Punch Card Machine Demo

Ever wonder about the history of the punchcard?

The punch card exhibit starts with a Jacquard Loom, one of the earliest uses of punched cards, which helped to make woven fabric more affordable. Herman Hollerith’s invention of electromechanical processing of cards tabulated data for the 1890 census. The IBM family of punch card machines was used for data processing and record-keeping across many industries and academia. Punched cards were even used for matchmaking at the University of Iowa in 1963! Come learn more about this history and punch your own souvenir card on an original IBM 029 to take home during the demo.