Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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459 within 3 miles
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217 within 6 miles
See what travelers are saying
- DOITYMAYCardiff, United Kingdom164 contributionsSuperbAs we were in San Jose we thought we would visit here. This museum is superb. So much to see. And being 64 years old I could remember a lot of the old style computers. It takes you down memory lane. We had a ham and cheese toasted and a pizza in the cafe. They were excellent. All prepared fresh as you wait We sat outside in the sunshine to eat them. That was fine but as next to a busy road was very noisy. The young man on the desk when we checked in on the afternoon of Thursday 22 sept was absolutely fab. Very friendly and funny. He is a delight to have there at the museum. Sorry I did not get his name. We spent a few hours there and was well worth it. Only $19 per person and worth every penny.Visited September 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten September 22, 2023
- FuzzyBeaverMontreal, Canada1,216 contributionsAn amazing museum not to be missedThis is a huge museum packed full of interesting exhibits. They also do a great job of keeping up with evolving trends such as artificial intelligence. The place is so large you will want to go back again and again. Be sure join the various special presentations. The docents are so dedicated and passionate. An absolute must-see museum.Visited January 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten January 12, 2024
- ttvisitorSingapore, Singapore7 contributionsFun and reminiscent exhibitsThe museum's great, I would recommend it for techies, engineers and anyone interested in the evolution of computing and electronics. It brought back a lot of memories from school too! An important tip is to plan your time wisely as you could easily get lost and distracted amongst the exhibits. There are 20 sections, so pace yourself and feel free to zoom pass the earlier sections so as to make time for the later ones. Enjoy!Visited September 2024Traveled soloWritten September 9, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
785 reviews
Excellent
561
Very good
188
Average
31
Poor
4
Terrible
1
KAS_0011
Sydney, Australia122 contributions
Feb 2020
Really enjoyed the museum Especially if you have been in the IT industry. Could have spent a lot longer here. The app was very good for information about the exhibits. Coffee shop was good. Would allow at least 3-4 hours if you interested in computing
Written February 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DOITYMAY
Cardiff, UK164 contributions
Sep 2023 • Couples
As we were in San Jose we thought we would visit here.
This museum is superb. So much to see. And being 64 years old I could remember a lot of the old style computers.
It takes you down memory lane.
We had a ham and cheese toasted and a pizza in the cafe.
They were excellent. All prepared fresh as you wait
We sat outside in the sunshine to eat them.
That was fine but as next to a busy road was very noisy.
The young man on the desk when we checked in on the afternoon of Thursday 22 sept was absolutely fab. Very friendly and funny. He is a delight to have there at the museum. Sorry I did not get his name.
We spent a few hours there and was well worth it.
Only $19 per person and worth every penny.
This museum is superb. So much to see. And being 64 years old I could remember a lot of the old style computers.
It takes you down memory lane.
We had a ham and cheese toasted and a pizza in the cafe.
They were excellent. All prepared fresh as you wait
We sat outside in the sunshine to eat them.
That was fine but as next to a busy road was very noisy.
The young man on the desk when we checked in on the afternoon of Thursday 22 sept was absolutely fab. Very friendly and funny. He is a delight to have there at the museum. Sorry I did not get his name.
We spent a few hours there and was well worth it.
Only $19 per person and worth every penny.
Written September 22, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LUIS H
16 contributions
Mar 2023
Awesome and educational experience that explores the curiosity of where the notion of computing began. This walking tour-like environment displays a comprehensive look at the evolution of early punch card systems (IBM) and calculators to military tech integration and decryption demands. Then leads to the modernization which includes topics of: the analog to digital conversion, introducing the micro computer, robots, the PC, internet age and even the gaming evolution. So much to cover and understand, this is a tech geek's delight. Just be ready to be patient and learn to get the full experience. Plus, plenty of photo and video ops.
Written March 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elina Michaelidou
London, UK709 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
This was a great stop during our Silicon Valley driving tour. There were a lot of exhibits about the history of computation and the development of computers and the computer science field in general. We spend around 2 hours there, but we could have spent longer as there are a lot of things to see and there are even a few interactive exhibits. Lastly, the shop had various cool gifts to get.
Written August 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy G
Box Hill, Australia358 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
This museum was on our list to visit, due to my husband’s interests. We visited together, on the understanding that if and when I was bored, I could wander over to the nearby Starbucks and read a book. But no book reading was done today. This museum was engaging on every level, and not just for the computer nerd! The information was interesting, displays fantastic and there were a range of ways to access information including great short videos. The layout was clear, easy to follow, showed a clear progression and the collection was fantastically curated. We had planned a half day here but ended up having a sandwich at the cafe and spending most of the day. Definitely to be recommended.
