The Telephone Historical Centre in Edmonton was an innovative museum dedicated to early technology history that closed its doors due to relevancy and financial issues in 2019, but its one-of-a-kind collection remains an interesting look at Edmonton’s technological legacy.

The Telephone Historical Centre is located in an old exchange building in Old Strathcona and features Xeldon the talking robot as well as amazing historical footage and archives which make for fascinating viewing.

Xeldon the Talking Robot

The telephone revolutionized human communications – it allowed real-time conversations across oceans and continents, eventually reaching everywhere on earth. Edmonton Museum’s one of the largest of its kind in North America offers an engaging look back into this groundbreaking technology from Alexander Graham Bell’s gallows frame phone in his attic workshop to today’s pocket cellular phones.

The museum contains working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central-office switches, outside plant displays such as poles, wires and splicing equipment as well as a cataloged telecommunications reference library. Established by former employees of ED TEL in 1987 in Old Strathcona’s former telephone exchange building before moving to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre downtown Edmonton in 2004.

Joan makes check-in easy and seamless for visitors, eliminating paper sign-in forms in favor of digital invites and QR codes that offer instant notifications so hosts/receptionists can prepare for guests ahead of time. And with Xeldon the talking robot as part of this attraction for guests of all ages, check-in can take place quickly and smoothly!

The History of the Telephone

This museum exhibits the creativity and craftsmanship associated with telephone technology for over 2600 years! It boasts an extensive collection of antique telephone equipment spanning from working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical Central Office switches, operator exchange reconstructions, glass insulators poles cables splicing equipment as well as glass insulators poles cables splicing equipment.

The museum was established by retired ED TEL employees and opened its doors for business in 1987 in an Old Strathcona telephone exchange building. Since then, it has grown exponentially to become one of the largest telephone museums in North America – attracting school field trips, sightseeing tours and group visits alike.

This collection features an exceptional assortment of historical documents and books that chronicle technological developments, from Alexander Graham Bell’s first patent from 1876 to telephone directories from Edmonton and technical manuals – it will certainly impress and enlighten anyone interested in telecom history! This astounding display will inspire any student of telecom history!

The Archives

This collection of antique telephones and switching equipment pays homage to generations of employees who erected poles, buried cables and developed revolutionary communications technology that revolutionized communication for us all. Ranging from solid wood wall-mounted phones with manual dialing mechanisms that required operator assistance through to modern touchscreen cell phones that provide communications solutions, this museum honors communications history’s creativity, craftsmanship and ingenuity.

Established by retired telecommunications industry employees, this museum provides a captivating experience for anyone interested in telephone history. With working panel and crossbar electromechanical central office switches as well as reconstruction of an operator exchange with glass insulators poles cables splicing equipment – this one-of-a-kind museum will surely delight telecom collectors!

This collection offers unique original volumes like The Telephone: An Account of Electricity, Magnetism and Sound by Professor A.E Dolbear published a year after Bell invented it in 1877. Also featured are vintage telephone directories and technical manuals.

The Gift Shop

The Telephone Historical Centre offers a fascinating history of communications technology. Their educational programs bring these two worlds together by providing comparisons between modern telecommunications with vintage technology.

This museum boasts an impressive collection of telephones and related equipment. Additionally, there are historic photographs, news articles, memorabilia, antique phones and much more that make up its impressive assortment. It ranks among one of the nation’s premier collections of antique phones and memorabilia.

Established by retired employees from Edmonton Telephone Exchange Limited (ED TEL), the Edmonton Telephone Historical Centre was an ardent effort by retired ED TEL employees to preserve Edmonton’s legacy in telecom. Through group tours and direct engagement with artifacts, visitors were given insight into how communication technologies had progressed through time in Edmonton.

Although the foundation that supported Telhodle Historical Centre dissolved in 2019, their dedication to preserving Edmonton’s communications history remains strong – serving as an important example of how an effective preservation effort can make an impactful statement about a community’s dedication.

Telephone Historical Centre offers visitors an interactive telephone museum experience. A popular spot for school field trips and sightseeing tours alike.

Docents (both current and retired ED TEL employees who volunteer their time as docents) provide visitors with a knowledgeable tour of the exhibits, featuring working operator switchboards, outside plant displays featuring poles, lines and splicing tools, crank wall phones and novelty phones.

Exhibits

This museum, housed in a restored 1920s cotton warehouse, showcases an extensive selection of old phones, switch equipment and other telecommunication devices from Alexander Graham Bell’s time through to novelty Princess phones and flip phones – providing both an enjoyable and educational experience for visitors.

This non-profit museum was established by former employees of ED TEL to preserve the history of telecommunications technology. The exhibits trace Alexander Graham Bell’s gallows frame phone all the way through today’s mobile devices.

The Museum offers a recreation of an old telephone exchange, displays of glass insulators and antique phones as well as replicas of early telephones such as Alexander Graham Bell’s Gallows Frame Telephone and Thomas A. Watson’s Thumper Phone from their original manufacturing dates; plus the first phone imported into Edmonton by Dominion Telegraph Agent Alexander Taylor himself! Ideal for group tours, school field trips and family outings alike – make this your destination of choice today.

