The Tech Museum of Innovation
The Tech Museum of Innovation in Downtown San Jose
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| Established | October 31, 1998 |
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| Location | San Jose, California, US |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 37°19′53″N 121°53′27″W / 37.3314374°N 121.8907276°W |
| Type | Science |
| Visitors | Approximately 400,000 visits annually |
| President | Tim Ritchie |
| Public transit access | Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority |
| Website | www |
| Association of Science-Technology Centers | |
The Tech Museum of Innovation, or simply The Tech, is a museum located in the heart of Silicon Valley, in downtown San Jose, California, United States. The Tech is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Planning began in 1978 by members of the Junior League of Palo Alto and later assistance by the San Jose Junior League. The first 20,000-square-foot (1,900 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 132,000-square-foot (12,300 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 Museum's architecture is the work of Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.
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-foot-tall (14 m) cylinder.
The Tech Museum reflects its social context, capturing Silicon Valley's celebration of technology with a fascination with what the museum’s literature refers to as the “gizmos and gadgets” produced by Valley companies. Early reviews, however, criticized The Tech for failing to provide a coherent direction or message.
The Tech has many exhibits dealing with energy efficiency, customization, exploration, and genetics.
Thermal picture of a visitor
Earthquake simulator
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 has an interactive exhibit where people can design and build robots.
The Tech created an open-to-the-public workshop space where the in-house prototypers build new exhibits.
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 ended January 25, 2009, after a three-week extension.
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