for me was the live IBM 1401 demonstration. When we visited, demonstrations were offered Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. I even got to create my own punch card and have it used during the demonstration. I'd learned about punched cards, but watching cards physically being fed into the IBM 1401 to program the computer was something I had never actually seen before. It made an important piece of computing history suddenly tangible. There are also live demonstrations of the PDP-1 on the first and third Saturdays at 2:30 and 3:15 p.m., and a Spacewar! Tournament every fifth Saturday at noon. You may even get the chance to play Spacewar!, one of the earliest video games. If you can attend a guided tour, I highly recommend it. Rather than simply walking past rows of old machines, the guide helped bring the history alive, including the ENIAC and the enormous changes in computer technology and chips over the decades. There is a replica of a World War II Enigma cipher machine on display, along with early census machines. The collection progresses through vintage computers such as UNIVAC, the IBM System/360, minicomputers and desktop computers, as well as the technology surrounding them: hard drives, mice, printers, computer chips and much more. Eventually, you arrive in the age of artificial intelligence and Ameca, the AI-powered robotic head and shoulders. You're supposed to be able to speak with her using a microphone, although during our visit she didn't seem to be able to hear what anyone was saying into it. There is also a café with coffee, other drinks, and grab-and-go food including sandwiches, hummus and pizza. There is seating both indoors and outside, which made it easy for us to take a break before continuing through the museum. One parking warning: we visited on a Saturday when a Vintage Computer Festival was also taking place. By the time we arrived around 10:40 a.m., the museum parking was full. Parking attendants redirected us to a Microsoft visitor parking lot about 0.45 miles away, and there was no shuttle, so we had to walk between the lot and museum. I expected this to be a relatively quick visit because I had already seen plenty of historic computers over the years. Five hours later, I had created a punch card, watched an IBM 1401 come alive, revisited computers and technology from my own past, and discovered quite a few things I had never seen before. Apparently, even for a couple of computer nerds, there was still plenty left to learn.

I absolutely loved visiting the Computer History Museum! There is so much to offer here for both…read morekids and adults alike. If you have any interest in learning how computers were invented and how they've evolved over the last century, this is the perfect place to explore. It's incredibly well-curated and engaging. A few tips for your visit: Time: Personally, I would recommend setting aside at least 2 hours to fully explore the exhibits and really soak it all in. Food & Drink: They have a wonderful cafe on-site that serves great hot chocolate, coffee, and light snacks--perfect for a quick energy boost mid-tour. Parking: No need to stress about parking. They have a massive lot that looks more than capable of handling even the busiest weekend crowds. Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in the area!

If 4-6 people are going, might as well get a family membership for a year, it's the same price or…read moreless. Great collection. Takes a few hours to see everything. Recommend downloading the app ahead of time, the audio tour was pretty neat. Gardens are nice too, and open to the public. There's a small parking lot if no street parking's available.

Great museum with friendly staff and interactive exhibits! They do a great job of making each…read moresection super interactive. For example, they have a place where you can play ancient Egyptian games with friends, exhibits that require guests to push buttons / ask questions, and even a passport book where people can collect stamps and write notes! It doesn't just have to be for kids - I was entertained as an adult doing these activities They have a lot of artifacts, model replicas, and even a mock tomb area. It was great for being able to 'visualize' what everything would have looked like back then. It did seem like quite a few artifacts were casts of the real thing though. There was plenty to see and we spent a few hours there. The staff are also very friendly and passionate about the subject. Even when we were just looking at exhibits, they told us about different facts / activities that the museum was hosting. Outside, there was plenty of parking and even a garden you could visit. I really enjoyed coming here and highly recommend visiting if you get the chance!

Outstanding history of local fire dept. Perfect for school…read moretrips or even personal events! Restored equipment is beautiful. David Wood is amazing!!! His anecdotes and personal stories bring it alive. They can only afford limited hours so please contact the city and any foundations or business leaders and promote more monetary support!!!