Education

Few inventions have had as profound an effect on human communication as the telephone. Its journey from humble origins to powerful communication tool is well documented across museums and historical centres worldwide.

Telephone history centres often offer interactive learning experiences for children and adults to experience the development of technology first-hand. These museums can make excellent family outings, school field trip destinations or sightseeing tour stops; many museums also host educational workshops about telecom technology.

Telephone Workshops is a development project to evaluate the effects of a sustained STEM style education program that encourages young people to become engineers. Evaluation involves gathering multi-year formative evaluation data on participants’ engineering interest, knowledge of electric theory as a mathematical ratio, taking apart and wiring components, knowledge of historic technical events and semiconductor technology as well as its scalability within multiple communities and schools; donations help keep our museum open to the public.

Events

The Museum offers special events and tours, as well as opportunities for group tours of our equipment to help students explore communication history and development.

Explore and appreciate one of North America’s largest collections of telephones, equipment and memorabilia with us – an enjoyable family outing, school field trip or great addition to a sightseeing tour! We look forward to having you visit.

The Museum offers an engaging learning experience from Alexander Graham Bell’s simple box-shaped telephone to today’s sleek cellular phones – there is no better way to discover and experience communication history! Instead of just viewing museum exhibits without getting involved themselves, visitors to the National Telephone Museum can sit at a manual switchboard and act as operator to connect a call for themselves. The Museum features working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, outside plant displays featuring poles, cables and splicing equipment, as well as a catalogued telephone-related reference library. Volunteers are key to the Museum’s success, aiding with tours, youth activity tables and cataloguing artifacts (many volunteers possess formal artifact handling or library/archives experience). Museums Alberta recognizes us as an official member.

Contact

Dependent upon where their center is situated, visitors can witness an array of telephones and equipment – including working switching gear – on display. This museum houses one of the finest collections of telecommunications technology in the country: wooden box phones, candlestick phones and classic rotary phones are among its exhibits; additionally it also contains many cases filled with Edison insulators in various shapes and sizes.

This museum was established by retired employees of ED TEL in 1987 and first located at an historic Old Strathcona telephone exchange building before moving to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in Central Edmonton. Knowledgeable docents – current and retired ED TEL employees volunteering their time – guide visitors through its displays of phone equipment while explaining how various pieces work.

This fun attraction provides a wonderful experience for kids and adults of all ages alike, making a visit to Edmonton’s Telephone Historical Centre an integral part of any tour itinerary.

From candlestick wall phones to the McKinley phone used to contact and announce his assassination, this museum ensures landlines’ history will not fade as mobile phones become the norm. Their collections include working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; antique telephones; switchboards; outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing equipment and tools as well as outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing equipment and tools – perfect for commemorating landlines’ long history!

Admission

Experience communications technology evolution first-hand by visiting this museum. Their collection promotes engineering through America’s rich telephone history while inspiring an entrepreneurial mindset in today’s inventors and innovators.

This museum boasts one of the world’s premier collections of telephone equipment and related memorabilia, featuring working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office step switches; antique telephones and switchboards; outdoor plant displays including poles cables splicing tools as well as pole splicing tools; as well as an exhaustive cataloged telecommunications reference library – along with knowledgeable docents who are current or retired telephone company employees offering guided tours through this museum.

This museum also serves as an invaluable resource for Boy Scouts, providing them with interactive exhibits that fulfill their Inventing and Engineering merit badge requirements through hands-on displays. Operated by Charles B Hopkins No 30 Telephone Pioneers of America – an established fraternal organization consisting of both former and current telephone employees who volunteer their services.

Exhibits

At this museum, an eclectic assortment of antique telephones, equipment and other telecommunication items is on display for visitors to experience first-hand the development of communications from its beginning with rotary phones to modern smart devices used today. Perfect for family outings or school field trips; and perfect as part of group sightseeing tours around town!

The museum features a working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switch, antique phone booths, operator switches, outdoor plant displays with poles cables splicing tools as well as pole splicing tools as well as pole cable splicing tools as well as an extensive telecommunication reference library. Experienced docents – current or former employees of ED TEL – are on hand to guide groups through its exhibits and demonstrate its various pieces of equipment.

Establish on December 3, 1987 in Old Strathcona neighborhood and relocated two years later for enhanced accessibility, this museum of telephone history is one of the largest hands-on museum of its kind in North America. Displays show how technology has progressed from solid wood wall-mounted, hand-crank magneto phones with operator control to today’s sleek cellular phones.

Docent-Led Tours

Docents (current and retired telco employees who volunteer their time) lead visitors through the museum. They can demonstrate the progression of telephone technology from Alexander Graham Bell’s invention in the attic of his home to modern day cell phones.

Docents should strive to accommodate for multiple learning styles during a tour, for instance by asking students to draw or write poetry in galleries as it allows them to focus their attention and express themselves creatively in other ways than verbally.

