Current Exhibits

Exhibits at The Mimms

Mimms Museum of Technology and Art has a number of exhibits that focus on exciting areas of technology and computing. These include Space Exploration, Supercomputing, Computer History Timeline, and more.

A Tribute to Space Exploration

Let your imagination run wild – it’s almost like being there. Start the experience viewing an animated documentary titled ‘Getting to the Moon and Back’. See the type of computers NASA used from an IBM 3420, a front panel of an IBM 360, modular computer systems and more. Visitors can immerse themselves in a brief history of Rocketry, the race to space, and view dioramas of scenes from Apollo 11-17.

Supercomputing: Vanquishing the Impossible

A varied collection of supercomputers will illustrate how these machines impact our everyday lives from the daily weather predictions, artificial intelligence and cyber security. See more than 70 supercomputers from the iconic Cray 1A, Connection Machine 2 and Pixar Image Computer, Sun Microsystems to a life size mural of the IBM summit. The exhibit recognizes Seymour Cray’s contribution as the father of supercomputing.

STEAM Timeline

Beginning with the catalysts of the digital age – an abacus, slide rules, a rotary telephone, and transistor radios, we take you on a journey through the decades. See a Datapoint 2200, Altair 8800, an original Apple-1, the infamous RadioShack TRS80, a rare Apple Lisa 1, the first IBM PC, and an Apple NeXT Machine among many others. More recent artifacts include an Atari 2600, Nintendo Game Boy, a Commodore 64, and so much more. The award-winning timeline tells the stories of people, products, and technologies that advanced Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) in the context of aerospace, transportation, pop culture, heroes and sheroes, and games.

Dalí’s Lab: Surrealism Meets Tech (Closing February 2027)

Salvador Dali is famous as a surrealist, delving into the world of dreams and the subconscious, but he was also a great lover of science. From his early fascination with biology to his later interests in nuclear science and quantum mechanics, learn more about Dali’s fascination with science and how he predicted it would change the world. Consisting of several collections of his works from the 1970s, this temporary exhibit blends the world of the mind with science fiction to create a mind-bending vision of the future.

Byte Wall Magazine Collection

The complete collection of Byte magazine covers including special editions. Step back in time and see how Byte Magazine covers initially told stories through creative imaginings before transitioning to a look resembling a product catalog. Visitors will be mesmerized by the intricate artwork from early publications. Two original Robert Tinney artwork covers are on display in the collection.

The Art and Evolution of Chips

The computer industry is built out of chips. New chips for graphics cards, processors, servers and more seem to be coming out all the time, and it seems like they’re always being brought up. What do these devices actually look like? How are they made? How have they evolved over time? Learn all this and more through this collection of the evolution of chips, featuring microscopic images of the chip surfaces so that visitors can see the dense wires running across silicon. . Steve Emery’s artwork shows the beauty of chip design as well as providing information about some of the most important chips in computer history. The chips collection was donated by Patrick Mulreany, co-founder of Microcomputer Systems/XEBEC.

The Enigma Machine

A key exhibit at The Mimms features an Enigma machine, used by the Germans during World War 2 to secure communications between military personnel. Different branches of the German military had differently configured machines with different methods to vary communications. The Enigma machine at the Mimms Museum is a 3 rotor model in near perfect condition. It was purchased on March 7, 1936 by the German army according to the original papers from the company which produced the Enigma, Heimsoeth and Rinke, an encoding machine company in Berlin. About 40,000 Enigma machines were produced in total and less than 300 are believed to remain today in various working conditions.

The Card that Shaped Computing

From the aftermath of the French Revolution to the first computers, punched cards were used to store data. From their early use during the 19th century in weaving and census counting, punched cards changed manufacturing and data processing, culminating in the dominance of IBM during the early years of the computer industry. Watch a video on the history of punch cards, see a Jacquard Loom in person, and come on the first Saturday of every month to make and bring home your own souvenir punched card.

Past Exhibits

Exhibits Layout

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