One of the largest museums of its kind, this collection showcases the history and development of communications technology. Experience this fascinating journey through manual cord boards and candlestick phones; an operating Panel/Crossbar electromechanical central office switch; outdoor plant displays featuring poles, wires and insulators; as well as an extensive cataloged research library offering invaluable learning opportunities.
Educational Programs
Telephone historical centers serve as institutions dedicated to collecting, researching, organizing, documenting and displaying telecommunications artifacts that engage children and adults alike in learning about technology, innovation and culture – from Alexander Graham Bell’s solid wood wall-mounted phones that required operator supervision until today’s sleek cellular pocket cell phones. Museum collections document local telephone industries through directories and photographs as well as share our history of innovation that has brought people from different places together.
Edmonton’s Roseville Telephone Museum takes visitors on an incredible journey back in time with an impressive collection of antique phones that span from manual cord boards and candlestick wall phones, to working Panel/Crossbar electromechanical central office switch equipment; an operator switchboard; outside plant displays such as poles, wire and insulators; as well as an extensive library of phone-related literature. Please be aware that bags larger than 9’x 11’x 5′ are not permitted into historic homes in order to protect this collection and ensure an optimal visitor experience.
Traveling Trunks Program
The Telephone Historical Centre in Edmonton, Alberta houses one of the world’s largest collections of communications artifacts dating from Alexander Graham Bell’s solid wood wall-mounted operator phones to today’s pocket-sized cell phones. Group and individual museum tours engage all senses while teaching about innovation, culture and history.
Our Traveling Trunks take the Museum’s collection directly into schools and community organizations for engaging, hands-on learning experiences. Each trunk contains books, activities, artifacts from its collection as well as teachers’ guides that assist educators with highlighting specific chapters that align with state social studies requirements.
Each month, we provide students with a different theme to peak their interest and spark discussions about history. From exploring global supply chains via coffee beans to looking at what it took for Jo Ann Robinson and Claudette Colvin to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, each trunk brings history alive in an engaging and fun manner.
Community Outreach
The Museum boasts one of the nation’s most extensive collections of telephone related artifacts, from Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop all the way through modern cell phones used today. The exhibit traces this journey.
This non-profit museum in Edmonton Alberta acts as a research, organization and documentation center for materials related to telecom history. Their impressive collections showcase everything from Alexander Graham Bell’s wall mounted operator directed phones made of solid wood to multifunctional cell phones we carry with us today.
The Museum offers visitors an interactive experience they will remember fondly for years. Additionally, they maintain a research library full of telephone history literature that is popular with school field trips and group sight-seeing tours. Backpacks larger than 9 inches by 11 inches x 5 inches are not permitted inside historic homes in order to protect artifacts and ensure visitors can fully immerse themselves into telephone history. It showcases generations who constructed America’s telecom infrastructure by erecting poles, burying cables, designing technology solutions, etc.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer for any length of time at the Museum! Whether that be a day, a few weeks, or several months – you can lend a helping hand in supporting our outreach programs. Museum volunteers offer learning experiences designed to introduce visitors to telecommunications innovation from Alexander Graham Bell’s solid wood wall mounted operator directed telephones through today’s multifunctional pocket cell phones. Volunteers also assist the Traveling Trunks program by transporting specially curated artifacts directly into communities unable to visit.
Historic Richmond Town Volunteers welcome guests at the museum’s visitor center (Third County Courthouse), serve as docents on tours of its campus (which includes Wolf House Museum, Goodnow House, Rocky Ford Schoolhouse and Hartford House) as well as support research activities and assist educational and public programs department in maintaining grounds and gardens.
Apply to become a DOROT Volunteer today and bridge generations while sharing skills and forming meaningful friendships!
