Terminals and Punch Tapes – Input/Output and Data Storage

On display are a VT510 terminal, a Teletype Model 33 ASR, a punch tape reader and a punch.

The terminal serves as an input and output device for a computer. In this exhibit, the originally much larger computer is represented by a Raspberry Pi. The Teletype was also used as a terminal connected to a computer in its day, but is displayed here on its own due to the lack of an adapter.

Whilst terminals enabled the direct input of commands and the output of results, punched tape was used to store and transmit data and programmes. The punched tape reader and punch allow visitors to understand how information was mechanically encoded, read and recorded. The exhibit thus provides an insight into historical methods of data input and storage and demonstrates how the interface between humans and computers has changed over time.