Robots and different realities at Summer Bytes

Fun, games and learning at The National Museum of ComputingEvery afternoon 30 July to 28 August

The month-long Summer Bytes Festival starts at The National Museum of Computing on Bletchley Park on 30 July 2016. Open every afternoon from noon until 5pm, the Festival has fun and learning in store for all the family with opportunities to interact with robots past and present and experience different realities – virtual, augmented, retro and real-time.

For the full day-by-day schedule of events and the Big Bytes bargain ticket, see: Bytes Festivals

Mathew Yeomans, Events Manager, said: “There’s something for all the family and plenty to keep youngsters entertained, enthused and stimulated. Once they get a taste of the action, Bytes visitors keep returning, so we offer a special family Big Bytes multiple visit ticket at a bargain price.”

The Bytes Festival opens with a Galactic Saturday when visitors can come face-to-face with Star Wars characters including R2-D2. Under 16’s coming in sci-fi costume will have free entry.

Throughout August, visitors can experience different realities and see into a completely different world from the safety of our Museum with virtual technology like Oculus Rift and more.

There is stunning augmented reality too with Pokémon Go (the Museum is a Pokémon Gym!), the Quiver app that brings 3D colouring cards to life and an insight of the 4D+ world of Octagon Studios flashcards magically transformed with iPads.

Good old-fashioned retro reality is featured too with computer games that absorbed youth a few decades ago.

Robots past and present meet when 2016 Pepper starts a conversation with George, Tony Sale’s famous robot creation from the 1950s. If words fail George, Pepper will turn to visitors for stimulating conversation – be prepared to meet the future of robotics!

Throughout the four-week festival, there will be lots of fun with learning through STEM activities with a great selection of workshops and talks involving everything from the science of Doctor Who and special effects to F1 in Schools challenge, computer art and music.

Andy Clark, Chairman of TNMOC, said: “If you are wondering how to occupy the family during the summer holidays, there can be few better places for entertainment and learning at a bargain price. Learning and inspiration have always been central to our mission. This Bytes Festival is the best yet and vividly brings to life the technological advances of our age. No parent should miss the opportunity of bringing their family to this incredible informal fun learning opportunity -- and no adult should think they’ve seen it all before!”

For the full Bytes timetable of events, see Bytes Festivals.

About The National Museum of Computing

The National Museum of Computing, located on Bletchley Park, is an independent charity housing the world's largest collection of functional historic computers, including the rebuilt Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer, and the WITCH, the world's oldest working digital computer. The Museum enables visitors to follow the development of computing from the ultra-secret pioneering efforts of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the rise of personal computing in the 1980s and beyond.

The Museum runs a highly successful Learning Programme for schools and colleges and promotes introductions to computer coding amongst young people to inspire the next generation of computer scientists and engineers.

Sponsors of the Museum have included Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre, Bloomberg, CreateOnline, Ceravision, Fujitsu, InsightSoftware.com, Ocado Technology, FUZE, 4Links, Google UK, IBM, NPL, HP Labs, and BCS.

Outside the long school holidays, the whole Museum is open to the public from 12 noon - 5pm on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, spring and summer Bank Holidays and during long school holidays. The Colossus and Tunny galleries are open daily. Public and private Guided Tours are available and bookable online – see the website or the iPhone app for details. Educational and corporate group visits are available by prior arrangement.

For more information about TNMOC and trustees, see www.tnmoc.org and follow @tnmoc on Twitter and The National Museum of Computing on Facebook and Google+. A TNMOC iPhone App is also available from the iPhone App Store.

Media Contact

Stephen Fleming, Palam Communications
01635 299116
s.fleming@palam.co.uk