# Dutch Pinball Museum - Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2024 - Pinball News

**Source:** Pinball News (Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2024)  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-11-05  
**Duration:** 26m 14s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1r8f0HvEqY

---

## Analysis

Michel, education coordinator at the Dutch Pinball Museum, presents the museum's mission, history, and educational approach at the 2024 Dutch Pinball Open Expo. He traces pinball's origins to Rotterdam through David Gottlieb's 1910 emigration from Delshaven and positions the museum as a cultural institution preserving pinball history for multiple audience segments—pinheads, tourists, nostalgia seekers, and 'pinball pilgrims.' The museum balances entertainment with education through curated exhibits, storytelling, and interactive displays.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] David Gottlieb emigrated from Rotterdam to New York on June 4, 1910, aboard the SS Doordaunt, traveling via Holland America Line from Delshaven — _Michel cites passenger list documentation showing David Gottlieb's emigration and subsequent move to Chicago_
- [MEDIUM] Harry Mapps made the first pinball machine with flippers in 1947 for Goffney Pinker (not Gottlieb) — _Michel states this as historical fact but company name appears unclear in transcription_
- [HIGH] Dutch Pinball Museum has been operating for 10 years as of 2024, founded in 2015 — _Michel explicitly states 'the Dutch Pinball Museum originated in 2015' during 25th DPO (2024)_
- [HIGH] Museum is ranked #1 on TripAdvisor for things to do in Rotterdam for several years — _Michel states tourists report this as reason for visiting; claimed #1 in Netherlands as well_
- [HIGH] Museum houses approximately 120 playable machines on free play — _Michel states 'you go up the stairs, there are 120 machines that you can play here on FreePlay'_
- [HIGH] Museum entrance fee is €16 with 2-hour play time or all-day pass available — _Michel explicitly states entrance fee during museum tour description_
- [HIGH] Museum displays Madonna pinball pitch artwork and invoice from Python Angel to Wally Williams that was never produced — _Michel shows and describes the artifact during museum walkthrough_
- [HIGH] Museum maintenance occurs weekly on Wednesday evenings with volunteer team — _Michel responds to audience question about maintenance protocol_

### Notable Quotes

> "I dare to say, pinball originated in Rotterdam, and therefore, pinball Rotterdam is a pinball capital of the world."
> — **Michel (Dutch Pinball Museum education coordinator)**, ~08:00
> _Reframes pinball origin narrative around Rotterdam historical context—Delshaven pilgrimage connection and David Gottlieb emigration route_

> "A museum is significantly different from a collection, a museum is an institution dedicated to displaying and preserving culturally and scientifically significant objects."
> — **Michel**, ~10:30
> _Establishes foundational definition of museum philosophy versus private collection, justifying institutional status_

> "Pinball is culturally significant. It has a roaring history with a lot of told and untold stories, and we all know pinball is technically challenging."
> — **Michel**, ~12:00
> _Core mission statement explaining why pinball warrants museum treatment and cultural preservation_

> "Education is boring, pinball is fun. Education, when told by an old white man like me, myself, is boring and pinball is fun. So that's our struggle."
> — **Michel**, ~16:45
> _Articulates central tension in museum design—balancing visitor entertainment expectations with educational mission_

> "Most people come in and they have a first date with our museum. The pinheads, they know about the pinball machines, pin built pilgrims, they know everything. But most people come in and they have a first date with our museum."
> — **Michel**, ~18:30
> _Frames audience segmentation strategy and explains why museum cannot assume baseline pinball knowledge_

> "We want to tickle them, not make them afraid of our hobby."
> — **Michel**, ~18:45
> _Core educational philosophy—making pinball accessible and non-intimidating to casual visitors_

