Our museum serves as an acquisition, research, organization and documentation center for telephone history materials. Its collection demonstrates the progression of communication technologies from solid wood wall mounted operator directed phones to modern multifunctional pocket cell phone displays.
Exhibits like our reconstructed private automatic branch exchange with stepping switches and candlestick wall phones allow for hands-on exploration. Furthermore, outreach workshops encourage STEM education as well as intrinsic curiosity by tapping into America’s rich telephone history.
Education
The Museum is an acquisition, research, organization, documentation and exhibition center dedicated to telecommunications artifacts from Alexander Graham Bell’s wall-mounted phones with operator direction to modern multifunctional mobile phones – its collections excite both children and adults’ curiosity about technology and innovation across history.
Museum ambassadors provide welcome services, circulate through public areas and answer inquiries regarding programs and exhibitions. Meanwhile, behind the scenes volunteers support library archives conservation laboratories as well as event planning efforts.
Given the abrupt restriction of in-person health education and research activities during the Covid-19 pandemic, HBEC staff and CAB created this telephone outreach project in response to registry participant engagement needs. This paper describes its framework, key results and lessons learned for replication of similar efforts. HBEC staff used it bridge the digital divide, decrease social isolation, refer patients to resources while collecting rich data that will inform future efforts to identify and meet community needs.
Outreach
Telephone Historical Centre has long prioritized community engagement as part of its program, and this Covid-19 pandemic project fits right in with this tradition by mobilizing a team to support older adults during a pandemic and collect rich data about their lived experience.
Participants were interviewed regarding their specific needs and resources during a pandemic, using calls conducted by volunteer callers paired with Society Team Leaders who provided oversight. These brief telephone surveys served multiple functions simultaneously: they offered touch points to decrease isolation; recommended relevant resources; as well as collected rich sets of data that will aid future research efforts.
Visitors to the museum can explore antique telephone artifacts, including working switching equipment and telegraph keys used to form Bell’s initial telecommunication system, along with tools used by linemen such as copper cabling and antique line insulators. Interactive exhibits like stepping switches and candlestick phones allow visitors to learn about telecommunication history.
Exhibits
The museum serves as an acquisition, research, organization, documentation, and exhibition center dedicated to telecommunications artifacts. Their collections inspire children’s and adults’ curiosity about technology and innovation – from Alexander Graham Bell’s solid wood wall-mounted operator directed phones through today’s multifunctional pocket cell phones.
Telephone museums feature hands-on exhibits that give visitors an intimate look into the human stories behind communication technology. Visitors can explore antique rotary dial phones, learn about linemen’s tools of trade and view an expansive collection of global telecom artifacts.
Traveling Trunks program brings museum collection directly into schools and communities who cannot visit directly, while Virtual Museum of Telecommunications makes archival material more available for those without physical museum access.
Volunteers
Volunteers at this museum spark children’s curiosity about technology, innovation and culture by providing children with engaging exhibits that engage their minds with a wide array of educational programs that tap their expertise. Many volunteers at this museum were former telephone workers; others possess formal artifact handling or library/archives experience while having strong people skills.
Education and outreach workshops offer an in-depth exploration of telephone innovations from Alexander Graham Bell’s wall-mounted solid wood phones with operator direction to today’s multifunctional mobile phones. Museum educators often rely on volunteers to lead programs or manage youth activity tables at these workshops.
Information Desk volunteers positioned in the Great Hall provide visitors with details on Anne Frank The Exhibition, other Center exhibitions and programs, tours, public tours, the Reading Room & Genealogy Institute tours and Public Tours as well as Museum Store merchandise and much more. In addition, volunteers welcome visitors and proactively answer their queries, guaranteeing an exceptional visitor experience.
