SECTION 01
Books Behind the Machines
Books, magazines, manuals, and the ideas that inspired a life in computing.
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Follow the story from vacuum tubes and slide rules to Commodore computers and a new generation of hands-on learning.
Discover the hardware and the people who used it. Some exhibits are Ken Kranz’s own tools from high school and his early engineering career; others carry stories we are still uncovering.
SECTION 02
From Tubes to Transistors
The electronic foundations that made personal computing possible.
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SECTION 03
Before Calculators and CAD
Slide rules, aviation calculations, and the tools of hand-drawn digital design.
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SECTION 04
From Typewriters to Calculators
Commodore’s office-machine beginnings, alongside Ken’s engineering calculators.
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SECTION 05
The MOS KIM-1
A processor, a keypad, and an introduction to machine language.
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SECTION 06
The MOS Processor Story
A closer look at the chips behind the machines—and a mystery still being researched.
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SECTION 07
The Blue-Bezel PET
The early chiclet-keyboard PET: a complete computer in one enclosure.
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SECTION 08
The PET Family
Full-size keyboards, school computers, and the machine that helped inspire LIVCM.
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SECTION 09
The VIC-20
Home computing, cartridges, and connections to the outside world.
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SECTION 10
Commodore 16 and Plus/4
Another branch of Commodore’s home-computer family.
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SECTION 11
Inside the Commodore 64
Complete systems and exposed boards reveal what is happening under the keyboard.
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SECTION 12
The STEM Workbench
Learn to troubleshoot, repair, and program by working with real computer hardware.
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SECTION 13
The Commodore 64 Family
Different forms of a familiar machine, from the breadbin to the portable SX-64.
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SECTION 14
Storage and Disk Drives
The mechanisms and electronics that kept programs and data available.
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SECTION 15
Commodore 128 and Amiga
The collection moves into larger systems and new approaches to computing.
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SECTION 16
CDTV and CD32
Commodore’s experiments with living-room multimedia and CD-based games.
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SECTION 17
The Power Supply Tower of Death
An unusual display with a practical lesson about preserving working computers.
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SECTION 19
Printers and Paper
The output devices that turned a computer’s work into something you could hold.
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SECTION 20
The Commodore 64 Ultimate
The final stop: a modern chapter and a place to experiment, play, and create.
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