> "Pinball is more than fun and games."
> — **Michel**, ~36:00
> _Repeated mission statement emphasizing cultural/historical significance over entertainment-only positioning_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Dutch Pinball Museum | organization | Museum dedicated to preserving and displaying pinball history, located in Delshaven, Rotterdam; founded 2015; houses ~120 playable machines; ranked #1 TripAdvisor attraction in Rotterdam |
| Michel | person | Education coordinator at Dutch Pinball Museum; photography educator in civilian role; conducts Wednesday education programs; primary speaker at this session |
| Gerard | person | Founder and CEO of Dutch Pinball Museum; gives hourly Stardust plexiglass machine demonstrations; maintains wish-list of prototype machines to acquire |
| David Gottlieb | person | Emigrated from Delshaven, Rotterdam to Chicago on June 4, 1910 via Holland America Line; founded Gottlieb & Co. in 1927; historical connection positioning Rotterdam as pinball origin |
| Harry Mapps | person | Created first pinball machine with flippers in 1947 for Goffney Pinker (company name unclear) |
| Dennis Nordman | person | Created miniature pinball mock-up on display at museum; artifact helped secure his employment in pinball industry |
| Steve Richie | person | Pinball designer featured in museum educational displays about pinball people/heroes |
| Gary Stern | person | Pinball industry hero featured in museum educational displays |
| Roger Sharp | person | Pinball hero featured in museum educational displays |
| Python Angel | person | Artist/designer who pitched Madonna pinball concept to Wally Williams; pitch artwork and invoice on display at museum; project never produced |
| Wally Williams | person | Executive who received and rejected Python Angel's Madonna pinball pitch |
| Jean-Paul | person | Scheduled speaker at expo following Michel's talk, discussing art of Jersey Jack machines |
| John Trudeau | person | Designer of 11 white-wood prototypes mentioned in museum wish-list (combination rotation and others); Michel speculates these cannot be acquired |
| Gottlieb & Co. | company | Established 1927 by David Gottlieb; early pinball manufacturer |
| Holland America Line | company | Shipping company operating Rotterdam to New York route; vessel for David Gottlieb's 1910 emigration |
| Riverview Amusement Park | organization | Chicago amusement park inspiration for Funhouse pinball design; located near pinball factories |
| Dutch Pinball Open Expo | event | Annual pinball industry event; 25th edition in 2024; venue for museum presentation and community gathering |
| Stardust (1971) | game | Plexiglass demonstration machine at museum; featured in hourly Gerard demonstrations |
| Funhouse (1990) | game | Modern pinball displayed alongside 1956 Funhouse predecessor and 1994 Roadshow; exhibit includes Riverview amusement park inspiration story |
| Twilight Zone | game | Life-size translight copy on display at museum in corner exhibit |
| Humpty Dumpty | game | Fairy tale series machine on display with three others (Lady Robin Hood, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland); three machines in series missing from collection (Jack and Jill, Old King Cullen, Alibaba) |
| Red Race prototype | game | Machine on Gerard's acquisition wish-list; museum does not expect to obtain |
| Total Recall prototype | game | Dual version on museum acquisition wish-list |
| Addams Family | game | Frequently requested pinball by nostalgia-motivated visitors; referenced as example of audience expectations |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Museum mission and philosophy, Pinball as cultural heritage and preservation, Audience segmentation and visitor engagement strategies, Educational content design and storytelling, Rotterdam/Delshaven as pinball origin narrative
- **Secondary:** Museum operations, maintenance, and staffing, Historical pinball machine exhibitions and artifacts, Pinball museum collection development and wish-lists

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.88) — Michel and museum leadership express clear pride in institutional mission, visitor satisfaction (TripAdvisor #1 ranking), and cultural contributions. Tone is informative, passionate about pinball heritage, and welcoming to diverse audiences. Humorous self-deprecation ('old white man') adds accessibility. No criticism or negative sentiment present. Slight optimism tempered by realistic constraints (difficult maintenance recruitment, uncertain prototype acquisitions).

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Dutch Pinball Open Expo serving as significant platform for museum outreach, community engagement, and storytelling—aligned with broader mission to bring pinball to broader public (confidence: high) — Michel presenting at 25th DPO; museum leveraging expo for pin distribution and visitor recruitment; explicit acknowledgment that 'things like these expos really help in that way'
- **[community_signal]** Dutch Pinball Museum demonstrates sustained institutional commitment to pinball preservation through 10 years of operation, weekly volunteer maintenance, educational programming, and strategic acquisitions—signaling strong community-backed cultural infrastructure (confidence: high) — Founded 2015, operates 120 playable machines, maintains weekly Wednesday volunteer teams, curator wish-lists for prototypes, extensive educational displays and storytelling integration
- **[market_signal]** Rotterdam/Delshaven origin story for pinball gaining traction as institutional framing—positioning Dutch Pinball Museum as cultural pilgrimage site tied to David Gottlieb emigration and Pilgrims' Fathers historical precedent (confidence: medium) — Michel shared museum's historical narrative with American audience in Chicago; presentation explicitly reframes pinball origin as Rotterdam-connected through Gottlieb's 1910 emigration route; multiple historical anchors (church, hotel, museum within 2km)
- **[market_signal]** Museum employing strategic visitor engagement tactics—toilet stories, short-form educational displays, interactive demonstrations, nostalgia triggers, and aesthetic ambiance design—to balance entertainment and education (confidence: high) — Detailed examples: 30-second stories displayed alongside machines, themed music room, life-size translight, toilet stories, plexiglass machine hourly demonstrations, artifact storytelling
- **[product_strategy]** Museum continuously expanding exhibits and acquiring new machines/artifacts to enhance visitor experience—wish-list includes prototypes and missing fairy tale series games (confidence: medium) — Gerard maintains wish-list of Red Race prototype, Total Recall prototype, Fairfield series machines, and John Trudeau white-wood prototypes; still seeking three missing fairy tale games (Jack and Jill, Old King Cullen, Alibaba)

