The Tech Museum of Innovation
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The Tech Museum of Innovation, or simply The Tech, is a museum located in the heart of Silicon Valley, in downtown San Jose, California USA. Focusing on technology and its effects, The Tech serves as an important educational and cultural resource for tourists and local residents alike.
Planning began in 1978 by members of the Junior league of Palo Alto and later assistance by the San Jose Junior league. The first 20,000 square foot (2,000 m²) temporary exhibit finally opened in 1990 “The Garage” as it was named, opened in San Jose’s former convention center. On October 31st of 1998, it opened a brand new 132,000 square feet (12,000 m²) facility, and has had 4,000,000 visitors. This structure colored mango and azure did what San Jose is known for, by doing things in a way never done before. Inspiring the Innovator in everyone, The Tech museum has become a landmark for visitors seeking a glimpse of the most inventive place on Earth and a showcase of the latest high-tech gizmos and gadgets that continue to define Silicon Valley
The museum is composed of three floors, each with its own significance. The ground floor has the main entrance, a gift shop and cafe, the Imax theater, and a recreational area that is reserved for special events. The Tech Store contains various gifts, shirts and souvenirs that promote education and challenge the mind. Café Primavera offers a varied menu of pasta dishes, sandwiches, pizzas, soups and salads for both adults and children. The ground level is a location where Segway and other robotic demos are displayed and given.
Four major theme galleries fill the upper level and lower level of the museum: Communication, Exploration, Innovation and Life Tech. These galleries are constantly being revamped and changed to fit the theme movies and exhibits. On the lower level there is also a public piece of artwork titled “Origin” which is inside a 45-foot tall cylinder.
The Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater (named after Mike and Joan Hackworth) is one of the popular features, and shows a wide variety of movies (such as Harry Potter, The Polar Express, Roving Mars) as well as educational films (such as Blue Planet, The Human Body, Forces of Nature). It is Northern California’s only domed IMAX Theater and can seat up to 295 persons. IMAX stands for maximum image, the film is 4 times larger then normal movie film and the projector is as large as a Volkswagen beetle, which allows for larger projection.
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[edit] Exhibits
The Tech has many exhibits dealing with energy efficiency, customization, exploration, and the force of gravity such as the G-Force. Students and guest can make their own contraptions using the popular board game: Mouse Trap. You can also get a "Tech Tag" to do experiments, take pictures, collect cards with them and save it on your Tech Tag. At home, you can log on to a personal website and look at everything you created.
 Thermal picture taken at the tech museum in San Jose |
 Earth Quake Simulator |
On special occasions The Tech will rent out Parkside Hall from the city of San Jose to host special larger Exhibits. In 2007 this hall was the home to the exhibit know as Body Worlds 2, which brought in over 280,000 guests. Another such event is the annual Tech Challenge in which students are being challenged to work together in support of science, mathematics, and technology.
Unlike other Museums The Tech museum of Innovation offers a new approach to viewing galleries from a wide variety of different media. The majority of these exhibits is interactive and allows the viewer to engage in the learning experience. The Tech also has joint partnerships with local attractions, ranging form the Jazz festival to 01 Global festival of Art. There are virtual galleries and The Tech can even be found in second life.
[edit] Membership and Benefits
The museum offers a variety of exclusive memberships that help fund the museum and allow for free visits. Guests can purchase memberships to obtain free admission as well as other benefits. School groups can obtain free field trips and free lab classes to help better education for students of all ages and financial background. Families can walk in and take advantage of the open access policy, which allows free visit for all guests who cant afford the museum and its experiences. As well as memberships the museum is also sponsored by various grants from leaders in technology. The money from the memberships and from grants help fund different problems that allow these free visits.
[edit] Location
- The Tech Museum of Innovation
- 201 South Market Street
- San Jose, CA 95113
- USA
- +1 (408) 294-TECH
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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