What connects a lab coat, a loom and the ancestor of modern computers to sci-fi classic, The Matrix? We dive down the rabbit hole to highlight the world-changing collections at the Science and Industry Museum that were part of the creative inspiration for our new neighbour Factory International’s opening show, Free Your Mind.
As a new £1m annual Manchester Prize is announced for ground-breaking AI research, we celebrate Manchester’s computing heritage and ideas that change the world.
Manchester has earned its place in computing history, and it continues to be a pioneer in computer science today.
Can we create a machine to rewind time and retrieve the lost voices of the past? Computing pioneer Charles Babbage thought so.
To celebrate the Baby computer’s 70th anniversary, volunteer Bob Geatrell has written a post on what it’s like to work with our replica of the machine that gave birth to modern computing.
Baby looks and operates very differently to a modern computer, with a memory that uses a system of valves and tubes. But how exactly does its work?
Eric Wright, one of the volunteers who run our Meet Baby sessions, looks back at how the advent of computers had an impact on his life.
We’re celebrating the Baby computer’s 70th birthday by looking at some of the machines that it made possible.
Think of a scientist. What do you picture? The stereotypical answer (and the one we’re trying hard to change) would be a man, maybe in a lab coat. But even a century ago, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
Textile production and computing—two of Manchester’s most important historic industries—are brought together in the Jacquard loom, on display in our Textiles Gallery.
Is it the rain that binds Manchester, UK and San Francisco, USA? Or perhaps the fog? Or the amazing music scene?
What’s love got to do with computing? Associate Curator Sarah Baines finds out, with a little help from our team of Computer Volunteers.