Description :

21st-22nd September 2019

Acorn World is a weekend-long event celebrating the computers, software and people of Acorn.

Acorn were an innovative British computer hardware and software company based here in Cambridge. It’s most well known computers were the BBC Micro, Electron and Archimedes. They also invented the ARM processor, which is found today in billions of devices ranging from washing machines and central heating timers to smartphones and TVs.

What you will see at the Acorn World event…

Acorn history
This exhibit tells the story of Acorn from humble beginnings in 1978, to the glorious heyday of the ‘80s and ambiguous end in the late ‘90s. We also cover the significant legacies that continue to impact technology today. Featuring nearly all the machines of Acorn from 1979 to 1999 and including one-of-a-kind prototypes, this display is sure to fascinate and engage.

2017 Acorn World Exhibition:

Acorn in education and industry
Hands on exhibits featuring educational games and a robot turtle used to teach children programming in the 1980s

BBC TV graphics display

Acorn machines were used to display graphics for the National Lottery and children’s programmes in the 1980s.  This exhibit is the actual equipment used, lovingly restored by an enthusiast.

Come see it in action!

A 20 minute demonstration of the BBC TV graphics display will take place at 1.30pm on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September. 

Acorn gaming
A chance to sit down and play some classic computer games (anyone remember Chuckie Egg?) on BBC Micros, as well as some new games created for the vintage machine by Acorn enthusiasts.

Acorn user group meet-up
The Acorn and BBC Micro User Group meet once again at the Centre for Computing History. You can find them in our "80s classroom” working on amazing new projects featuring vintage Acorn machines and doubtless playing a game or two! Come along, take a look, play some games and have a chat!

Special Evening Event: Acorn World Talks and Q&A panel

with Acorn alumni Jonathan Griffiths and Alex van Someren

Saturday 21st September 2019, 6.00pm onwards

Jonathan Griffiths will be giving a talk about his time at Acorn, where he wrote some of the first arcade games for the BBC Micro as well as contributing to the BBC Domesday Project.  Jonathan spent his A-levels teaching himself Assembler using his Acorn Atom, during which time he wrote (too many) games instead of revising for his A-levels. After failing these he joined Acornsoft in 1981 and wrote some of the early BBC Micro games, such as Snapper & Rocket Raid. He also wrote a book titled "Creative Assembler”

Alex van Someren will talk about his work at Acorn, which began while he was still a schoolboy! He will also talk about starting up his own company which developed add-ons and upgrades for Archimedes and RISC PC machines. Back in the day, Alex helped deliver the BBC Microcomputer and Electron at Acorn.. and co-wrote the first book on the ARM RISC architecture, also available pirated in Japanese!

Itinerary:

6.00-8.00pm: Talks, Q&A (with interval)

8.00pm onwards: food/drink/socialising

Please note, there will be a 6.00pm prompt start, but timings may vary a little thereafter!

For anyone wanting to consume food and drink at the museum after the talks, please order via services such as Just Eat and Deliveroo. We have wi-fi and can supply links, phone numbers etc. We have taken this approach to keep ticket costs down whilst accommodating varying dietary requirements.