---

## Transcript

 This is a Pinball News production. Thank you for inviting me to this Dutch Pinball 25th edition. Thank you Gerard for giving me the opportunity to talk to the museum we are so proud of. My name is Michel, I am the education guy Every Wednesday is my education guide thing. In normal life, I'm a photography educator, so I teach people how to make better pictures. And my Wednesday is my education day. It's 2024, it's the 25th DPO. Next year is 10 years of pinball, the Dutch Pinball Museum. We have some pins. You can get one. And if you wear this during the next year, during your visit in the Dutch Pinball Museum, you get some extras. We won't tell you what, but it's fun. So get your pin here or at the museum booth, and you'll get some extras. First, I start with a short introduction about the museum. I don't know if everyone has been there, but we are located in Delshagen in Rotterdam. It's the big brown building on the left. It's a very nice atmosphere in this part of Rotterdam. Some inside pictures where you can see how it's decorated. This rug really ties the room together. We have some animals and some mouses and we have a dinosaur. Most people think that pinball originated in the USA. I'm not sure about that. Let me go to the States. We went there a couple weeks ago in Chicago and I had a story about our museum and I told the American people, I showed them this painting. Most American people know this painting. It's a painting about the pilgrims leaving with the speed of a Mayflower and they went to the United States to create a land. But they departed from Delshaven. And maybe you think that's a little coincidence, but it's not. If you zoom in on the Netherlands, the region of Rotterdam, and you zoom in a little more, Delshaven is here on the left. And when you stand on this bridge and have this view, you see here on the left side the Pilgrims' Fathers Church. So those people, they embarked speed well, they went to Mayflower and they made a trip to the promised land. And they started their journey here. But there were more people going to the States in later times. And a lot of them, they traveled with the Holland America Line. Maybe you've heard of it. It was a big boat traveling from Rotterdam to New York. And here you see Delsavent and here you see on the right side where the Holland-America Line ships departed. And one of them who departed from the Holland-America Line to the States was a guy named David Gottlieb. Have you heard of him? He went in 1910, on the 4th of June, with that SS doordaunt from Rotterdam to New York. This is the passenger list from that date. And if you zoom in, if you zoom in a little more, you see the third David Gottlieb, and he went to New York, but after New York he went to Chicago. So a certain David Gottlieb traveled in 1910 to Chicago. It must not be a coincidence. And as you all know, 17 years later, the Gottlieb & Go was established. Is it the same David Gottlieb? Well, I know. And I also know that in 1947, Harry Mapps made the first pinball with flippers, and he made it for the company Goffney Pinker. So, that is not a coincidence. We have the Pilgrim's Fathers Church, we have Hotel New York, where the Holland American Line departed, and we have the Dutch Pinball Museum. And we all have that in two square kilometers. So, I dare to say, pinball originated in Rotterdam, and therefore, pinball, Rotterdam is a pinball capital of the world. If there are any people from Chicago who want to discuss this theme, I'd be glad to discuss it with them. But let me get into the base of my talk. This is a bird. It's a seabird. And this is the Latin name. I won't try to pronounce it. But in Dutch, we call this a ster. Can you show the Latin name again? Yes, of course. Falacius Xanthificensis. Yes. Your try is better than mine. But we call this a ster. A ster. and this is a flock of sterns. And for argument sake let call this a collection of sterns A collection of sterns is not a museum because this is a museum This is the Natuurhistorisch Museum in Rotterdam. And I have another example from a museum with birds, like this, the Bristol City Museum. And you probably see the difference between a collection and a museum. Because a museum is significantly different from a collection, a museum is an institution dedicated to displaying and preserving culturally and scientifically significant objects. And pinball is a culturally and scientifically significant object, at least. This man agrees with us. It belongs in a museum in the other journals. Well, as I said in the beginning, the Dutch Pinball Museum originated in 2015. It started as a flock of games. And the founder is Gerard, and he is still the CEO. Gerard wanted more. He said pinball is more than fun and games. Because pinball is culturally significant. It has a roaring history. with a lot of told and untold stories, and we all know pinball is technically challenging. So a museum must preserve as part of its history, and we do that for the past, present, and the future generations. We showcase and we tell stories about pinball. pinball stories we collect everywhere. The DPO is a perfect example of a place where to collect stories. So we display these stories about the technology. We have a magnificent plexiglass pinball machine. We tell about the history of the pinball. We tell about the art, about the seduction. We tell about the game, about the makers. Some of those makers you can find here in the DPO. We tell about the players and we tell about the love for the silver ball. Some people rather call this fighting the silver ball, but I prefer the love itself. But