Exhibits & Collections

Bletchley Park is home to an extensive range of collections and exhibits related to cryptology, computer science, communications technology and general WWII history.

For Older Students

The following collection is an itinerary option for single-focus visits by 14-19 Year Olds and Adults & Students in Further Education:

• The Computer Museum is the UK's only hands-on exhibition of computing hardware and software technology. It traces the development of the computer from its origins with Colossus, invented during the Second World War to break Lorenz codes through the mainframes of the 1960's, mini computers, homebuilt micros to the PC's of today. The vast majority of its exhibits are fully operational and students can try many of them out themselves.

For Younger Students

The following displays and collections form the basis of multi-focus educational visits available to 7-14 Year Old schoolchildren:

• Codes & Ciphers and The Bletchley Park Story – A fun, interactive talk about codes & ciphers given by one of our specialist volunteers. Followed by a visit to the walk-through exhibition all about the interception of enemy ciphers, how the messages were brought to Bletchley Park and the steps in deciphering them to produce Ultra intelligence during WWII.
• German Signals Command Post – see how an Enigma machine would have been used in the field. (Covered as part of the Bletchley Park Story above.)
• Diplomatic Wireless – Located in Hut 1 is original wireless and landline communications equipment as used at Bletchley Park during WWII along with photographs and documents. The wireless stations received and transmitted secret Bletchey Park Ultra messages. There is also an extensive display of equipment used for communications by spies and diplomatic outposts and bases.
• Amateur Radio –  Learn about the wireless communications and the amateur radio enthusiasts who formed the nucleus of the Y Service – the organization that listened to and recorded German military wireless transmissions.
• Home Front – see a faithful representation of the austerity of life in the average home of the time. There are fascinating personal stories about the experiences of child evacuees and life with rationing and the threat of gas attacks.
• Toys & Household Memorabilia – from Grandma’s liberty bodice to Great Grandma’s corset; from a ‘modern’ table-top wringer to a ‘dolly-blue’; from £.s.d. to toy grocer’s shops; from lead soldiers to paper dress-up dolls. Students are encouraged to look and compare what they see with what they have in their own homes. Those who are studying or are interested in the National Curriculum 'Britain since the 1930's' will find this collection of much interest.
• Railways at War – How trains were laid on at short notice for evacuation, how fuel and bomb trains serviced the 1000 bomber raids, and how air-raid and blackout procedures affected the running of the trains.
• Bromfield WWII Aircraft – Fascinating information and exciting personal stories about aviation during the War, related to your pupils by an RAF veteran. Includes a collection of memorabilia recovered from crashed wartime aircraft.
• Enigma Cinema (Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Fridays only) – Let your pupils escape to another time and world … view excerpts from stories, animations or documentaries from the 1930s-50s, including WWII newsreels or propaganda films. Home of the Projected Picture Trust.
• D-Day – The First Objective – focuses on the events surrounding the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment’s most famous action: the successful and momentously important capture of Pegasus Bridge in June 1944.
• Churchill Collection – A giant exhibition for a giant of a man. Illustrates chronologically the life and times of Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s famous WWII Prime Minister, who visited Bletchley Park on many occasions during the War.

Almost all of the learning collections are privately owned and because we rely heavily on volunteers this means that although we make every effort to cater to the needs of individual groups, we cannot guarantee availability on all days.