Can you imagine a world without computers? We are coming to a point in time, or have even surpassed it, where some of us may not know what to do with ourselves without a computer! Technology has advanced so much in so little time that there have been emerging students who have never heard of a floppy disk. A solution to this has managed to pop out of the woodwork in the past year or so. Somewhere between Einstein’s and the computer commons front desk sits a little museum of gadgets and gizmos for the world to gaze upon.
Looking through the glass is like traveling through time. In fact, according to Ron Cosseboom, the morning shift supervisor behind the front desk, the museum is there to give a brief historical view of computing. He explains what it means to students, “[It’s there] to see how things are always changing and that they may take some of the visuals for creating newer and better products.” So learning from the past to better the future is true, in this case anyways. The display contains everything from a small abacus to an iMac G4. Ron points out that his favorite apparatus is the automatic slide rule. Most, if not all, of the items revolve around computing. We are, after all, in the computing center.
It is pretty obvious that there is no end in sight for the advancement of technology, unless of course 2012 really does bring the end of the Earth. But hopefully, if that is the case, someone, somewhere will invent a new device to save us all. Regardless, as more technology comes out, the museum will expand. According to Ron, as time flies by, “We’ll be adding and changing out (items) as we move forward.” Of course, if you have some piece of history that you’d like to share, donations are accepted, stated Ron. If you have yet to see the wonders of the past, take the time to stop and smell the evolution of technology!