What a great museum. What an incredible collection of vintage hardware. I was thrilled to see the…read morehorse-drawn steamers, the brass and chrome, and the hook and ladder truck that was stationed at the Panama Pacific International Exposition 1915 (PPIE). So many people say the South Bay is so bland and there's nothing to see. Here is proof that they are wrong. I could have spent six hours here exploring the detail. Best of all: no gender neutral restrooms.

What museum requires a security clearance, proof of US citizenship, behind barbed wire, with…read morephotography strictly forbidden? Contacted the museum curator at 408-735-2020, and got through e-mail an application to visit the iron museum. Returned the application with a time and date, agreeable to the curator. Routine security check done on all visitors in advance. Entered the main office at 401 East Hendy, offices of the Northrup Grumman Marine Systems. Barbed wire fences surround the building. Sign says photography and recordings forbidden beyond this point, and daypacks searched for recording devices. We surrender our cell phones for visitor badges, and show our current passports as proof of US Citizenship, and sign in. We are escorted by the curator into the single story business building of the Northrup Grumman Marine Systems facility, which is a major defense contractor. All employees and visitors must wear an electronic badge. The museum is located well within the building. Curator swipes his electronic badge along the side of the door to the museum section, like a credit card, opening the place up. Museum shows the history and products of the Joshua Hendy Iron works, the largest iron works in the country west of the Mississippi. First room is called the nostalgia room, and has a cutout of Betty Furness showing vintage Westinghouse home and kitchen products, like refrigerators, stoves, washing machines. The electric stove from the 1940s looks like the one in my sister's house in Berkeley! There is the original office of the plant manager John Hendy, complete with bulky adding machine, and typewriter, both the size of a bowling bag! Black and white pictures of the San Francisco Machine Shops in 1880 of Joshua Hendy, the hydraulic mining with the Hendy Giant Monitor using high pressure hoses to water blast away dirt and rocks in mining -this type of mining was soon outlawed, due to muddy debris contaminating the lower streams and bays. Lady found a black and white drawing of a gentleman in a garage sale at the turn of the 21st century. Turned it over and saw the words Hendy, and contacted the museum. The curator made a visit, took one look, and recognized it as Joshua Hendy. Drawing sits on the shelf of the original office, dated 1860!. There is a cutout of George Westinghouse with models of steam turbines, including those used to outfit the Liberty ships in World War 2. When they got the contract to build steam turbines for the Liberty ships and Corvettes (destroyer escorts), the size of the plant went from 60 employees to 7500 employees, with the newly constructed buildings covering 60 acres! The Iron man museum was used to build twin 3" heavy anti aircraft gun mounts and eventually even manufacture parts for the atomic bomb. Another room has models of the fleet ballistic missiles. Hendy ironworks was used to manufacture the launching tubes of the missiles, which were used to shoot the missiles from underneath the water, into the atmosphere, where the rocket engines ignite and take over. There are the models of the Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched from underwater Trident submarines, into the atmosphere, before going at low altitude to evade radar to their targets. Used in the first Iraq war, the launching tubes were made by Hendy. Finally there is the vault room, with concrete walls 18" thick, which survived the 1906 earthquake, and served as the payroll room -probably safer than the local banks! Curator tells the story of an estate sale of one of the big bosses of the ironworks, where they got the original glass audio record recording templates of historic speeches by the plant leaders to the workers during the war, including then Senator Harry Truman. Curator had his best poker face, while inside being euphoric at the thought of acquiring these priceless recordings. After some bickering got them down to 38K. Shame on you for taking advantage of an old widow! There are coffee mugs, booklets, and post cards for sale -exact change, cash only, with a donations jar. Website under development at www.ironmanmuseum.com. Many if not most of the tours are conducted for new employees in their first month on the job, the second Monday of every month from 11:30am to 12:30pm. Most leave with their mouths wide open in awe and astonishment of the historic scope of the ironworks!

