Volunteering at The Centre for Computing History

The Centre for Computing History needs your help!

Our volunteers are achieving great things but there is so much more we would like to do.

We understand that your time is valuable so offering to volunteer for us is something we really do appreciate.

Whether you live locally or far away we have a number of activities that would really help move the museum forward. We are an inclusive organisation and really want to create opportunities for anyone, regardless of their capabilities.

Specific Volunteering Roles Currently Available:

 

Not sure what you want to do?  Browse our Volunteer Teams:

The Centre divides new volunteers into four teams.  Once a new volunteer has bedded in, there will be the opportunity to create a more customised role, but we ask all new volunteers who aren't applying for a specific task to join one of our teams.  Be aware, though, that we may not be able to take you on immediately.

We have a particular need for Volunteers who can help with education visits.

 

Collection Volunteers Cataloguing tasks involve database entry, for which full training will be given.  The Centre has a mountain of material in its collection ready to be sorted, stored and listed on our website.

As part of our Museums Accreditation, we're pushing to upgrade all our storage areas and practices.  This needs people willing to help lift and shift, clean up machines or enter information into our database. This task can also involve digitising documents, and learning how to store items to museum standards.

Education: On weekdays, many school groups come to the Centre to participate in tours and workshops. Quite often we need help with setting up the classroom and lunch area and with helping students move through the galleries. If you have the right skills, you could also help as teaching assistants during school activities; some of our volunteers lead tours and workshops, but all assistance is good.  If you enjoy working with children and young adults and are available on weekdays, this is a good role for you. You may be required to undergo a basic DBS check for this role.

Front of House:  We require volunteers to interact with the public in our galleries to help them feel at home.  All museums need friendly faces to assist visitors. We’re no different, and we know it makes a big difference to the visitor experience. 

Front of house volunteers work as visitor guides, helping our guests around the Centre and keeping an eye on exhibits to make sure they stay working and guests are able to use them; café operators, serving drinks and snacks; occasional cover for our front desk; and event helpers.

You don’t need to know anything about computers to take up this role, staff are always around too, and we’ll train you up with all the right info. All you need is to be comfortable with the public and able to spot when something’s at risk of going wrong.

Front of house volunteers are needed all the time the Centre is open. However, we often have quiet periods, such as late in the afternoons on school days.  There are things that can be done even when we’re quiet with visitors, such as tidying and restocking the shop and café. So if you like the idea of being surrounded by nostalgia (with access to endless cups of tea/coffee), this role is also for you.    

Technical: Currently Closed to New Volunteers There’s always tinkering going on at CCH, from repairs of old machines to development of new interactive displays to changes on our website. You’ll need technical knowledge of hardware, software or general electronics, but if you have that this could well be the role for you.

One thing to bear in mind is that technical roles don’t provide you with a neat conveyor belt of tasks to get on with. We don’t know what will break next, so every day might present you with a new challenge or sometimes no challenge at all. All volunteers need to be prepared to drop back to other roles, likely front of house, in the event that we don’t have an immediate task, but this is more prevalent in technical roles. If that’s acceptable, we’d be delighted to have you down as a technical volunteer.

 

How to Apply

If you are interested in volunteering your time with us and playing a vital part in our museum, email us with your details, what role you'd like to apply for and what makes you ideal for this role.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you ...

volunteers@computinghistory.org.uk

Help support the museum by buying from the museum shop

View all items

Founding Sponsors
redgate Google ARM Real VNC Microsoft Research
Heritage Lottery Funded
Heritage Lottery Fund
Accredited Museum