Known as the birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto’s rich historical past will be exhibited in the city’s newest museum. Museum Board President Rich Green hopes to open its doors by 2025 and share the city’s rich history.
“We’re about the extraordinary people of Palo Alto and will go back to the very beginning,” Green said. “There’s just so much here that people aren’t aware of, and we will tell those stories right. We hope that people will come into our museum, see something, hear something, and have an experience that blows little fireworks off in their heads.”
In order to tell these stories, Green hopes to use the newest technology, such as augmented and virtual reality simulations, to create unique experiences.
“We’re hoping stories can come to life in the form of augmented reality or immersive media experiences,” Green said. “Imagine you’re standing in the museum, you put on your special glasses, and Leland Stanford Jr walks out in front of you. He talks to you, gives you a tour of the building, and then shows you some interesting historical places here in downtown Palo Alto, all in this augmented reality world.”
Green hopes local high school students will help the museum integrate these technologies into the exhibits.
“With [Apple’s Development kit] and some training, we can have students start writing the code and helping us tell the stories,” Green said. “We’d love to continue working with high school students in the museum’s teen council. We work with students interested in history and media because our teen council is also our oral histories program.”
Palo Alto Museum Board member and previous City Historian Steve Steiger has worked on this project since its inception 18 years ago.
Steiger said the museum will include both permanent and temporary exhibitions showcasing the lives of Palo Alto residents.
“There are certain exhibits that visitors to a local history museum expect whether it’s Palo Alto or someplace in Iowa, and I’m not picking on Iowa,” Steiger said. “But then there’s also exhibits that would have an interest but aren’t necessarily gonna be a permanent exhibit.”
Steiger said that the museum would offer permanent exhibits featuring information about the city’s beginnings. From the Palo Alto tree — for which the city is named after — to innovative technologies and the effects of Stanford’s railroad.
One individual offered the museum their father’s motorcycle, Steiger said. With plenty of space in the museum, creating a base and mounting exhibits from Palo Alto residents’ experiences would be easy to accomplish.
“We have an offer from a man whose father belonged to a multi-ethnic motorcycle club in Palo Alto in the 60s,” Steiger said. “And this man has his father’s Harley Davidson chopper motorcycle. Well, that’s not the standard thing you think of for Palo Alto. But he was a Palo Altan.”
For more information, please visit https://paloaltohistorymuseum.org/.