Babbage's Difference Engine on show

This is quite exciting. See the news below, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine #2 is being displayed and shown working at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. I was at the Computer History Museum in 2006 when I did my internship at PARC, let me say, if you're a computer geek, you'll LOVE this place! You can see my blog post I did when I was there.

Here's the info on the Difference Engine which I got as a subscriber to news from The Computer History Museum:

Join the Computer History Museum in launching its exciting exhibit: Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2, exhibited for the first time in North America. Bring your family and friends to see and hear the Engine in action!

This five-ton Engine is one of only two Charles Babbage’s computing engines ever built, consisting of 8,000 parts of bronze, cast iron and steel and measuring 11 feet long and 7 feet high. It was designed to calculate and print mathematical tables. Come to see the docents “crank” the Engine and watch it mechanically calculate - an arresting spectacle of automatic computing.

The Exhibit Launch and Open House, a Victorian-themed event, promises a stunning display of Babbage’s elegant design and inspired engineering. His designs for vast mechanical calculating engines rank as one of the startling achievements of the 19th century.

The Babbage Exhibit is made possible through the generosity of the following donors: Nathan Myhrvold, Andreas Bechtolsheim, Bell Family Trust, Donna Dubinsky & Len Shustek, Judy Estrin, Fry’s Electronics - Kathryn Kolder, Dorrit & F. Grant Saviers, Marva & John Warnock, and with special thanks to Science Museum, London.

Come to see what no Victorian ever saw.


Where
Computer History Museum
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Mountain View, CA 94043
Directions

When

Saturday, May 10, 2008
12 noon - 5:00 p.m.

Activities:
- Engine demonstrations throughout the afternoon
- 1:00 & 3:30 p.m. - Screening of Ada Lovelace Film, “To Dream Tomorrow” (53min)
- Popcorn and snowcones available all afternoon

Sign Up

To sign up for your coupon for free popcorn, please click here.

To attend the Member's Only Breakfast at 10:30 a.m., please click here.
Last day to sign up is May 8.

So if you're in the area, have a look and perhaps take some photos to share back to the rest of us!

On Technorati: Computer History Museum, Charles Babbage,difference engine