The museum is maintained and run by a group of approximatley 40 very dedicated volunteers who give up their time (and money) to ensuring the museum is open to the public as much as possible and continues to be an exciting place to visit.
We are always pleased to hear from people willing to help at the museum. There are many opportunities to get involved and we hope you will find a position where you both help and also enjoy the experience. Whatever and whenever you can offer help, we look forward to hearing from you. We will ask you to complete an application form and provide references. Typically we also run a CRB check on all new volunteers. For more information please contact our volunteer coordinator - ben.trethowan@tnmoc.org
The main areas where help is needed are:
Display preparation
Preparing a group of machines and associated documentation and displays ready for subsequent display in the museum. For instance, presenting a set of analogue computers from the 1950s and 1960s : How should it be done? What supporting material do we have? Do the systems have special requirements for presentation? Have we fully researched the subject? Are we presenting information in the most accessible way?
Equipment Maintenance
While some equipment is only for display, and some systems are being worked on by specialist teams under very strict conditions, many of the hands-on displays need constant maintenance. If you operated a Sinclair Spectrum and loaded games by cassette you will know what we mean! The hands on machines include BBC Model B's, Atari, Sinclair, RML, Amstrad
Guides and Explainers
Probably the most important role in the museum - explaining the collection to the visiting public. Individual experts will explain their systems and processes they are most expert about, but there is always a need for a guide to escort groups of visitors through the museum and present the collection as an overall experience.
Archiving and Collection Management
Items we receive at the museum must be documented and photographed and recorded in our asset management system before being put into the store or on display. This is quite a job as we have a backlog of work to complete. We use an MDA approved computer system for all the records.
Stewards
Organising everyone else! Maintaining the rosta, greeting groups, assisting visitors, finding lost children, and everything else - including making sure the building is secure at the end of the day!
The Current Team
Over the years a large number of people have volunteered their time and expertise to getting the museum to where it is today. Below are some of the key people (in no particular order) and currently active volunteers which the trustees would like to thank for their past and continuing efforts without which the Museum would never have existed:
John Sinclair, Ben Trethowan, Len Stuart, Kevin Brunt, Tony Frazer, Adam Bradley, Pete Chilvers, Peter Vaughan, Johan Iverson, Jules Richardson (now in the USA), Derek & Pauline Sayers (the painting & decorating guru's), Steve Parker (Mailing list & video imaging guru), Phil Catterall, Lin & Bob Jones, Barney Duffy, Simon Fryer, John Blackburn, Chris Blackburn, Sheridan Williams, Graham Wallace, John Wetherall, Phil Hayes (PDP Phil), Alan Batley (our archivist).
Not forgetting the Colossus Rebuild Team
Tony Sale, Cliff Horrocks, John Pether, Peter Merriman, David Stanley, Ken Day & Bob Alexander