The Tech Museum of Innovation
Encyclopedia
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, in downtown
Downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose is the central business district of San Jose, California, United States. The area is generally located north of Interstate 280 and east of Guadalupe Parkway, which roughly parallels the Guadalupe River. The region is bound to the north by U.S...
San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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History
Planning began in 1978 by members of the Junior League of Palo Alto and later assistance by the San Jose Junior League. The first 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) temporary exhibit finally opened in 1990 “The Garage” as it was named, opened in San Jose’s former convention center. On October 31, 1998, it opened a brand-new 132000 square feet (12,263.2 m²) facility, and has had 4,000,000 visitors.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. 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
Segway PT
The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....
and other robotic demos are displayed and given. The Tech Museum's architecture is the work of Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta
Ricardo Legorreta
Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis is a Mexican architect. He was born in Mexico City on May 7, 1931. He was awarded the prestigious UIA Gold Medal in 1999 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2011.He studied architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México....
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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 feet (13.7 m) cylinder.
The Hackworth IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
Dome Theater (named after Mike and Joan Hackworth) shows mainstream movies as well as educational films. It is Northern California’s only domed IMAX Theater and can seat up to 295 people. IMAX stands for maximum image, the film is four times larger than normal movie film, and the projector is as large as a Volkswagen beetle, which allows for larger projection.
Exhibits
The Tech has many exhibits dealing with energy efficiency, customization, exploration, and the force of gravity, such as the G-Force. Students and guests can make their own contraptions using the popular board game: Mouse TrapMouse Trap (board game)
Mouse Trap is a board game first published by Ideal in 1963 for two or more players. Over the course of the game, players at first cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg-like mouse trap...
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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 known as Body Worlds 2, which brought in over 280,000 guests. In winter of 2008, there was a special Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibit (called Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future) that displayed some of his inventions, findings, and pictures. It ends January 25, 2009, after a three week extension.
The 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 from jazz festivals to the Global Festival of Art.
The Tech Awards
The Tech Awards is a program of the Tech wherein a yearly ceremony is held for individuals and organizations to get recognition for their technological contributions to improving the human condition.The Tech Virtual
The Tech Virtual launched in December 2007. On June 4, 2008, the world's first museum exhibits developed using this open source method opened in the museum's own Virtual Test Zone gallery.The seven exhibits, all contributed under a Creative Commons license and prototyped in the virtual world of Second Life, became part of the museum's Art, Film, Music and Games exhibition. The Virtual Test Zone gallery itself is a prototype exhibit area that will consistently feature virtual-to-real-world exhibits on specific themes resulting from The Tech Virtual programs.