One of metro Atlanta’s lesser-known cultural gems is the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art in Roswell. Commercial real estate developer Lonnie Mimms has spent more than 50 years collecting computers and electronic devices, now showcased at the North Fulton museum.
On Wednesday, the Mimms Museum, formerly known as the Computer Museum of America, will unveil a new permanent exhibition featuring 2,000 artifacts representing five decades of innovation from Apple. The exhibit, titled “INSPIRE: 50 Years of Innovation from Apple,” includes original artifacts such as handwritten manuals, Apple II computers and rare prototypes, a statement said.
The museum recently hosted a preview dinner that featured five early Apple employees, Chris Espinosa, Daniel Kottke, George Crow, Randy Wigginton and Taylor Pohlman, who shared their personal stories. The event included a panel discussion on the beginnings of Apple’s innovation.
“Apple has fundamentally shaped how we experience technology in our daily lives,” Lonnie Mimms said in the statement. “Sharing this exhibition with some of the original minds behind these innovations and seeing their reactions to the artifacts on display was an incredibly meaningful way to introduce this new permanent exhibition.”
Beyond the Apple exhibition, the museum collection spans centuries of technological history. Lonnie Mimms has said that he thinks of the museum as the Smithsonian for technology. His collection of hundreds of thousands of items includes 50 tall supercomputers, as well as a Sumerian tablet used for bookkeeping and inventory in 2000 B.C.
Mimms and his wife, Karin, created the museum in a former Burlington Coat Factory in 2019. Since then, the museum has hosted STEM summer camps, school field trips and other events.
An annual fundraiser, BYTE26, raised more than $250,000, the statement said. The funding supports the new exhibition, educational programming and efforts to attract visitors nationwide.
“Our hope is this [Apple] exhibit will inspire future innovators to think creatively, pursue their passions and imagine what’s possible,” said Rena Youngblood, executive director of Mimms Museum.
