The invention of the telephone revolutionized communication. At The Telephone Historical Centre, explore how our communications have progressed through time.

Visit this hands-on museum that features real, working telephones as well as the switchboards and switching systems that powered the wired telephone network.

Monday – Friday

In December 1987, the Telephone Historical Centre opened in an old telephone exchange building in Old Strathcona. By 2004 however, it had moved to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in Central Edmonton where it remained until April 2019.

The museum boasts an extensive collection of antique and vintage phones, switchboards and outside plant equipment from past years, along with an exhibit tracing the evolution of mobile phones from 1980s car phones to current cellular phones. Visitors will witness displays such as rotary dial phones, decorator phones, hand-crank magneto phones and manual switchboards – in addition to an extensive library of telecommunications reference books for researchers. The Museum is run entirely by volunteers and open to the public by appointment only. For further inquiries or booking, contact the Telephone Historical Centre by dialling 780-432-0099; Monday – Friday 10 am – 3 pm and closed on Saturday & Sunday; hours may differ during holidays & special events, and Wednesday is closed as part of Museum business hours.

Saturday

The Telephone Historical Centre is an interactive and hands-on museum designed to make learning fun for kids of all ages. Situated in Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre, this centre houses an impressive collection of antique telephones as well as other telecommunications memorabilia from yesteryear. Hours for admission vary; Monday – Friday 10 am – 3 pm (closed Saturday). Admission fee per person is $2; groups of 20 or more can pay additional USD2 admission.

The Telephone Historical Centre first opened to the public on December 3, 1987 in Old Strathcona and moved to its current home at Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Center on September 17, 2004. This museum features an impressive multi-media theatre show that highlights the History of Telephony along with many interactive exhibits that demonstrate communications science, as well as first class manual telephone switchboard, Step-by-Step private automatic branch exchange, mobile telephones exhibit, as well as many other fun exhibits highlighting communication technology and science behind it. Countless tourists visit it each year! One of Edmonton’s premier tourist attractions!

Holidays

The Telephone Historical Centre is an interactive museum that takes visitors on an immersive journey through the history and impact of telephone communication worldwide. Displays include working telephones, hand-crank magneto phones mounted to walls, dial phones, and manual switchboards – as well as hand-cranked phone operators machines! History provides us with fascinating pieces of evidence about electricity, sound and magnetism – essential elements in modern-day communication systems. Take a tour through telecommunications’ past to meet those who made it all possible! Discover the story of Winter Park Telephone Company, founded by a Maitland resident in 1910. Take advantage of online resources and upcoming events at the Museum to make the most of your visit – make this holiday season extra memorable by making it special with family or friends at Telephone Historical Centre!

The Telephone Historical Centre offers outreach programs that bring the history of telephones alive. Our team of educators can work with your classroom, school, community education center or business to deliver a lesson that satisfies Social Studies standards and the Kentucky Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities.

Classroom Outreach

Classroom Outreach offers teachers and their students engaging, hands-on educational experiences that align with state social studies standards. Museum education staff works directly with classroom teachers to conduct an engaging lesson using historical artifacts as teaching aids.

Students become historians as they analyze historical images and artifacts and participate in activities such as quill writing or wool spinning to develop visual literacy, historical literacy and critical thinking skills. These interactive lessons are free for schools and community education centers.

School outreach programs have the power to engage students with community issues while simultaneously sparking skill development. By connecting economic, political, and societal forces to their everyday lives and showing them how they can impact them directly, school outreach programs have an incredible capacity for positive impactful action from both students and communities over time. By including community partners into classroom learning environments they provide diverse pathways that meet diverse learning styles.

Community Outreach

Community outreach refers to an umbrella term covering many activities. From handing out informational pamphlets on new health and safety regulations, to developing interactive educational games and exhibits that educate residents, visitors, and local businesses; there are countless forms of community outreach programs offered at The Telephone Historical Centre that aim to assist residents in these areas as well as historical preservation, law enforcement, medical care services and much more.

THC promotes our services at local events and through its online presence. Our website and social media platforms are regularly updated with Texas history, cultural heritage, conservation and preservation news and events. In addition, staff at THC attend many public and private events each year to promote our programs – sharing the THC experience with those interested in our historic collections, local treasures and state’s rich history.

The Telephone Historical Centre Collections offer visitors an exciting and engaging array of antique telephones, telecommunications technology, research documents and archives that they can interact with through hands-on exhibits.

The Bell Canada Telephone History Collection contains over three and a half million documents and 25,000 pieces of equipment dating from late 1800s to present day, documenting the development of telephone technology as it progressed, while honoring early pioneers who made history possible.

