Museum Donations
Support the Mission: Preserve the Legacy
The Westport Tech & Nostalgia Museum is a community-driven archive. Today, over 57% of our permanent collection has been built through the generosity of donors across the United States. By contributing to the WTNM, you aren't just giving away an old gadget—you are ensuring that the milestones of human ingenuity are preserved for future generations.
See what other donors have donated to the Westport Tech & Nostalgia Museum's permanent collection HERE!
Artifact Donations
We are currently accepting select physical donations that align with our curatorial roadmap.
Preservation: Items that fit our "Firsts" criteria will be integrated into the permanent collection.
Sustainability: Select items may be leveraged to fund future acquisitions, and museum expansion.
Note: Due to our rigorous curatorial standards and limited archival space, we cannot accept every donation. Please contact us to see if your item fits the current roadmap.
The following are the most historically-significant tech "Firsts" Westport Tech Museum is currently looking for. These items are the highest priority for completing our Westport 100 Flagship collection.
1941 - Motorola SCR-536: First Commercially-Released Walkie-Talkie
1955 - Zenith Flash-Matic: First Commercially-Released Wireless Television Remote
1962 - Bell 103 Dataset Modem: First Consumer-Available Modem
1963 - Western Electric 1500: First Commercially-Released Push-Button Telephone
1974 - Altair 8800: First Commercially-Released Personal Computer
1976 - Sony SL-7200: First Consumer BetaMax VCR in the United States
1977 - Commodore PET 2001 Series: First Commercially-Released "All-in-One" Personal Computer
1978 - Magnavox VH-8000: First Consumer-Available LaserDisc Player
1983 - Motorola DynaTAC 8000X: First Commercially-Released Mobile Cell Phone
1990 - Logitech Fotoman FM-1 (AKA Dycam Model 1): First Commercially-Released Digital Camera Sold in the United States
1994 - IBM Bellsouth Simon: First Commercially-Released Smartphone
1998 - Saehan MPMan F10/F20: First Commercially-Released MP3 Player
2013 - Google Glass Explorer Edition XE-C 2.0: First Commercially-Released Smart Glasses
Westport Tech & Nostalgia Museum is also currently looking for these tech "firsts" to complete the Westport 100:
1908 - Hoover Model O: First Commercially-Successful Portable Electric Vacuum
1909 - General Electric D-12: First Commercially-Successful Electric Toaster
1933 - IBM Electromatic: First Commercially-Released Electric Typewriter
1950 - Zenith "Lazy Bones": First Commercially-Released Television Remote
1956 - Zenith Space Commander 400 Remote: First Commercially-Successful Wireless Television Remote
1957 - Hamilton Electric 500: First Commercially-Released Electric Watch
1959 - Philco Safari H2010: First Commercially-Released Portable Television
1961 - Anita MK-8: First Commercially-Released Desktop Electronic Calculator
1966 - Philips 22RL962: First Commercially-Released Boombox
1966 - Lear Jet Stereo 8 HSA-900: First Commercially-Released 8-Track Player Released in the United States for Home Use
1966 - Xerox Magnafax Telecopier: First Home Office Fax Machine
1967 - Amana Radarange RR-1: First Home Countertop Microwave
1967 - Sparko Box: First Commercially-Released Karaoke Machine
1970 - Canon Pocketronic: First Commercially-Released Handheld Battery-Powered Printing Electronic Calculator
1970 - Sanyo ICC-0081: First Commercially-Released Portable Calculator with Built-In AC Adaptor and Rechargeable Batteries
1970 - Sharp QT-8B: First Commercially-Released Battery-Powered Electronic Calculator
1972 - Pulsar P1: First Commercially-Released LED Digital Watch
1975 - Sony LV-1901: First Commercially-Released Betamax Player
1975 - Pulsar Calculator Watch: First Commercially-Released Calculator Watch
1975 - IMSAI 8080: First Commercially-Released Personal Computer “Clone”
1976 - Apple I: First Apple Computer
1976 - MOS Technology KIM-1: First Affordable, Single Board Computer
1976 - JVC HR-3300: First Commercially-Released VHS Recorder (In Japan)
