WHAT IS TECNOLOGIC@MENTE?

It is both a museum and a laboratory. It is a museum which tells a part of the italian industrial history ,highlighting the Olivetti’s productions and culture. It is a laboratory turned first to the schools and the younger generations, to stimolate creativity and the desire of experiment, to imagine the future, but also to discover our history and roots.

THE MUSEUM

The itinerary of the Laboratory-Museum TECNOLOGIC@MENTE is divided into exhibition areas that follows a “ color code”: the red describes the section on mechanics, the blue area identifies the electronics and information technology and the orange one the space for didattic work. Each area is organized in thematic spaces which tells the visitor objects, historical periods and men who have built their future.

THE LABORATORY

Tecnologic@mente is above all an educational workshop where kids and students can personally experience different features of technology. A fascinatine theme, but not so easy to tell. For this reason, Tecnologic@mente decided to overturn the traditional concept of museum, making it correlated to educational activities. Each and every laboratory, wether it refers to writing, calculation or digital image, has a space in the exhibition as reference and exploration.

TECHNOLOGY AND…

From the beginning of its activities, Tecnologic@mente decided to use universal languages , combinig “Art and Technology” in several events, (in collaboration with Artepertutti) , “ Environment and Technology”, and Territorial Laboratory for Environmental Education.

WRITING – CAMILLO OLIVETTI (1868-1943)

The mechanical and electromechanical typewriters, from the early models dating back to the later part of the 17th century, to those still popular about thirty years ago. Some Olivetti models have become the symbol of excellence of the “Made in Italy”, exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and mentioned in the most prestigious design exhibitions. Their names are by this time part of the myth: Lexikon 80, Lettera 22, Valentine…

MECHANICAL CALCULATION – NATALE CAPELLARO (1902-1977)

From abacus to super calculator MC 27, from non printable calculators to complicated accounting machines. Between these extremes we can admire the MC14, the first printing calculator in the world able to execute the four basic operations. Tetractys, the most complete, and the milionth Divisumma 24, all of which designed by Natale Capellaro.

ELECTRONIC CALCULATION – PIER GIORGIO PEROTTO (1930-2002)

The Programma 101 or “Perottina”, the first desktop computer in the world, and the ET 101, the first elettronic typewriter, surrended by a large number of all kinds of machines: office calculators, pocket and printable calculators, programmable or non-programmable, the “semi-personal” and the writing sistems.

ELEA 9003 – ADRIANO OLIVETTI (1901-1960)

Elea was an innovative product: for its technology, because it was the first complete transfer-resistor commercial system, for its systemic concept and for its original design. In this room we can retrace the history of Olivetti’s electronics: “ a missed opportunity”.

PERSONAL COMPUTER – ROBERTO OLIVETTI (1928-1985)

In this area: the mythical Commodore and Sinclair in the home computer segment, followed by the “Apple phenomenon”; then on Olivetti first with the M20 and eventually with the highly successful M24, all IBM “compatibile”.