PEEK&POKE 18th birthday party

Our museum celebrates its 18th birthday! We never expected that our modest volunteer project of a handful of enthusiasts would reach this far.

The motif on this year’s invitation is inspired by the famous “Arecibo interstellar message” which carries basic information about humanity and the Earth that was sent to the globular cluster Messier 13 in 1974. It was meant as a demonstration of human technological achievement, rather than a real attempt to enter into a conversation with extraterrestrials.
The message was broadcast into space a single time via frequency modulated radio waves at a ceremony to mark the remodeling of the Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico on 16 November 1974. The message was aimed at the location of M13, about 25,000 light years from Earth, because M13 was a large and relatively close collection of stars that was available in the sky at the time of the ceremony. When correctly translated into graphics, characters, and spaces, the 1,679 bits of data contained within the message forms the image that is on the entrance door of the PEEK&POKE museum, and is also partly shown on this year’s birthday invitation.

We invite past volunteers, sponsors, partners, friends, and all computer enthusiasts to celebrate the 18th anniversary with us, on Saturday, September 27th, from 8:30 PM onwards. Admission is free, with donations welcome.