About the Museum

Northwest's computing history, which includes the Electronic Campus Program, is housed in the Jean JENNINGS Bartik Computing Museum.

Jean Jennings Bartik, whom the museum is named after, graduated from Northwest in 1945 and went on to make history by programming the ENIAC, the world's first successful electronic computer, as well as, the BINAC and UNIVAC I. The latter was the first successful commercial computer.

The Jean JENNINGS Bartik Computing Museum has a twofold mission:

1. to honor the accomplishments of Northwest alumnus Jean Jennings Bartik whose pioneering work on the ENIAC and UNIVAC I helped to shape the digital age we now live in, and
2. to document and showcase Northwest's technological development.

The museum, which has a unique collection of early computing memorabilia, has on display an authentic ENIAC Decade Ring Counter, which is on loan from the Smithsonian Institute, and an original Remington-Rand miniature model of the UNIVAC I. Additionally, there is an extensive collection of Northwest computing hardware including an Altair 8800 computer, considered the first personal computer, and an Osborne portable computer, an ancestor to the modern notebook [laptop] computer

For more information on the Jean Jennings Bartik Computing Museum or to schedule a tour, contact the Information Technology-Client Computing Help Desk at 660.562.1634.

You can also view the online Computing History Museum, which is an interactive experience with many photo albums.