Inside The Apple Museum In Prague

Prague - a city of many purposes from cultural exploration to stag party debauchery. I was there for a mix of both and during the final day while waiting for transfers, I got the chance to check out the Apple Museum.

Made out of Apple computer parts...

Opened in the heart of Prague’s Old Town in 2015, this renovated historical building houses an impressive collection of old Apple tech and artistic product arrangements. All available to view for the price €9 online (just over £8). Is it worth the price of admission?

First steps into the museum and…well…it’s all very white. Exactly what you’d expect from an Apple Store or anything from the Cupertino-based company - the interior is minimal and clinical in design.

The receptionist was quick to inform me that this museum covers only Steve Jobs’ tenure at Apple, and this is reflected through the explosion of Steve-mania across the place - from his yearbook photos and choice of chair, to a cafe/kitchen serving only what he ate.

Plus, with a looping playlist of Steve Job’s finest moments on stage, it was hard not to feel like the museum was continuing to perpetrate Steve’s well renowned Reality Distortion Field, only this time using methods of indoctrination to do so.

But look past the accidentally less-than subtle manipulation tactics and you get a a rather incredible insight into the vast history of Apple’s hardware, including the much reported on but rarely seen iPhone prototype.

From the early beginnings of the Apple I, all the way through to the 2012 MacBook Pro, this is one of the largest private collections of Steve Jobs’ tech in the world, available for gallery viewing alongside more storytelling items such as his business cards and trademark black turtleneck.

Of course there are some items that are slightly dull, such as modems and the evolution of keyboards and mice. For geeks like me, these accessory timelines were great, but can totally understand why some of you would want to pass these parts.

The story of Apple in the Jobs era is a true nerd rags to riches tale that has captured the minds of geeks across two movies and a book. In writing this piece, a moment of realisation about just how old this blog is came over me, as I remembered actually writing an obituary to Steve way back when. Goes to show how much of an inspiration he was to me.

However, as it turns out, this very story is best told through a physical timeline of Apple’s hardware. Speaking like an old man fascinated by new fangled gizmos, it’s amazing to see just how far technology has come in such a short space of time - a realisation perfectly displayed at this small museum in Prague.

If you find yourself in the city, be it for a drunken stag party or family holiday, make sure to put some time aside to go check this place out.