Written March 31, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FuzzyBeaver
Montreal, Canada1,216 contributions
Jan 2024 • Couples
This is a huge museum packed full of interesting exhibits. They also do a great job of keeping up with evolving trends such as artificial intelligence. The place is so large you will want to go back again and again. Be sure join the various special presentations. The docents are so dedicated and passionate. An absolute must-see museum.
Written January 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MSLAMT
MOUNTAIN VIEW27 contributions
Jan 2013
The exhibits are very well laid out, very interactive, the musuem isn't overly crowded, so I felt comfortable working at my own pace. I only got through 2 rooms out of 19 in 90 minutes. Will definitely return.
Written January 29, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
interceptpubs
Columbus, IN974 contributions
Feb 2020
This overwhelming museum covers the history of computing starting from ancient times (from counting machines like the abacus and mechanical devices for computing astronomical information) through the industrial revolution (punched cards for controlling looms and mechanical computers like babbage's engine) to the modern era (from sophisticated mechanical analog computers to the modern electronic digital computers) in great detail. Indeed, it is almost overwhelming (25,000 square feet and over 1,000 historical objects). It was something of a personal history for us - we can remember getting an abacus as a grade schooler, using a slide rule in high school (the last class to be taught how to use the slipstick), typing in punched card programs in our first FORTRAN class in college, buying our first personal computer (an Osborne of all things - a marvel at the time, but today a bad joke), and designing gas turbine engines with supercomputers as an engineer. We were able to find almost every computer related device we've used over the last 50 years here on display - plus many things we'd only heard about or knew only from their applications to make the modern world possible.
You can easily spend hour upon hour here - indeed, if like us, your time is limited it can be a bit frustrating: so much to see, so little time. The general admission price is around $20, but we lucked out and visited on Bank of America day (or whatever they called it). By showing our BoA credit card, we got free admission. Sadly we see the museum is currently closed due to COVID, but we heartily recommend you make a visit once it reopens.
You can easily spend hour upon hour here - indeed, if like us, your time is limited it can be a bit frustrating: so much to see, so little time. The general admission price is around $20, but we lucked out and visited on Bank of America day (or whatever they called it). By showing our BoA credit card, we got free admission. Sadly we see the museum is currently closed due to COVID, but we heartily recommend you make a visit once it reopens.
Written January 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jose Lejin P J
Bengaluru, India1,931 contributions
Jun 2019
Excellent museum to visit. The museum mainly showcases the stories and artifacts of the digital computing revolution with historical details. It has significant collection of computing artifacts with detailed written descriptions. Staff are friendly and helpful. Good parking space. There is a cafe near to the reception.
Written August 18, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ken R
Springfield, IL256 contributions
May 2017 • Family
My wife and I spent an entire afternoon here and enjoyed ourselves even though I am neither a geek or a museum fan.
Written May 11, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If forced to choose, and entrance fee is not a factor, which is better - this or Intel museum?
Written July 17, 2019
The Computer History Museum is definitely more of a “Must See” compared to the Intel Museum. It is much larger and comprehensive, as the Intel Museum is more focused on one aspect of computing, the integrated circuit. The Intel Museum is basically one big room, whereas the Computer History Museum has many rooms, floors and wings. The Intel Museum does have a couple of interactive activities, though. The Intel Museum is always free, and I got free admission to the Computer History Museum through Bank of America’s Museums on Us program.
Written July 17, 2019
hola, hay info en castellano o solamente en ingles?
gracias
Written November 16, 2015
Hola, toda la información del museo esta solamente en Ingles.
Written November 17, 2015
A Tripadvisor member
Woodinville, Washington
There are 400 free parking spots in front of the museum.
Adult admission is $15. Students with an ID, Active Military with ID and Seniors 65+ are $12. Children 12 and under are free.
Written March 10, 2015
We spent many hours, but could have spent more. I think it is up to the visitor how deeply they want to go into the exhibits and the interest level. My husband has worked in the tech field for decades, so he was very interested in everything. We also enjoyed the special demonstrations and took breaks for lunch and coffee. I think the answer is, you can spend an hour or the whole day...but don't miss this great museum.
Written February 27, 2015
The suggest allocating at least 2 hours for the visit.
Written February 27, 2015
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