Intel Museum

The Intel Museum is inside a building at the company’s headquarters in Santa Clara. Originally an internal department where the company could keep track of its achievements and history, the popular museum opened to public in 1992 and has since expanded threefold. Though small by regular museum standards, the Intel Museum is still worth a visit, particularly with the free entry and parking. It takes about an hour to fully explore the exhibits, which range from Intel’s business culture to the silicon purification process. Learn how complex microchips start out as sand and why the technicians who build them wear “bunny suits.” See the tiny microprocessor that changed the computing world when it was released in 1971. This “4004” chip is the size of little fingernail but has the same power as a computer that filled a whole room. True techies will get a kick out of the detailed explanations of engineering and development techniques. But be warned, unless you’ve got a background in electronics, some exhibits can be text heavy and full of jargon.For a change of theme, read about Intel founders Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce and how their work led them to found a company that changed the face of the computing world. Check out the high-tech automated “clean rooms,” where processors are now manufactured, to see how far the industry has come. There are also a number of exhibits that explain how microprocessors have helped shape the modern world. Explore the museum on your own, or organize a guided tour in advance. Exhibits are designed for kids as well as adults.Die-hard fans can pick up a souvenir at the gift shop, where memorabilia of all kinds is on sale. The Intel Museum is open Monday to Saturday. Photography is permitted, though bags aren’t allowed in. By bus from downtown San Jose, it takes about an hour to get to the museum.