Episode 151: Games Preservation at MIT Museum

From Video Game History Hour by Video Game History Foundation

March 3, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 2 · Episode 151

About this episode

Dr. Flori Pierri discusses the MIT Museum's efforts in video game preservation and the challenges of maintaining digital artifacts.

From vacuum tubes to virtual worlds, Dr. Flori Pierri, Associate Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum, joins us to explore their unexpected journey into the world of video game preservation. Dr. Pierri oversees diverse collections from science photography to physics homework, and, of course, video games. MIT Museum has had a recent focus on computer games and a focus on play, starting with the Michael Dornbrook Collection and plans for a 2028 computer game exhibition. Dr. Pierri shares the importance of using original equipment for exhibits and the new challenges of preserving born-digital objects. They also discuss the museum's efforts to engage with both the public and with researchers, including a collection of unreleased Infocom game materials. You can listen to the Video Game History Hour every other Wednesday on Patreon (one day early at the $5 tier and above), on Spotify , or on our website . Mentioned in the show: Whirlwind I: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlwind_I Royal Game of the Dolphin: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Game_of_the_Dolphin,_1821.jpg Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Claude Elwood Shannon, Bell Labs…

People in this episode

Host: Video Game History Hour

Guest: Dr. Flori Pierri

Topics covered

games preservation
video game history
MIT Museum
digital preservation
public engagement

Keywords

video game preservation
MIT Museum
digital objects
Infocom
exhibits

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MIT Museum, Video Game History Foundation

Books & works: Whirlwind I, Royal Game of the Dolphin, Milliways: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe