Flori Pierri
@flori-p.bsky.social
Associate curator of science & technology at the MIT Museum | historian of science | really likes armadillos | currently thinking about computer games 🌈
Hey #ESHS-HSS: interested in collections, archives, libraries, and/or museums? Come to the CALM-sponsored roundtable “Collections, Archives, Libraries, and Museums: How, Why, and So What?” tomorrow at 4:15, or to the Doctors Pub immediately after the roundtable for a more informal conversation.
One of my favorite historical rabbit holes is the story about a 1968 cross country electric car race. Students from MIT and CalTech built their own electric cars and drove them across the country. I recently got to talk about the race and some of its legacy:
Racing towards a zero emissions future | Florencia Pierri | TEDxMIT
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtube.com
I feel like this "Stupid People at MIT" t-shirt would be such a hit! mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...
mitmuseum.mit.edu
Mateusz Fafinski@calthalas.bsky.social · 2mo agoHere is me, pleading with museum shops. We do not want yet another bookmark and eraser with your logo for 11 euros. We. Want. Replicas. Of. Your. Nerdy. Stuff.
It's 1983, and "there is trouble brewing in the video game world" according to the editors of Electronic Fun. Too many knock-offs, sequels, and poor imitations of other games instead of new output.
I am (ever so slowly) getting back into computer game research for upcoming Untitled Computer Game Exhibition at the MIT Museum. And since so many video/computer game people follow me... a question for you all. What would *you* most like to see in a computer game exhibition?
It's 1982, and the lukewarmest game is Spectravision's Reaganomics-- the game where you... balance budgets!
It's 1982, and there are only 347 video games in existence. And the magazine *Electronic Fun* is going to rank them all on an A-F scale. Grade inflation clearly hasn't hit yet-- there are no A+ grades.
I'll be at #TedXMIT this Saturday talking a cross country electric car race... from 1968! If you're in Boston, come to the MIT Museum at 2:30 to learn just how many fires occurred along the way. 🔥 ⚡ 🔋 🏁 Register here: luma.com/mdx3v716
I had a fun time over-explaining the history of the telephone for @wbur.org ☎️ At some point, I also demonstrated that while I have an intellectual understanding of how a rotary dial phone works, I didn't actually know how to dial the numbers!
WBUR@wbur.org · 5mo agoOn March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized the way we communicate when the first discernible human voice traveled over wire from one person to another.
That's quite possibly the second funniest picture they could have chosen for the header. The funniest, of course, is this one-- the slide that reads only "profit" mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/... Anyway, go listen to me talk about games, I guess?
mitmuseum.mit.edu
Video Game History Foundation@gamehistoryorg.bsky.social · 5mo agoIn the latest Video Game History Hour podcast, MIT Museum's Dr. Flori Pierri joins us to explore their unexpected journey into the world of video game preservation: https://gamehistory.org/episode-151-games-preservation-at-mit-museum/ (Pictured: Michael Dornbrook, Infocom.)
Today at work I finished cataloging a collection of material related to someone's Heathkit H8. We got his computer, terminal, disk drive, and a whole bunch of archival material related to his computer (whom he called George) and various Heath Users Groups he was involved in over the years.
This week on the Video Game History Hour: We're joined by @flori-p.bsky.social, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum! Dr. Pierri trained as a natural history curator. So how did they end up working in game preservation? At MIT? The story of their career will surprise you!
Episode 151: Games Preservation at MIT Museum | Video Game History Foundation
From vacuum tubes to virtual worlds, Dr. Flori Pierri, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum, joins us to explore their unexpected journey into the world of video game preserva...
gamehistory.org
Today in cataloguing recent acquisitions: A handy guide to computer terms (from The User's Guide, 1984)
Happy birthday to the bouncing ball!
Quarter Past@quarterpast.bsky.social · 6mo agoTime to kick off a (year-long) commemoration of one of THE OLDEST video games known to history! 🎊 It’s “Bouncing Ball” — a candidate for the first-ever video game — celebrating its (75th) Diamond Anniversary this year! 🧵👇
In cataloging a collection (I'd say recent acquisition, but it came into the museum in 1996 🫠), I came across an witheringly devastating burn. "You may never have heard of his theory, but you certainly missed nothing." mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...
“This should be a trigger warning— it’s a syllabus” 😂😂😂 @profnoctis.bsky.social at #PAXEast talks about his class Mythos to Logos, which uses Final Fantasy games to teach religious studies.
I’m at a very fun panel about the MIT Mystery Hunt at #PAXEast. Apparently advice given before the hunt includes “please shower,” which is especially important for the longer hunts… 😂
And now, from early modern whales, I’m off to #PAXEast to work my my next exhibition project— computer games! If you’re interested in game history, game preservation, or how do you exhibit a game in a museum, anyway? send me a DM. I’d love to chat!
After months of posting about Whales! Whales! Whales! the exhibit is finally up! mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...
Monsters of the Deep: Between Imagination and Science | MIT Museum
How do you draw a picture of something you’ve heard about but never seen? How do you see it in the first place? This is a problem that has bedeviled scientists for centuries. Today, we hunt for ...
mitmuseum.mit.edu
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
I don’t think that it was curatorially necessary for me to be around for the mounting of the narwhal tusk, but it sure did make me happy!
I hope people are queuing up some clever, potent counter- programming, guerrilla tours, and pirate guides for all of these obsequious, whitewashed semiquincentennial exhibitions and events
Still remember @flori-p.bsky.social talking about RCA and the whole color tv process at her old job!
Programming Insider@programminginsider.bsky.social · last yr.On this day in 1954: RCA manufactured the first color TV set. It measured 12 1/2 inches and sold for $1,000.
This was a fun thing to see in the reference queue. What gets me is the 'sent from my iphone' at the end. Our reference assistant is top notch and definitely not a grub. Be in touch if you want to license any of the MIT Museum's images for your next publication. mitmuseum.mit.edu/collections/...
What I’ve come to understand about generative AI is that it is ultimately a tool for the redistribution of mediocrity.
Are you heading to Boston for #RSA2025 and find yourself with some time to kill? We have no shortage of museums, but for something a little off the beaten track, you can visit these two delightful early modern whales, currently on display in "Moving Objects" at the MIT Museum in Cambridge.
