Explore the National Museum of Computing

From intercept to decrypt during World War II

The Tunny Gallery, along with the Colossus Gallery, shows the entire World War II code-breaking process of the Lorenz-encrypted messages (Tunny) from signal intercept at the Knockholt receiving station in Kent to the production of the final decrypts on Tunny machines in Bletchley Park.

When computers were few but big!

In the largest gallery in the museum, you can see just how big those early systems really were. There's the Harwell Dekatron aka WITCH computer from the early 1950s, three Elliotts from the 60s, PDP-11s from the 1970s and more. Most of them are either being restored or actually working.

When data came on cards

Before electronic computers were common, many offices used sophisticated punched card machines for payroll, accounts, and stock control. Skilled operators punched data on cards that could be repeatedly sorted and used to produce reports. Powers-Samas was one such machine ...

Oooh look kids, I used one of those...

The PC Gallery with computers from the 1970s to the present is a real favourite with nearly all visitors. You can roll back the years and play retro games on the many working computers. Nostalgic for some, it's a revelation for younger visitors. BBCs, Macs, Spectrums, Amstrads ...

How the internet was made possible

Used by over 25% of the world’s population, the internet is the phenomenon of our age. The NPL Technology of the Internet Gallery traces communication technologies from the telegraph to the internet and explains Packet Switching, the key technology of modern communications.

Test your skills in the skies

Four flight simulators enable visitors of all ages to pilot planes and watch the live radar display of air traffic movements over the south of England. It's a great place to crank up the adrenaline and imagine ...