The Living Computer Museum

The unique goal of the Living Computer Museum (LCM) in Seattle, Washington, is to keep old computer technology powered up and ready to be used by patrons. Instead of sheltering its rare arti facts in climate-controlled glass cases, most of the computers at the LCM are turned on and accompanied by a user manual to read, a chair to sit in, and a keyboard to type on so you can explore what it was actually like to use computers from a bygone era. When you visit the museum, be prepared to sit down and play. You can see a video of my visit to the museum and get a behind-the-scenes tour of what it takes to keep this decades-old equipment running at www . computer.org/computingconversations. KEEPING OLD TECHNOLOGY ALIVE The LCM is supported by Paul Allen (cofounder of Microsoft) and others to make sure that visitors can experience what it was like to use technology as it emerged and developed over the past 50 years. Although the LCM does collect, catalog, interpret, and display historically signi cant computer technology, it spends most of its time maintaining and repairing that technology to keep it running. According to museum Librarian/Archivist Cynde Moya: