Bring Vintage Computing to Your Space
Real Commodore, Atari, Texas Instruments, and Tandy machines — delivered, set up, and ready for hands-on exploration at your school, library, or office.
A pop-up vintage computing lab for groups. You pick the computers and peripherals you want; we bring authentic 8-bit hardware to your location and set it up. Your participants load programs from real floppies and cassettes, write BASIC, play classic games, and more — with printed activity guides to follow.
Commodore
C64, C128, VIC-20
Atari & Tandy
Atari 400, CoCo 2 & more
Texas Instruments
TI-99/4A & accessories
Displays
Period monitors, CRT & LCD
Who It's For
Built for organizations that want to give their members a real, hands-on taste of computing history.
Schools
Bring computing history to life for students with machines they can actually touch and program.
Libraries & Museums
Host a retro-computing exhibit or event that visitors of all ages can explore hands-on.
Businesses
A memorable team event, open house, or launch with a nostalgic, conversation-starting twist.
Clubs & Groups
Maker spaces, scout troops, and enthusiast clubs that want the real hardware without owning it.
How It Works
You provide the room; we bring the computers. Here's the flow from request to retro.
Pick Your Setup
Choose the computers and peripherals you want. As you add equipment, you'll see the activities it unlocks â all included free.
Choose Your Schedule
Tell us the dates and hours. Keep the gear overnight for multi-day events if you'd like.
We Deliver & Set Up
We bring everything to your space, set it up, and make sure it's all running before your participants arrive.
Hands-On Time
Your group explores the machines with printed activity guides. We handle teardown when you're done.
The Equipment
Mix and match authentic hardware. Each item is priced individually — an hourly rate plus a one-time base fee for transport and setup. Rates shown are estimates; your exact quote is confirmed before booking.
Activities
Every booking includes printed step-by-step activity guides. Available activities depend on the equipment you choose.
Pricing & Terms
Transparent, per-item pricing with no hidden costs. The booking form totals everything for you as you build your setup.
What You Pay For
- Hourly rate per item, charged for the full duration of the workshop (2-hour daily minimum).
- One-time base fee per item, covering transport and setup — charged once per booking, not per day.
- Overnight fee (optional) â a flat per-item fee for each night you keep the equipment on-site for a multi-day event.
- Tables & chairs (optional) â rent furniture by the hour with its own base and overnight fees, or provide your own.
What You Provide
- The space â we bring the computers to your location within 30 miles of Mason, OH.
- Power â 110/120V outlets, about one per 4 powered devices (we bring the extension cords). The form shows the exact count.
- Tables & chairs â unless you rent them from us. The booking form shows the table area and a chair-per-computer guideline.
- A food-free room â no food or drink near the equipment, and a lockable room if you keep it overnight.
Booking & Payment
- Submit a request and we confirm availability within 2 business days.
- Once confirmed, you have 48 hours to pay a 50% down payment from the invoice we send.
- The remaining balance is due by the end of the workshop.
Cancellations & Old Hardware
- Full down-payment refund for cancellations 5+ business days before the first day.
- 50% refund for cancellations between 5 days and 1 day before.
- No refund for cancellations on the start day.
- These machines are decades old. If a unit fails, we refund the unused time for that item — base fees are non-refundable.
FAQ
How many people can take part?
Plan for about 2 participants per computer per hour â roughly one person at each machine every 30 minutes. So 10 computers over an 8-hour day can rotate up to ~160 participants through. The booking form calculates the maximum for your setup. Pricing is based on the equipment you rent, not headcount.
Do you provide the venue?
No â this workshop comes to you. The audience is schools, businesses, and organizations who already have a space, so we bring the computers to your location.
What if I don't want to rent tables and chairs?
That's fine. You'll need to provide enough tables and seating for the equipment. The booking form shows the total table area required, and you'll confirm you can provide it.
Can we keep the computers overnight for a multi-day event?
Yes. There's an optional flat overnight fee per item. You'll need to keep the equipment in a room that stays locked outside of workshop hours.
What about power?
You provide a space with enough 110/120V outlets â about one outlet for every 4 devices that plug into the wall; we bring the extension cords and power strips. The form tells you exactly how many outlets you'll need.
Can participants eat or drink near the machines?
No. To protect this irreplaceable hardware, no food or drink is allowed in the room where the equipment is set up. You'll confirm this when you book.
What happens if a machine breaks during our event?
We maintain everything as carefully as we can, but this hardware is old and can fail. If a unit goes down, we refund the unused time for that specific item. Base fees aren't refundable.