Reading Museum marks 60 years of town’s digital transformation

Reading Museum is celebrating the town’s shift from beer, bulbs, and biscuits to a digital powerhouse with the digital revolution exhibition, opening Tuesday 18 March 2025.

The exhibition is free and fun day out for all ages. Visit the Reading Museum website for opening times.

A town transformed

Sixty years ago, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), a young American computing company, opened its first UK office at 11 Castle Street, Reading. Starting with just 2 employees, DEC expanded rapidly, employing more than 2,000 people and laying the foundation for Reading’s position as a UK technology hub.

Since then, Reading has grown into one of the largest tech clusters in the UK, with more than 11,000 ICT businesses in the wider area. DEC itself became a global leader in computing, at one point the world’s second-largest computer company, before being taken over by Compaq in 1998.

Celebrating Reading's tech history

The digital revolution exhibition is funded by an £87,145 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and is hosted in partnership with the National Museum of Computing. It showcases the rise of Reading’s technology industry with features such as:

• a DEC talk voice synthesizer, famously used by Stephen Hawking
• rare and vintage computing equipment, on loan from Bletchley Park’s National Museum of Computing and private collectors
• a video wall installation, sharing reflections from key figures in Reading’s digital history
• nostalgic computing items, including the ZX Spectrum
• digital artwork by emerging Reading artist Jessica Brauner
• a large-scale mural of Reading’s future, by renowned artist Justin Eagleton
• a collection of products and memorabilia from leading ICT companies in Reading today

A historic opening

To mark the launch of the exhibition, on Monday 17 March 2025, Reading Museum will welcome representatives from Reading’s technology sector and local councillors. Special guest John Leng, founder of DEC UK, is travelling from the USA to attend. He will join Sir John Madejski, who will formally open the exhibition in the Sir John Madejski Gallery.

Plan your visit

The digital revolution exhibition runs from Tuesday 18 March to 24 December 2025.

Reading Museum is a free and fun day out for all ages. Opening times can be found on the Reading Museum website.

Donations are welcome and support the museum’s work: make a donation to Reading Museum.

Thoughts on the exhibition

Adele Barnett-Ward, Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture:

"This exhibition is exceptional, honouring the legacy of DEC and ensuring its impact on Reading's history is preserved for future generations. We’re very pleased DEC UK founder John Leng can join us for the opening too. I’d encourage residents to come along to the Reading digital revolution exhibition over the next few months. The exhibition shares the town’s untold hi-tech history and explores ideas about how an unfolding digital revolution is influencing Reading’s present and future.”

Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund

“We are delighted to support this project, which thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will mean that more people will be able to get involved with, protect, and learn about the exciting heritage right on their doorstep. Heritage has a huge role to play in instilling pride in communities and boosting local economies, and this project is a fantastic example of achieving those aims.”