Collections

As well as its collection of antique telephones, the museum staff are constantly on the lookout for what will become the next great advance in telecommunications history. To share their knowledge with enthusiasts everywhere, they have compiled an exhaustive list of books and articles every telecom enthusiast should read in order to stay abreast of developments within telecommunications history.

Their award-winning exhibits boast a diverse collection of antique telephones and technology to keep visitors busy for hours on end. Interactive telecommunications themed displays and hands-on programs make finding something of interest easy; you may even come across your favourite item during one of the hands-on programs devoted to this field of technology! Visit Edmonton Museum of Telecommunications (EMOT) if you’re curious about Edmonton’s early days in telecommunications; this trip down memory lane takes us back to a time when Edmonton hosted some of world leading technologies; try on an actual Victorian dress or converse with an actual phone operator!

Exhibits

The Telephone Historical Centre Collections contain an incredible variety of telecommunications artefacts. This includes telephone sets, telegraphs, insulators and even a replica of Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone!

The museum features various exhibits and hands-on activities for visitors to enjoy, such as its Telecommunications History Gallery, Antique Telephone Exhibit, Mobile-Telephone Exhibit that charts wireless communications from 1980s cars through modern mobile phones, among others.

The museum houses an extensive collection of tools of the trade, copper cabling and manholes from early days of telecommunications technology and its development from manual switching to automatic switching. Admission is by donation.

Archives

The Telephone Historical Centre Collections contain a wide array of archives including documents, photographs, artefacts and other items related to the history of telephone technology. These items provide details about early operations of companies including information on personnel; local telephone directories; newspapers; miscellaneous items.

Manual System Telephones: Edmonton first established their manual telephone system in 1885; since then it has continued to adapt in order to keep pace with increasing population growth in Edmonton’s streets. Line switching involved sending signal patterns through switchboard operators at telephone exchanges directly to rotary dial telephones connected by wire.

The Archives Center recently received a grant from the Smithsonian Institution’s Collections Care and Preservation Fund to digitize at-risk film collections for public access. Your donation will help preserve these fragile yet unique resources for future researchers.

Research

Bell Canada’s Telephone Historical Collection is an extensive research archive, comprising nearly three and a half million paper documents and 25K pieces of equipment dating from 1880-2007. While not strictly considered part of Bell’s company archive, the collections provide researchers with access to an abundance of knowledge regarding Bell’s role in Canadian telecommunications history – an invaluable resource.

The Centre’s most captivating exhibit is its impressive collection of antique telephones and communications technology, complete with hands-on exhibits that give visitors an experience first-hand of history such as Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows Frame Telephone or Thomas Watson’s Thumper Phone; both can be found alongside replicas. In addition, other technological artifacts including Step-by-Step Private Automatic Branch Exchange, mobile phone exhibit, stepping switches etc all trace its evolution since 1870 right up until today’s wireless communication age are also housed here.

Concertina is made from barbed razors. They are the fencing that create obstacles in various military camps and army bases. Concertina Wire Packs are simple, but they create more obstruction than other spiked metal types.

Concertina is an old wire that has been used for many years. The installation is simple and does not create any problems. It can be found at many places today, including camps. There are also people who use it to horticulture.

Concertina is made up of tensile wires that are both highly galvanized or stainless steel. The wire’s beautiful appearance is well-known. This wire is also anti-climb which is why it is so popular for security fencing. Concertina can be purchased in either single or cross-spiral coils. Barbed wire can be made straight or razor-thin. It is possible to create different blade types for the concertinawire. The customer can choose the specifications.

Areas for application

Concertina Wire is used because of its construction for security and isolation of residential, garden, and military sites.

Types

Five types of Concertina wire are available. They come in the following:

Single coil razorwire: This is typically razor wire coils which have been strip processed and are also galvanized steel plates. This type of wire can be extended so that it creates a temporary obstacle. Because it’s not intended for permanent use, this type of wire doesn’t require any clips.

Concertina wire with large coils: Large coils made of razor wire are twisted together to form fencing that provides greater security than single coils.

The y support wire fences: This wire is mounted on top of fence posts that have the shape Y. These can be used to create obstacles barriers.

Electrified wires are also called an electrified fence. These are typically used together with electricity to improve security. There is no outlook variation. There is usually a copper wire in the blade’s center. It can stop intruders. If one attempts to break or cut the razor blade, it will alarm. This helps to reduce the likelihood of theft. This type is ideal for airports as well as construction suites and plants.

Razor wire barriers: This type of wire has all the features required for military use. It is easy to set up and is quick to remove when needed. In times of war, speed is key. Three men will be sufficient for this type of barrier. They can put up the wire themselves and then take it down when they’re done. This is a great way to save time and money.