- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Intel Museum
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
7 reviews for Intel Museum
If you ever wanted to know how Intel started as a company and who these men were, you've found the right place. If you're fascinated by computer chips and clean rooms, again, you've found the right place. And if you cannot forget the five Intel chimes and love hands on exhibits for the 10-12 year old set, you have definitely found the right place.
The Intel museum is in the back of the Intel company store. If you don't bleed silicon, stay away. Admission is free and easy parking.
People thought this was:
- Useful (3)
- Funny (3)
- Cool (3)
Dear old Dad, the gadget guru and electronic geek, wants to take his son [moi], on a Monday (when everything is closed) to one of the technology museum of Silicon Valley. We ended up here.
Yes, it is a giant advertisement for Intel. Yes, it does get annoying. Still, I was amazed to learn of the role Intel played in the refinement and growth of microchip technology. There were a few interactives that were mildly interesting. Definitely a place to bring those that live, breath, and die by technology. Strike that, bring them to the Computer Museum. Bring them here when the Computer Museum is closed.
I think the museum is okay, nothing to get excited over, but it is free and you can take a picture in front of the sign. I like the building, it is super huge though makes you want to work there. You can see the whole thing in like an hour and that is if you read everything. You get to see the suits and some cheezy videos. Their gift shop is okay, it is a ton of intel logo stuff, but the good news is that their stuff is not too expensive, but the quality of the material sucks though =) But I bought some useful tools and it is good advertisement from them. I love their products.
The Intel story is one of the most interesting in all of Computer History and the Intel Museum is one of the most Corporate museums you'll ever find. They focus more on the How then on the Why of things, and that's the problem.
Now, I speak as a guy who works in the computer history biz, but they do put together a kinda trade-showy history of computers including some of the most significant things in the history of the company. There's a quick look at all of Intel's major lines and then there's a section about 1s and 0s, an explanation of bit rates and a really interesting look at the manufacturing process. It's good for kids, but I went in to it expecting more.
The clean-room mock-up at the Tech is better.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
- Cool (1)
I agree with Sebastian - this is nothing more than a corporate marketing/public relations ploy. The exhibits are less than marginal and there really is not much to see here. The gift shop is everything with an Intel logo - so corporate swag they sell to the general public - it was more interesting than the museum. Totally disappointing.
The only cool thing in here was the original Altair computer. That's it.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
It amazes me how few companies in Silicon Valley have any sort of welcome for visitors. Even the darlings of the industry like Google will send out a security guard before you can reach the front door to ask if there is a visitor center. After expecting to be chased down by security guards on my photo project for http://SiliconValleySt..., I followed the signs to an actual picture spot in front of the building. From there I found the museum that welcomed me and my camera in (for free no less.) It may be a big ad for Intel, but compared to other tech companies, this is as good as Silicon Valley corporate tourism gets.
So I recently moved to the Silicon Valley, and I was excited to check this place out. I thought, "what better way to learn about the history of computing than to go to one of the founders of Silicon Valley?" Yeah. I was wrong.
This museum is little more than a glorified advertisement for Intel, including an attached company-branded store.
Of the exhibits there, I think only one or two items were of any actual interest. The rest were just dull recaps of company history or lowest common denominator information about computing. The sad truth is this: if you are a newbie to computing technology some of the exhibits might be mildly informative, but this branded environment is not the place to learn. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you go in already knowing a bit about computers this place is going to dull the living daylights out of you.
I can understand a company trying to impart some knowledge about its industry to the public, and I can even get behind a company trying to trumpet itself a bit, but this place is just a waste of time. The only redeeming quality is that it is free in terms of monetary cost, but it will cost you your time, which if I were you I wouldn't bother wasting here.
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
