About us

The mission of the ETA

The ETA seeks to demystify educational technology through the preservation of historical equipment. It seeks to bring technology back to life within a practical setting so that the knowledge, innovation and cultural value are not lost or forgotten.

Sustainability

It is common for institutions to have outdated equipment in stores since the equipment is often replaced after five years and technical skills and knowledge have moved on. Most of this equipment is usually recycled but some of it can be extended beyond its typical life cycle through the ETA, offering an opportunity to build on practical skills long term.

Equipment donations

If you have anything that you think may be suitable to donate to the archive, we'd be happy to hear from you. This could include:

• Audio equipment (hearing support, signal processors etc)
• Calculators (simple to complex)
• Classroom technologies (chalkboards; whiteboards etc)
• Computers (including laptops; tablets, single board etc & software etc)
• Control systems (processing equipment, switching to make control of the spaces easier etc)
• Counting devices (counters, abacuses, samplers etc)
• Printing, Scanning & Digitising
• Programmable Toys (Learning, Toy Computers, Robots etc)
• Projectors (Data, Slide, Scopes, Overhead etc)
• Test equipment (meters, scopes etc)
• Video equipment (cameras, televisions, film etc)
• Visual equipment (stereoscopes, kaleidoscopes, epidiascopes etc)

If you have equipment that you think we might like to preserve in the Archive, please email eta@bath.ac.uk with a photo of your items.

Borrowing equipment from the archive

Our current focus is on building, developing and cataloguing the archive. Therefore, it is not yet ready for visitors or loans. We will keep you posted on our progress through this page.

Find out more

We're continuing to build the Archive, but we'll keep this page updated with our building activities.
In the meantime, please email eta@bath.ac.uk with any questions.