An Apple Pop-Up Museum is set to open this weekend, at the Vintage Computer Festival Southeast in Atlanta. The museum will feature a look at Apple products throughout the years and will include several rare Apple and pre-Apple artifacts like the original Lisa and the Xerox Alto.

The museum is organized into a series of different rooms, with each different section dedicated to a different era in Apple's history.

20thanniversary

A rare 20th Anniversary Mac

Steven Hackett of 512 Pixels posted a detailed preview tour of the museum earlier this month, pointing out several highlights along with tidbits from Lonnie Mimms, the man who created the Apple Pop-Up Museum.

If the Apple I is Genesis, then a little garage in Los Altos is Eden. The garage is recreated in Mimms' Apple Pop-Up Museum, with large prints of what the workstations looked like. In the middle of the room, on a white stand, under glass, is Mimms' Apple I.

The next two rooms down the hallway are a prime example of how simple — yet powerful — the displays in this exhibit are.

The first one is all about the Apple II — the machine that launched Apple into its first giant wave of success. The room features the machine of course, but also the first Disk II and controller card. The back wall of the room is an art piece made of old disks, and on the wall hangs examples of Apple II logic boards and designs.

Hackett goes on to spotlight other early Apple products like the MacColby, an original 128k Macintosh that plays the first game ever made available for the system, and the ultra rare 20th Anniversary Mac. Hackett's account of the museum provides a fascinating overview of the contents of the museum for Apple enthusiasts who cannot make it to Georgia.

The Apple Pop-Up Museum will be open on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 2013 and will take place at the Kings Market Shopping Center. Attendees will need to pay a $10 admission fee for a single day or $15 for both days.

Top Rated Comments

Silvereel Avatar
156 months ago
Link to photos below

Well, I put on my 'Hello, I'm a Mac' shirt, and made my way down to the Apple Pop-Up Museum today. I've got to say, it was a blast! Despite being inside what used to be a Comp-USA, they've really turned it into a really nice place. It really did have the quality you'd expect from a museum. They even had a bench to sit on while admiring a massive portrait of Steve!

It boggles my mind that they're only doing this for a few short days. It looks like they put a ton of work into it. They might not have had every Apple device under the sun, but they had everything you need to know about. I was still a bit disappointed that I didn't get a chance to look at a Pippin, but I digress...

I took quite a few photos, so feel free to look them over. I set up a bit of a gallery here (https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=EB97C7860F2A73C3!9924&authkey=!AOoQdcVgjZ4TEeE). Some of them aren't the best, because of lighting and the plastic over displays, but you'll get the picture. There's also a temporary tattoo they handed out in there ;)

Anyways, it's well worth your time if you get a chance to check it out. It's tastefully done, and Apple's products are well worth admiring. It really does make me wish that Apple had a museum of their own.

On a related note, I did check out the rest of the Festival, and got a chance to look at some really arcane gear; teletype machines from the '60s, a tic-tac-toe game from 1961, Altair 8800s, and even a table full of MSX computers and accessories. I also listened to David Greelish's talk on the similarities between Steve Jobs and Walt Disney, which was pretty interesting, too.

Did I mention I came within inches of a real Apple I? Yeah.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Garrod Avatar
156 months ago
Sadly that's a bit too far for my budget to stretch to travel that far. Now give me a pop-up book with that sort of stuff in and I'm sold!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DTphonehome Avatar
156 months ago
Are people really going to need TWO days for this? It's not Disney World.

"That iMac was exhausting, kids! Let's do the rest tomorrow!"
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Thunderhawks Avatar
156 months ago
Are people really going to need TWO days for this? It's not Disney World.

"That iMac was exhausting, kids! Let's do the rest tomorrow!"

Definitely not Disney World: Parking is FREE.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ZZ Bottom Avatar
156 months ago
Trying to decide between the two-day discount or the season pass!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Silvereel Avatar
156 months ago
Heading down there tomorrow :D Only about 45 minutes to an hour from where I live, so I'm lucky!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
watchOS 11 Thumb 2 1

Apple Releases watchOS 11.4 With Sleep Alarm Update

Tuesday April 1, 2025 10:34 am PDT by
Apple today released watchOS 11.4, the fourth major update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.4 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2. watchOS 11.4 can be downloaded on a connected iPhone by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software,...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday March 31, 2025 11:27 am PDT by
Apple today released new firmware updates for all AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 models. The new firmware is version 7E93, up from the 7B21 firmware that was installed on the AirPods Pro 2 and the 7B20 firmware available on the AirPods 4 and AirPods 4 with ANC. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in the new firmware, but we'll update this article should we find ...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...