New exhibit to honor innovators at San Mateo County History Museum


“We’re always trying to put things into context,” Mitch Postel, president of the San Mateo County Historical Association, said. “These products that have come out of these San Mateo County innovators, how have they influenced our local scene, how have they been important to the state of California, and beyond that?”

While the exhibit will honor innovators in areas of biotech and electronics, it will also tell stories of those in agriculture, the arts, advocacy and more. From the first-ever Brussels sprout harvester in Half Moon Bay to Elvis Presley’s signature on the walls of the Cow Palace. 

“That is an important innovation story,” Deputy Director Carmen Blair said. “But it’s about the atmosphere of innovation in this area and the broad range we wanted to represent is the sheer range of innovators and innovation.” 

Before there was Silicon Valley, there was an electronics industry based in San Mateo County that produced items such as radar tubes, which Postel said was foundational to the former’s success. 

“It was a logical step when those that were thinking about computers and software and all that stuff came about, the kind of frame work was already here,” Postel said. 

The entire museum looks to grasp at the central themes to San Mateo County’s history and legacy on the Peninsula. This exhibit is just one aspect, telling the stories of the people who inspired new thought and technology. 

“Especially during and since World War II, innovation and entrepreneurialism has been a big part of our story,” Postel said. 

The gallery, named after venture capitalist J. Burgess Jamieson, makes an array of historical information available to visitors through various media, including physical 3D objects, home videos and an interactive digital timeline. 

The timeline is a highlight, allowing patrons to click on a historical innovator, learn their story and contextualize it throughout history.  

This adaptable exhibit, while expensive — the entire project cost about $1.5 million — allows for the ability to reflect the constant evolution of the county and its impact on the world. 

“It allows us to tell some other stories and the great thing is, we’re not going to have everybody’s story by the time that we open, but this is going to be something that we can continuously work on,” Blair said. 

Defining San Mateo County’s status within history will help establish its vitality today, Postel said. While San Francisco and San Jose are pillars in the Bay Area landscape and often leads people to believe the county is a “flyover” space, Postel hopes this exhibit helps establish the county’s historical significance.

“We are overshadowed by them a lot, but there’s so much that happened on the Peninsula that supported what happened in those two other places that’s overlooked,” he said. “And there’s so much that happened on its own that’s overlooked.”

Highlighted innovators, or their family members, were asked what innovation means to them, and their quotes will be displayed around the exhibit walls. For Postel, it’s all about making things better.

“It’s the idea that you are improving a situation by some kind of an action,” Postel said. “It can be technological or it can be the way people think, how you use a workforce. Depending upon what your biggest problem is, is going to lead to your most important innovations and an ability to change things.” 

The exhibit opens Sept. 14, promoted by free admission to the museum after 12:30 p.m. A panel discussion featuring innovators from Raychem, Ampex, Cow Palace and more will be held in Courtroom A at 1 p.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 2:30 p.m. 

The museum is located at 2200 Broadway, Redwood City. go to historysmc.org for more information.

ana@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106