Not exactly in London, but a couple of years ago, Bletchley Park opened back up as a museum. Some buildings have been restored, some are in process, and one is a small business incubator?
I am glad I got some train practice in before today because getting there involved 2 different train stations with a bus ride between them. Anyway, I got there fairly early and spent a while wandering the grounds and checking out the displays.
No photography was allowed back when this was an active codebreaker enclave, but the organization responsible for opening the park has done the best they could with what few records are available and with the recollections of those who lived here during WWII.
Alan Turing's office in one of the huts, before his team moved to the newer buildings also has a display.
While the constant audio and lights at the Royal Observatory was not enhancing the experience, the use of sound and projection in the huts is quite captivating. They are attempting to portray life as it was, and to some extent are successful. Projectors take the place of costumed staff cycling through the kinds of conversations that would have happened in each part of each facility. Interactive displays explain bits and pieces of techniques used to crack codes throughout the war. Audio clips of Wrens operating Bombe machines paints a far clearer picture than a quiet, static display would have.
And then there's the Turing Bombe project. All of the original machines were destroyed after the war. They were purpose build for specific code breaking, and the end of the war meant they were useless contraptions full of valuable components. So now, using some of the original drawings, a group is
building new ones.
There are periodic demos of the one in the park. My favorite line was "It took less than 12 months, from concept to working machine for the original. This replica took 12 years."
Next door to Bletchley Park is the National Computing Museum, which houses a replica of Colossus, and countless other computers organized roughly by time period.
This was a really cool building to walk through. Not just for the eras of machines, but also for the games.
Right, and also a Crazy Taxi cabinet. So something for everyone, really.
I am glad I got some train practice in before today because getting there involved 2 different train stations with a bus ride between them. Anyway, I got there fairly early and spent a while wandering the grounds and checking out the displays.
No photography was allowed back when this was an active codebreaker enclave, but the organization responsible for opening the park has done the best they could with what few records are available and with the recollections of those who lived here during WWII.
Alan Turing's office in one of the huts, before his team moved to the newer buildings also has a display.
While the constant audio and lights at the Royal Observatory was not enhancing the experience, the use of sound and projection in the huts is quite captivating. They are attempting to portray life as it was, and to some extent are successful. Projectors take the place of costumed staff cycling through the kinds of conversations that would have happened in each part of each facility. Interactive displays explain bits and pieces of techniques used to crack codes throughout the war. Audio clips of Wrens operating Bombe machines paints a far clearer picture than a quiet, static display would have.
And then there's the Turing Bombe project. All of the original machines were destroyed after the war. They were purpose build for specific code breaking, and the end of the war meant they were useless contraptions full of valuable components. So now, using some of the original drawings, a group is
building new ones.
There are periodic demos of the one in the park. My favorite line was "It took less than 12 months, from concept to working machine for the original. This replica took 12 years."
Next door to Bletchley Park is the National Computing Museum, which houses a replica of Colossus, and countless other computers organized roughly by time period.
This was a really cool building to walk through. Not just for the eras of machines, but also for the games.
What struck me was how many women were included in both of these exhibits. And not just as part of the Women in Computing exhibit housed in one room of the Computing Museum. According to the signage at the park, most of the code breakers working at Bletchley were women and that is how the presentation of the exhibits feels. And in the museum, I turned a corner to find a poster about Margaret Hamilton, who I recognized instantly. But in a lot of other rooms, women I'd never heard of were featured.
Right, and also a Crazy Taxi cabinet. So something for everyone, really.
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