we also want to experience. We want to go back in time, we want to play. And therefore we came up with another name for a museum, and we call it a museum. A museum is a museum where you can experience, where you can use the games, so you can experience some sterns or a flock of sterns, or a flock of god leaves, or a flock of Danny Williamses. But how to come from a collection to a museum? What are the struggles we have to encounter in being a museum? We have defined what a museum is and that we want to tell the stories about pinball. The question is how do we tell the stories about pinball without scaring the public? And maybe you think scaring the public, why would you scare the public? Now, before we come to that, we first have to define our target audience. What is our target audience? Anyone has any guesses what the target audience or our pinball museum is? Pinball wizards? Pinball wizards. Okay. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone. Everyone, that's difficult because when you are a hairdresser in Rotterdam, are people with hair living in Chicago, are they your target audience? Don't think so. But we try to get everyone, but I think that's a difficult task. Anyone else? International tourists. International tourists, yes. Well, we have defined three categories and I come up with a fourth category later on. The pinheads, like you said. The people visiting Rotterdam who want to do something. Tourists. But there is a big audience, we call them the nostalgia. Those are the people that played a pinball machine when they were young. So what do those people expect? Well, pinheads, they expect a lot of machines to play. The nostalgia people, they want to play the pinball machine they used to play on. So they come in and they ask for, do you have the Addams Family? Or do you have the pinball machine with the robot girl on the back of it? Or do you have the pinball machine with the big head where you can shoot it? These type of questions we had a lot in the museum. And the tourists, well, they just want to have a good time. They saw the museum was the number one on TripAdvisor. So when you go to Rotterdam as a tourist and you want to do something and you go on TripAdvisor, we are the number one things to do in Rotterdam. Several years. For several years. And I think when you check in the number one thing to do in the Netherlands, I think we also are number one. The fourth category, I think there is a fourth category besides the pinheads, the nostalgia and the tourists, and those are the pinball pilgrims. They want to see something special. They want to experience things that you cannot experience anywhere else. I am a pinball pilgrim, but I'm also an art pilgrim. So I went to Milan to see this painting from Botticelli. And when people come in our museum they generally want to play pinball And we have another task because we also want to educate them And that's the struggle. Because most pinball manufacturers, they are excellent marketeers. Most. Not everyone, but most. And we all know how hard it is to walk past by a pinball machine and not playing it. So you could say education is boring, pinball is fun. Education, when told by an old white man like me, myself, is boring and pinball is fun. So that's our struggle. Can't you have a bit of comedy in the education? Yes, I try to. We do. Promise. So, We have to give our visitors what they want. They can play with pinball. If they pay the entrance fee of 16 euros, they can play for two hours, they can buy a day pass, they can stay for all day. And along the way, we educate them. And we try to do that in a not boring way. We want to tickle them, we want to seduce them. I have some examples. People are, you could say they are on the first date with pinball, most people, when they enter our museum. The pinheads, they know about the pinball machines, pin built pilgrims, they know everything. But most people come in and they have a first date with our museum. So we want to tickle them, not make them afraid of our hobby. So some examples. When you enter our museum, you come in, and you see the Tupi on the net. It's on display here, so in the museum. Every hour, Gerard makes a demonstration. We have a very nice plexiglass pinball machine. It's the Stardust from 1971. And this is the history room you enter when you enter the museum. We have some real nice artifacts, like this miniature pinball mock-up made by Dennis Nordman. And this mini mock-up gave him a job in the industry. We explain what pinball is, pin and balls, and how pinball machines were made. And we have a big wall with pre-war pinball machines, and we call this the wall. If you go up the stairs, there are 120 machines that you can play here on FreePlay. And we have some education displays. We have three categories, factory figures, machines, and people. These are some examples, facts and figures about the ball, a pinball people about Steve Ritchie, designer. And what we try to do is we try to tell little stories that you can read in under 30 seconds. So when you play, you do a two-player game, and if the other player is playing, you can read a short story about the ball, or a story about the Addams Family pinball machine, or about Roger Sharp, one of our pinball heroes, or about Gary Stern, another pinball hero, or about abbreviations in pinball, or as I say, how to scare new people away from the home. We do things thematic, so we have a very nice music room, music room and we have the music pins and in the background we have a big black and white display with musicians playing pinball like Michael Jackson, help me, Tina Turner, a lot of