European Night of Museums 2024: Guided tours and hundreds of minds captivated by history and technology discovered MECIPT-1 and the UPT Technical Museum

More than 500 people, 21 guided tours and as many minds captivated by the past, history and technology discovered the UPT Technical Museum at the 20th edition of the European Night of Museums event!

On May 18, 2024, the Politehnica University of Timișoara, together with the Department of ID/IFR and Digital Education, the Multimedia Center and together with the cultural project Spotlight Heritage Timișoara were part of the Night of Museums 2024 program!

With a full tour schedule, but also visited by curious passers-by, the UPT Technical Museum came alive at night and invited the general public to learn more about the history of information technology. Over 500 visitors they crossed the threshold of the museum, discovering MECIPT-1 – the first university computer in Romania (1961), but also virtual reality and mixed reality applications.

Open to both adults and children, all participants were able to enjoy interactive edutainment applications developed by UPT students and teachers in the framework of the Heritage in the Spotlight project. Another attraction was the latest Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (AR/MR) applications Spotlight Heritage Timișoara, where the public could interact interact with a complex real-virtual world, by using state-of-the-art digital technologies that present landmarks of Timișoara, with objects of national heritage from the galleries of the National Museum of Banat, partner in the project.

They also discovered other unique digital installations that combine art and technology, such as:

Patterns of Poetry: discover Timișoara through poetry and color (artist: Marius Jurca, 13m10j). This installation is an interactive project that is based on poems created by the writer Robert Șerban, under the title "Poems about Lady Timișoara", part of the project Patrimonilul under spotlights;
PhysicAI Garden: a dynamic virtual garden with virtual plants and mushrooms (artists: Anna Dumitriu & Alex May, in collaboration with CAPABLE Project and BioArt Revolution, organized within the Romanian Science Festival) – discover a dynamic virtual garden, where virtual plants and mushrooms grow and interact with each other and how different drugs can affect organic organisms, influencing their development;
Games in AR, through which you can interact with objects from the city's cultural heritage, developed by polytechnic students from the Multimedia Technologies master's specialization https://cm.upt.ro/;

If you didn't have the opportunity to visit the UPT Technical Museum on the occasion of the Night of the Museums 2024 event, the Timișoara public, schools, tourists and all those curious about technology, art and history are welcome at Open Days: from MECIPT to Virtual Reality, every Thursday and Friday, between 11:00 and 13:00, until June 21, 2024! Entry is free, you just have to program!

Find out where it all started and how the first alpha numeric calculator from the university environment in Romania looked like! Come to discover MECIPT-1, but also the developments of technology in the UPT Museum on https://muzeu.upt.ro/ ! The event is designed to capture the attention of everyone, regardless of age, providing an excellent opportunity to learn about the evolution of technology and its impact on society through unconventional ways, bringing together multiple fields, mediums and ideas, creating a universe of connections and opportunities for generations future

Learn more about the event by visiting: https://elearning.upt.ro/ro/ and https://spotlight-timisoara.eu/en/

The Night of Museums event was organized on Saturday, May 18, and was under the sign of the number 20. Eagerly awaited every year, especially by the general public, Night of Museums #20 ran throughout the day of May 18, until late into the night , simultaneously with several European countries.

Spotlight Heritage Timișoara/Heritage under the spotlight is a digital cultural initiative of the Timișoara Polytechnic University carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Banat, part of the Timișoara 2023 European Capital of Culture Cultural Program. Cultural project co-financed by the Municipality of Timișoara through the Project Center, the Timiș County Council, the Ministry of Culture, EEA and Norway Grants.