I would love to visit this museum! However, we haven't been able to get through on the phone. I…read morewould be delighted by any information anyone can provide.

I love these small-town museums. They are unassuming and filled with fascinating facts about local…read morehistory. Los Gatos has a great one and so does Saratoga. The museum is only 1.5 rooms but they have a lot of historic artifacts from the area. I learned a lot of interesting things...including exhibits of what folks from Saratoga have contributed widely to the world. E.g. Do you know that the creator of Eggo is from Saratoga? Do check it out. It is run by local volunteers which is wonderful.

My middle-school aged son volunteers here as part of his school assignments, so I've had some time…read moreto look around the museum while I'm waiting for him to finish work. This museum has some very interesting things to see on the grounds. The blacksmith's home is the most interesting, just ask a docent to give you a tour. This 1870's house on it's original site gives great insight into the lifestyle at the time. This is a small museum but worth spending some time checking it out if you are in the area.

If your planning on taking a daycation soon and don't want to venture too far, visit Almaden Valley…read morein San José. Make sure to stop at the Almaden Quicksilver Mines and Museum, Old Saint Anthony Church and a Ray of Sunshine Farm. The 4,163-acre Almaden Quicksilver County Park has over 83 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails! The mining site was the largest mercury mine in the US and was home to more than 1,800 miners and their families between 1845 - 1927.

We arrived at Casa Grande, found easy free parking out front, and were greeted by the park…read moreranger/staff who gave a quick and simple rundown of the place, then we were free to roam the premises at our own pace. We swiftly explored the lower level of the mansion, then made our way to the museum on the other side, which packed a lot into a small space, including several interactive exhibits. I was amused learning about the mining history of the area and the use of mercury over time, through a collection of artifacts with clear labels and descriptions, such as the intermittent brick furnace exhibit, and the medical supplies display noting how workers paid just $1 per month for health insurance through the Miners Fund, with a doctor treating a multitude of injuries. There was even a screen showing the evolution of cinnabar and turning it into mercury, and the many uses of quicksilver in medical supplies, scientific processes, and more (I think you can request a different mining film to show, if you have a preference). Donations are suggested at entry, but not really monitored (you just deposit a couple bucks into a donation bucket). And though there's not a whole lot to see here, it's still a unique museum and opportunity to learn about an important piece of history. It was convenient to check out before making our way to the Almaden Quicksilver County Park hiking trails, where there are several more exhibits to view on site if interested.

A whole lot of art in a small space- free to all. There…read morehappened to be a college art group touring today. Beautiful pieces representing cultures in Dan Jose and the Bay Area from inspirations of the First Nations all the way to modern family life. Worth a visit.

Visited the museum at De Anza College this past weekend, and was fortunate to catch the current…read morewinter exhibition, Encoding Empathy, in its final days (ends March 20th). The special engagement on Saturday afternoon was a reception with the artists which had refreshments in the lobby and live music in the art gallery along with all of the wonderful displays captivating attendees. The artists for this exhibition followed a theme, creatively connecting technology to aspects of humanity, and the setup inside the space was effective and appealing. I was particularly impressed by the works of Steve Dellicarpini, one of which explored the impact of AI, utilizing ChatGPT and a grid of fans and lights. Another one of his pieces, The Book of Donald (Fifth Gospel of the Apocrypha), appeared as scripture sitting atop a golden toilet, the sculpture representing the twisted messages of social media posts. I was also amused by Shannon Wright's Partner in Crime: Commemorating a Decade of Swiping Left in Silicon Valley, showcasing a C-print image filled with words associated with online dating, set up like scrabble tiles. There were so many unique exhibits to view, I'm glad I didn't miss the current show. FYI, the parking lot right out front had a sign saying parking is enforced every day including weekends, but the permit machine next to the museum was out of order or nonfunctioning. So this ended up being a free trip altogether.