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The San Francisco Computer Museum and accompanying Computer Institute are being founded to provide a global center for bringing together the scientific, artistic, and cultural aspects of computing. Because computer technology represents one of the most profound human achievements, the San Francisco Computer Museum will record those very achievements and, through an accompanying research center, will stimulate the creation of new breakthroughs as well. The Computer Institute and the San Francisco Computer Museum will aim to become the world's leading museum facility and non-profit research center devoted to computing.
The San Francisco Bay Area and its environs offer an ideal setting for such a facility. The Bay Area's Silicon Valley is the birthplace of personal computing and remains the world center for computer technology. The City of San Francisco -- the proposed site for the facility -- was ranked the number one tourist destination worldwide, is a major global business center, and acts as the gateway to Pacific Rim countries that play a major role in the computer industry.
A major facility is planned that will encompass one million square feet of space and will ultimately cost more than $1 billion; this structure will house:
Four Public Museums
The San Francisco Computer Museum will contain four separate museums: The Computer Pavilion, The Computer Jungle, The Computer Gallery, and The Virtual Museum.
The Computer Pavilion houses a general exhibit area and a number of company-sponsored pavilions. The general exhibit area traces the history of computing and displays, where one can see early computer artifacts and memoribilia. The company-sponsored pavilions provide a look into the future of computing and are modeled after "World's Fair" exhibits. The company-sponsored pavilions will be required to have an educational rather than a commercial focus and will be developed in conjunction with the Museum's board of advisors. Company-sponsored pavilions provide an important marketing and public relations opportunity for technology companies around the world; in addition, such corporate sponsorship provides a major source of funding for the Computer Institute and Museum.
The Computer Jungle, unlike the relatively structured Pavilion, will include an informal exhibit area that will provide visitors hands-on access to a wide spectrum of computer technology. Cutting-edge products, and those still under development, will be show-cased in exhibits that are underwritten by the companies that produce and develop the technology. This will be a cross between an "exploratorium of computers" and an ongoing "computer show without the sales hype."
The Computer Gallery will exhibit computer and multimedia art. Computers are enabling many new artistic venues that are not easy to display in a traditional art gallery. The computer gallery will be one of the only facilities worldwide solely devoted to displaying computer art -- from multimedia masterpieces to computer animations and virtual reality simulations.
The Virtual Museum will extend the Computer Museum into cyberspace. The Virtual Museum will be accessible through the Internet and other online services and will also offer special "exhibits" on CD-ROM and other media. The Virtual Museum not only provides worldwide access to the Computer Museum, it also serves as a community center that brings together computer users, scientists, artists, vendors, and others online.
Multimedia Theater and Auditorium
In addition to the three main museums, the San Francisco Computer Museum complex will contain a multimedia theater and auditorium and an adjacent museum store. The multimedia theater will allow new works by multimedia artists to be presented, as well as previews of new software and hardware, and other media-intensive events that are difficult to present in a standard theater. The theater will also function as an auditorium to allow for an ongoing schedule of cultural and scientific presentations by scientists, artists, writers, and others. The museum store will offer the sale of computer books, software, art, and high-tech souvenirs as a way to help generate operating funds for the facility.
The Computer Institute
The San Francisco Computer Museum facility will also provide the base for the Computer Institute. In addition to operating the Museum, the Computer Institute will serve as an educational, cultural, and research resource for both the general public and the computer industry. To further this goal, the Computer Institute will sponsor resident fellows in the arts and sciences, who will be provided with resources to pursue research into multimedia and computer-interface design. Unlike research labs operated by private companies, software, research, and design work produced by the institute and its fellows will be be placed in the public domain.
The San Francisco Computer Museum is being organized and founded by Frederic E. Davis, a well-known computer journalist and analyst, who formerly held positions as editor-in-chief of MacUser Magazine, editor-in-chief of A+ Magazine, editor of PC Week, and director of PC Magazine Labs. Mr. Davis is the author of over ten computer books and has appeared as an industry commentator on a variety of radio and television programs.
Frederic E. Davis