The Peek&Poke computer museum is not like other museums.
For starters, when you walk in the door, you’re greeted by a bottle of liquor and a sign that says “welcome drink.”
After your shot of travarica (grape brandy with an infusion of herbs), and an admission fee of roughly $4 USD, you’re free to explore.
Then, wander around this two story space with more than 2,000 computers, calculators, gaming consoles, hand held games, cameras, and printers. There’s a lot to see!
And at this museum you get to peek AND poke.
Some items are behind glass.
But others are out in the open, and fully playable.
Some of the oldest exhibits date back to the 1960s, like this 8 inch floppy disk.
WHICH IS ABSURD. Because I remember using 3.5″ floppy disks as a kid, and even those were gigantic and silly.
You can also see one of the world’s first gigabyte hard disk drives, the IBM 3380.
There would be two of these giant hunks of metal per computer, to provide a total storage capacity of 2.52 GB.
Ummm you guys. That means that you could save one 48 minute episode of Breaking Bad, and then the storage would be completely full.
Yep. Just like that! FULL. (But in 1980, that was a big deal.)
You can also see a NeXT Computer. Which is the thing Steve Jobs worked on after he left Apple (and before he went back to Apple).
BAM! That’s right, y’all. Computer facts!
IN YOUR FACE.
But wait. Did I mention how many games you can play at Peek&Poke?! Because that was a really exciting part of our visit.
AND MARIO KART!!!
WHICH IS MY JAM.
(Of note, there are lots of other games too. I didn’t take pictures of us playing them all because I got distracted by the Mario Kart Special Cup.)
The Peek&Poke founders like to refer to this place the Retro Computer Club. (They don’t like the word “museum,” because it makes them think of stiff rooms and serious curators.) And the whole idea of this project is to create a place for people to learn *computer facts!* and have fun.
Basically, if you ever find yourself in Rijeka, Croatia, JOIN THE CLUB, y’all. This is a really fun way to spend an afternoon, and a cool way to see rare vintage tech.
Plus, it’s cheap, you get free alcohol, and you can play Mario Kart for as long as you want!!
And idk about you guys, but that’s my kind of club.
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