Techvana - The New Zealand Computer Museum

[MarkBarlow]

Hi Everyone,
We are establishing Techvana - The New Zealand Computer Museum in Auckland.
There are four major opportunities for collectors to get involved...
1. You can loan pieces from your collections to us and receive a financial return when they are being publicly displayed. We agree on a valuation when we loan the item and you are paid 10%/pa on this valuation while the item is on display, but not when in storage. We also insure the items in our care. We also accept donations and these go into the Techvana Charitable Trust which will retain them for the community going forward.
2. We are building a restoration workshop in the museum with oscilloscopes, solder stations etc... for the restoration of vintage computers and game consoles, so if you think this would be of use get involved!
3. You can buy shares in the Museum via our PledgeMe equity crowd funding campaign... https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/investments/17 The minimum investment is just $100 for 2 shares and if we sell the maximum of 15,000 shares then those people will own 50% of the Museum! You can download our business plan from the PledgeMe site and I would love to get feedback / comments.
4. We are collecting NZ Tech Stories and interviewing people on video which will be available on our website and stitched together into a documentary. We have an award winning documentary film maker working with us and if you or someone you know has a story you would like to share, please get in touch.

Please check out our website and like our Facebook page.
http://www.techvana.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/NZComputerMuseum

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Cheers,
Mark Barlow
mark.barlow@techvana.co.nz
+64 27 489 6721

[tezza]

There are a number of reasons why I wouldn't like to live in Auckland. However, this is not one of them! It's reason enough to visit.

Good to hear this is rolling along Mark. I wish you and your team all the best, and would encourage others to support it.

I've got some shares...I challenge others to pick a few up and support this project!

Re: stories, ..my old System 80 and love of adventure games lead to me (eventually) to co-winning a Microsoft Open award in 1993, a National Tertiary Teaching Award years ago in 2003 (see down the page here) and a Distance Education Association (DEANZ) Award in 2008.

I dunno if that qualifies as a story but early dabbling with microcomputers certainly had an impact on my career...even though I've never been employed in the IT industry!

But I'm sure there are thousands of stories out there like mine. IT was a revolution, after all.

[Gibsaw]

Hi Mark,

I have a reasonably comprehensive Apple II collection, which is not doing anything right now. I suspect it may be better off running than sitting in plastic boxes.

I'm also interested in perhaps doing repairs in a workshop situation. I understand the digital side to a degree, but I need practice, especially soldering.

It would be interesting to make a side-goal of the workshop to be general electronic skills improvement and try and transfer some knowledge in the vintage community in a bit more direct way than just online chat... However, I digress.

I'll send you a PM with some contact details.

Devlin

[LilJoe]

Just been there today, recomending it to all who live in Auckland. It was great fun, I had no idea the zx81 was so small (especially when placed next to a system 80 )

[kevman3d]

I had no idea the zx81 was so small

It may be small - but it can (or could, at least) do a lot for its size...