Boca Raton Historical Museum & Society partners with BRiC to host Tech Talks
The Boca Raton Historical Museum & Society partnered with Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC) to present Boca Raton Tech Talks that centered on the evolution of technology and innovation in Boca Raton.
The first forty-five minute segment of the three-part online series was hosted by BRiC outside of what was once an IBM Research and Development building and was aired on BRiC’s website on February 23.
The episode was moderated by the Boca Raton Historical Museum & Society’s Susan Gillis and featured multiple panelists, including Dr. Dave Bradley who worked on the original IBM PC.
The Boca Raton Historical Museum & Society (BRHM&S) which collects, preserves, and shares the history of Boca Raton brings a unique and important aspect to the discussions.
“We have a lot of material in our collection relating to the Boca Raton Air Field which was a radar training base during the war, and a lot from IMB Boca Raton, which is where the IMB PC was manufactured,” says Gillis, the museum’s curator.
The BRHM&S has been closed for some serious renovations during the COVID-19 pandemic, but continues to educate the public through a virtual lecture series’ and other programming. This virtual programming combined with past projects between the museum and BRiC such as the celebration of the 50th anniversary of IMB Boca Raton, led to the idea of hosting the Tech Talks at the former IBM location, which is the biggest event MRHM&S has taken part in during the pandemic.
Gillis says all of the episodes, which were recorded in January, went “surprisingly well…for an impromptu talk,” and is open to the idea of continuing the series or taking part in something similar moving forward. “We look forward to working with [BRiC] again for sure,” she stated.
The most recent segment was on March 2. The panel discussed technology in Boca Raton from the 1980’s through the 2000’s, included employees from Siemans, Sensormatic, STRAX Intelligence Group, and was moderated by Pete Martinez who is a current medical technology consultant and former IBM employee.
The final web-episode will be available the following Tuesday March 9 at the same time and will feature discussion on current technology and expectations for the future. All segments are free for viewers.
