The museum features a collection of original telephones dating back to 1878 – two years after Alexander Graham Bell first invented it – which are on display. A tour through the museum traces communications technology’s development from crank phones through to today’s mobile phones.
Ellsworth’s Telephone Museum stands out from many museums by giving visitors the chance to interact with its displays directly, instead of simply looking. Visitors can use crank phones and the manual switchboard in order to become operators themselves and put callers through.
Admission
The Museum offers both group and individual tours, as well as interactive experiences among its vast collection of antique phones. Ranging from wooden wall phones and working panel switchboards to old fashioned line insulators and even an old line insulator – visitors will also discover one of North America’s largest telecommunications reference libraries as well as outdoor plant displays featuring poles, wires, and splicing equipment.
What sets this unique museum apart from larger, more prominent institutions is its commitment to authenticity and education, which allows it to explore the fascinating evolution of telecommunications from its humble origins up through today’s smartphones.
This non-profit museum’s goal is to acquire, research, organize, document, display and archive historical items related to telecommunications in Edmonton – such as its extensive archive of telephone directories and technical manuals dating back to the 1800s – while providing multi-media history theatre shows and research centers geared toward telecom. Furthermore, its ADA compliant facilities make the museum accessible for visitors of various needs.
Exhibits
An essential aspect of any telephone museum is preserving and displaying artifacts that allow visitors to gain insight into its history. To achieve this objective, extensive historical research must be performed, including examination of patents, corporate documents, and personal letters in order to ensure accurate exhibit labels and educational materials.
Many telephone museums make their exhibits interactive, providing visitors with an opportunity to experience technology through touch and sound. This may include hearing the whirring and clunking of old switchboards or seeing an antique candlestick phone with rotary dialing; such active engagement gives visitors a stronger appreciation of how dramatically communications technology has transformed our world over the last century.
Some museums even display tools of the trade used by linemen, including climbing spikes and safety belts; as well as diagrams depicting their vast wire networks crisscrossing the country. This is an insight into their enormous effort and engineering savvy that joined together various regions in America in creating national identities and shaping national destinies.
Events
Tech enthusiasts looking for an interactive tech museum experience should stop at this museum to discover how the invention of telephone has revolutionized our modern lives. Its focused collection and intimate setting make this place stand out among larger museums.
Exhibits at the museum provide an engaging history of telecom, with wooden box phones, classic rotary phones and Kellogg universal switchboards all being on display. Furthermore, there are educational programs offered here such as Traveling Trunks Program bringing artifacts and lesson plans directly into schools and communities across North America.
Edmonton-based museum founded by retired ED TEL employees opened on December 3, 1987 with a mission of preserving its rich telecommunications history and legacy. It pays homage to generations of men and women who installed poles, laid cables underground, designed phones and managed networks; as well as holding one of North America’s largest collections of antique telephone equipment including working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, wooden candlestick wall phones and novelty phones – in addition to an extensive library full of telecom books and catalogs.