people and they all came in the museum, didn't they, Gerrit? They all came in the Even Michael Jackson, last week he was there. People think he's dead. He lives in Rotterdam and he comes. This is another thing we have. Really nice artifact. The Madonna pinball that never made Madonna pinball. This was the pitch from Python Angel to make the Madonna pinball. It was never created. The management didn't want it. But this drawing is great and we have the invoice he sent to Wally Williams. This is another example. Most people know the Funhouse, the 1990 pinball machine. A few people know the predecessor, the Funhouse from 1956 on the right side. And on the left side we have the 1994 Roadshow. Next to it we have a display cabinet, and the display cabinet gives more information about these three machines, including a story about the Funhouse Riverview amusement park. So it was an amusement park in Chicago, a few blocks away from the factories, and this was a real inspiration for a lot of designers. The Funhouse pinball is made after the Funhouse ride in the Rivadue amusement park. We had some tickets. We also have a big life-size translight of the Twilight Zone in a corner of our museum. We made an exact copy of the Twilight Zone. And if you want to go to the restaurants, we don't give you any rest. Because in the restrooms, we have what we call toilet stories. These are also short stories. When you sit down peeing or making a number two you can read those stories and every toilet has a different story so we have a story about the sba dollar about women rights and pinball machines and we have a story about um how the six flippers came into the hantidoti machine these are all great stories to read when you are in the restroom. Another advantage is that men sit down during their toilet visit. Of course, we have some old machines, wedge heads, also with a little explanation next to it. And we have the Humpty Dumpty, also here on display, with three other of the fairy tale series. There are several machines belonging to this series, and we have four of them. We have the Hotty-Dotty, the Lady Robin Hood, Cinderella, and the Alice in Wonderland. And we are still missing Jack and Jill, Old King Cullen, Alibaba. So there's a quest for the missing three. Also in our little mini museum today, normal in the big museum in Delzheimer, Rotterdam, are those plexiglass boxes explaining the technique of the pinball. We have some technical drawings also with little explanations. And all these stories are incorporated within the museum. So you can play a machine and you can, next to it, there is some explanation. And of course we want to do more, we want to have more. we are expanding every year and Gerard has a pinball machine whizz-list, the Red Race prototype, the three whizz-listing machines from the Fairfield series and the Total Recall prototype, the dual Total Recall. We don't think we can get them but you have to dream. Yes, you especially won't be able to give any of John Trudeau's 11 white-wood prototypes, like combination rotation. That would be nice, yeah. I have also a wish list for the education part. I want to tell more stories about how pinball manufacturers are seducing customers to buy and play pinball machines, so the marketeer's view. I want to tell stories about pinball art throughout throughout the decades. The difference between fine art, decorative art, and applied art. So the talk after this from Jean-Paul is about the art of the Jersey Jack machines. I think it's a very interesting talk. Of course, we want to cooperate with other pinball museums and manufacturers. And we have a common goal. The common goal is to bring pinball to a broader public. And things like these expos really help in that way. So sure, you can have a great time playing pinball, but we all think that pinball is more than fun and games. Maybe there are some questions from the audience. Where's the question? . Did you move to this building because of its location? Let's say it's all a coincidence, but we think all the stars aligned in the right place, yes. How about getting more digital mobile machines in the museum, even just a handful? There is a small chance we will have one of them, but it won't be enough. Oh, it won't be enough. Wait, is there going to have more circuits? No, we have one and it's now in repair and it will come back in the museum. Oh, I see. Other questions? Yes, over there. Yeah, I've been there once and with 120 machines, I think you must have a great production line with spare parts. So, how do you arrange this? So, I imagine that something will break down every once in a while from each machine. Did you break one down? No, no, no. Oh, because then we have to show that to you. We have a team of people who do the maintenance once a week, so every Wednesday evening after the opening hours, or opening hours of Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Some volunteers come together, and we clean and we repair the machines. What kind of people do the repairs? Are you looking for specific profile people? Because I imagine that they are very difficult to find out in the wild. We have some really good people and we could always use some more. So if you want to apply here and there and if you fit in the team, you are more than welcome. No questions anymore? You can grab a pin when you come next year to the museum, you get some extra things. We hope to see you over there, because we think the Dutch Pinball Museum is definitely worth a pilgrimage. Thank you very much. Thank you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 444fcfd3-0f4e-405a-9f2c-92eb7a531e4c*