The museum houses a rebuilt Mark 2 Colossus computer alongside an exhibition of the most complex code cracking activities performed at the Park, along with examples of machines continuing the history of the development of computing from the 1940s to the present day. The museum has a policy of having as many of the exhibits as possible in full working order.
Although located on the Bletchley Park "campus", The National Museum of Computing is an entirely separate registered charity[3] with its own fund-raising and separate entrance/ticketing. TNMOC receives no public funding and relies on the generosity of donors and supporters.
Exhibits
On display in the museum are many famous early computing era machines, including a functioning Colossus Mark 2 computer that was rebuilt between 1993 and 2008 by a team of volunteers led by Tony Sale.[4][5] Colossus was a machine that helped break enemy encryption during World War II.[6]
Since 2018, the reconstruction of the Turing-Welchman Bombe, of the type used to help break Enigma, is also at the museum.
There is also a suite which includes many BBC Micro personal computers which are used to encourage programming among visitors, a temporary exhibition space used for short-term exhibitions and a hands on display of video game consoles from different eras. All of this is alongside various other displays of devices and information regarding the evolution of computing from the 1960s to the modern era.
The museum is open to the public 6 days a week, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 5 pm, and most school and bank holidays.[8] There are guided tours at 2pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 10:30am on Thursday. Booking for tours is recommended as there are limited places. There is a modest admission charge to the museum to help cover overheads and they now offer family and annual tickets.[9]
Demonstrations and talks in the Colossus and Tunny Galleries[10] usually occur on the hour when the galleries are open, with slight changes depending on the number of visitors.
The museum conducted a crowdfunding campaign in March 2018 to raise funds to build a new gallery for the Turing-Welchman Bombe.[12] The campaign raised over £43,000 via crowd-funding and an additional £20,000 via direct donations.