The San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology (SAMSAT) has opened Techtopia Museum at Port San Antonio, bringing a collection of historical gadgets assembled by its late founder, David Monroe, into a dedicated museum. The exhibits span technologies that preceded today’s smartphones and smart speakers, according to CultureMap San Antonio.
Visitors can explore technology by using it: Techtopia offers a Datapoint video call, a display that turns a visitor’s voice into a waveform, and games played on some of the earliest video game consoles, according to CultureMap San Antonio.
The historical collection includes rotary telephones, punch-card machines and early personal computers. Other exhibits examine computers’ role in spaceflight through a moon mission display, while a T-34C flight simulator gives visitors another hands-on experience, per the same account.
A Collection Decades in the Making
SAMSAT has worked toward building Techtopia for more than a decade. The San Antonio Report traces the idea to Monroe, who first conceived of the museum in 2013.
Monroe died in an accident at the Boeing Center on Port San Antonio on September 19, 2025, while moving a 5,000-pound jet engine intended for a museum exhibit, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Techtopia now stands as a realization of the vision he spent more than a decade pursuing.
From Preview Center to Full Museum
Techtopia is the latest stage in SAMSAT’s expansion at Port San Antonio, a process that unfolded over several years, according to CultureMap’s account of the museum’s history. The organization moved there with a preview center in 2017, opened an education center in 2020, and launched AREA 21, a showcase of 21st-century innovation, in 2022.
AREA 21 complements Techtopia with simulators, robotics and esports. More than 20,000 students from throughout the region have taken part in SAMSAT’s hands-on activities, according to a Port San Antonio page about the organization’s programming. The page also describes a security operations center where visitors can take part in cyber threat simulations.
The workforce context
The available statewide forecast does not isolate demand for computer and technology workers in San Antonio or specify the skills those jobs will require. It does provide broader context: according to the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Workforce Report 2024 to 2025, Texas employment is projected to grow by more than 2.1 million jobs from 2022 to 2032, and nearly 71 percent of expected job growth will require education or training beyond high school.
Admission and Hours
Techtopia Museum admission ranges from free to $18, the CultureMap report states. The museum is open Thursdays from noon to 5 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the same account.
SAMSAT's broader reach has grown alongside the new museum. In 2024, the organization served more than 36,000 total visitors, according to its annual report cited by CultureMap, a figure that reflects years of programming that predates Techtopia's opening but now gains a dedicated home for the historical side of SAMSAT's mission.