1977 - Apple II: First Mass-Produced, Fully Assembled Personal Computer
1978 - MCA DiscoVision "Jaws" LaserDisc: First Movie Pressed on LaserDisc
1980 - “C-30 C-60 C-90 Go” Cassette Single - Bow Wow Wow: First Commercially-Released Cassette Single
1981 - XEROX Star: First Commercially-Released Computer with a Graphical User Interface and a Mouse
1981 - Epson HX-20: First Commercially-Released Battery-Powered Computer, First Commercially-Released Personal Computer with a Built-In Printer
1981 - Hayes Smartmodem 300: First Modem to Allow Computers to Dial Each Other without a Handset
1982 - GRiD Compass 1101: First Commercially-Released Clamshell-Style Portable Computer
1982 - Donkey Kong Game & Watch: First Commercially-Released Video Game System to Use a “D-Pad” Controller
1982 - Seiko TV Watch: First Commercially-Released Television Wristwatch
1982 - Billy Joel's 52nd Street CD 35DP-1 (Japanese): First of the First 50 Commercially-Released Albums on CD
1983 - Commodore SX-64: First Commercially-Released Full-Color Portable Computer
1983 - Casio G-Shock DW-5000C: First Commercially-Released Digital Watch with Automatic Calendar
1983 - Apple Lisa: First Commercially-Released Personal Computer with a Mouse and GUI
1984 - HP LaserJet 2686A: First Commercially-Released Desktop Laser Printer
1984 - Data General/One: First Commercially-Released Battery-Powered Clamshell-Style Laptop
1985 - Toshiba T1100: First Mass-Market, IBM-Compatible Laptop Computer
1986 - "Angeline" by John Martyn CD Single: First Commercially-Released CD Single
1986 - Pixar Imaging Computer: First Commercially-Released Computer Dedicated to 3D Computer Graphics
1987 - Commodore Amiga 500: Best-Selling Commodore Amiga Model
1988 - Magellan NAV 1000: First Consumer-Available GPS Receiver
1988 - NeXT Cube/Computer: First Computer to Host a Web Server
1988 - TurboGrafx-CD: First Commercially-Released Video Game Console to Use CDs
1989 - Apple Macintosh Portable: Apple’s First Portable Computer
1989 - Motorola MicroTAC 9800X: First Commercially-Released Flip-Style Cell Phone
1989 - Atari Lynx: First Commercially-Released Handheld Console with Backlit Screen
1989 - Fujix DS-X: First Commercially-Released Digital Camera
1992 - Mariah Carey "MTV Unplugged" MiniDisc: First Pre-Recorded Album Available on the MiniDisc Format
1993 - Atari Jaguar: First Commercially-Released 64-Bit Home Video Game Console
1994 - Apple PowerBook 500 Series: First Commercially-Released Laptop with a Trackpad
1996 - Toshiba SD-3000: First Commercially-Released DVD Player
1996 - Motorola StarTAC 8500: First Commercially-Released Clamshell-Style Phone
1996 - Nokia 9000 Communicator: First Commercially-Released Mobile Phone with a Built-In Keyboard
1997 - Philips 42PW9962: First Commercially-Released Plasma Flat-Panel Television
1999 - Kyocera VP-210 Visual Phone: First Commercially-Released Mobile Phone with Video Calling
1999 - Philips TiVo HDR110: First Commercially-Released Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
2000 - Samsung UpRoar SPH-M100: First Commercially-Released Cell Phone with MP3 Playback
2000 - Sharp J-SHO4: First Commercially-Released Camera Phone
2000 - Genica Taverua GN803: First Commercially-Released CD/MP3 Player
2001 - Ericsson T39: First Commercially-Released Mobile Phone with BlueTooth
2001 - Kodak EasyShare One: First First Commercially-Released Digital Camera with Integrated WiFi
2002 - Danger Hiptop: First Commercially-Released Cloud-Based Mobile Phone
2004 - Archos Gmini 400: First Commercially-Released Pocket-Sized Video Playback Device
2006 - MusicGremlin MG-1000: First Commercially-Released MP3 Player to Download Songs Over WiFi
2008 - HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1: First Commercially-Released Android Phone
2009 - Panasonic DMP-B15: First Commercially-Released Portable Blu-Ray Player
We are also currently searching for these non-tech "firsts":
1977 - HP-01 Calculator Watch
1980 - Tandy Color Computer (COCO)
1980 - Apple III
1982 - Kaypro II
1983 - Coleco Adam
1990 - Original Neo Geo
1991 - Commodore CD-TV
1993 - Macintosh TV
1994 - Sega Saturn