The IEEE Global Museum, presented by the IEEE History Center, launched a new exhibit titled “Microchips That Shook the World.”

Based on the Chip Hall of Fame created by IEEE Spectrum, this hands-on traveling exhibit explores different types of microchips and the vital roles they play through a series of iconic products, including a working Commodore 64 home computer. Interactive components, such as a magnifier rail and a gesture screen, offer visitors a rare chance to look inside several microchips and engage with a rich world of rivalries, gambits, and grand designs hidden behind the plastic packaging and metal contacts.

microchips exhibit details

Funded by ASML, the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society, the Mensch Foundation, and other generous donors, Microchips is designed to travel worldwide to museums, libraries, and other public places, as well as IEEE conferences and events. “Chips do so many things in our lives, but they’re always hidden away. Microchips That Shook the World makes them visible, literally and figuratively,” says Kathleen Kramer, 2025 IEEE President. “This exhibit promotes awareness of how technological progress unfolds over generations and how engineers and researchers can build on past achievements to improve people’s lives.”

The first public venue is the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum (AAIM) in Attleboro, MA, where, for many years, Texas Instruments based its Sensors and Control business. AAIM is celebrating the exhibit’s arrival with a special opening reception on October 11, 2025. IEEE members and their guests can visit the museum for free until the exhibit closes on December 27, 2025.

Exhibit in a Box The aim of the IEEE Global Museum "Exhibit in a Box" program is to create engaging, interactive and compact exhibits that can travel easily to a variety of locations. Each exhibit in a box will pair a single or small group of key artifacts with engaging interactive content to produce a self-contained educational experience in the history of electrotechnology. The "box" refers to the capability of packing the exhibit straightforwardly into a compact crate that can be unpacked to create an attractive, interactive exhibit. The Microchips that Shook the World exhibit will fit into a crate on a standard shipping pallet that can easily be transported. Each venue will be responsible for setting up and tearing down the exhibit. So instructions will be included that require minimal training.

The IEEE Global Museum promotes an understanding of technology and its impact upon society by bringing museum-quality exhibits directly to IEEE and the public. It relies on donations to the IEEE Foundation; the History Center would especially like to thank the IEEE Life Members Committee for their generosity.

Microchips that Shook the World is the second Global Museum traveling exhibit. Unseen Signals: E. Howard Armstrong’s Radio Revolution is currently on display at InfoAge in Wall, NJ, until December 28, 2025.