Docents must make a one-year commitment to giving four tours per month as docents. Beyond scheduled tours, docents may assist museum information counter staff by answering visitors’ daily inquiries; doing this helps docents gain more insight into visitor questions they can address during tours as well as receiving special training to teach about particular exhibits during assigned tours; sometimes docents will also wander through galleries engaging individuals or small groups for informal tours and conversations that arise naturally within galleries.

Special Events

Telecom Pioneers, a non-profit 501(c)(3) Bell System employee service organization, operates this museum featuring one of the world’s premier collections of antique phones and equipment. Established in 1987 and relocated two years later for greater accessibility, this hands-on museum illustrates the development of communications technology from Alexander Graham Bell’s attic workshop to today’s wireless devices. This collection features working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches; antique phones, switchboards and operator switches; outdoor plant displays featuring poles, cables and splicing equipment tools; cataloged telecom reference libraries and knowledgeable docents (current or retired telecom employees who volunteer their time) who accompany visitors throughout the museum.

Roseville Museum of Telephone History offers visitors an interactive, immersive learning experience on the history and evolution of telephones. Here you’ll find wooden box phones, candlestick phones and classic rotary dial phones from years gone by as well as replicas of small town America independent telephone exchanges as well as antique line insulators.

THG was established by retired telecom professionals with a desire to preserve history. Their museum features working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical step switches as well as poles, cables and splicing equipment.

Children love listening to the clickety-clack of old telephones while older visitors recall memories about one-town phone companies they may remember from years past. Admission to this museum is completely free for everyone!

Educational Outreach Programs

Through our vast collection, we showcase the ingenuity, craftsmanship and industry of telecommunications. Visitors are encouraged to touch and explore various telephones, rotary dial machines, switchboards and other equipment from throughout history. Furthermore, visitors may observe how telephone technology has advanced from wall-mounted solid wood handsets with operator control dials all the way through solid wood wall mounts featuring hand cranks for operator-directed phone service to pocket sized touchscreen cellular phones today.

At our two-year longitudinal evaluation, we are testing the impact of our scalable STEM style program for children and teenagers that aspire to become engineers. Based on eight years of formative evaluation data that demonstrate improvement in participants’ engineering interest, science knowledge, history knowledge, mathematics knowledge and self-efficacy; workshops feature electric theory with particular attention being paid to Ohm’s Law, semiconductor technology and telephone collection collections – providing participants with opportunities to ‘take stuff apart’, stimulating that intrinsic curiosity that was the inspiration for early telephone invention and continues today among inventors and innovators.

Exhibits

Modern life cannot live without telephones; this museum pays homage to their ancestors by housing an extensive collection from Alexander Graham Bell’s workshop through modern day models. Archives contain unique original volumes such as vintage telephone directories and technical manuals. Crank wall phones and decorator phones, step switches and XY switches are among many fascinating objects housed here.

Since 1987 (first in Old Strathcona neighbourhood and later Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre), this telephone museum has become one of North America’s premier hands-on museums. Its collection includes working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches, antique telephones and switchboards, outside plant displays with poles cables splicing equipment tools as well as an expansive cataloged telecommunication reference library. Knowledgeable docents who volunteer their time from current or retired phone company employees show visitors through this fascinating facility while giving visitors an unforgettable experience of how communication technology has advanced from smoke signals to smoke signals dialers all the way through to smartphones in our pockets!

Group Tours

At this museum you’ll see working examples of telecom equipment dating back to wooden prototypes that launched it all through to electro-mechanical marvels that led us to computers and smart phones. Unlike most museums, visitors are welcome to touch and use telephones and switchboards in this interactive, hands-on exhibit.

Discover candlestick wall phones, classic rotary phones and novelty phones as well as a two-position Kellogg universal switchboard that lets you simulate manual line switching at phone exchanges before automation became commonplace. Also on display are step-by-step private automatic branch exchanges as well as various sizes and shapes of insulators plus outdoor plant exhibits with poles, cables and splicing equipment.

Group tours for groups of 10 or more can be arranged at least four weeks ahead, to save on admission costs. Leave the smartphone at home and come experience one of the largest telephone-related collections west of the Mississippi!

Contact Us

The Museum’s extensive collection of telephones and equipment spans more than a century of communications technology, showing its development from solid wooden wall-mounted phones with hand cranking operator control through to modern pocket sized touch-screen cellular phones with touch screens and pocket memory capabilities.

One of the premier hands-on museums in North America, this museum is dedicated to preserving, organizing, documenting and exhibiting Edmonton Alberta’s telecom history. Established by retired ED TEL employees in 1987 and relocated to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton since 1997, its exhibits include working panel and crossbar electromechanical central office type switching systems; outdoor plant displays featuring poles cables splicing equipment tools antique telephones crank wall phones decorator phones and switchboards that display how communication technologies have developed; working central office type switching systems along with plant displays including poles cables splicing equipment as well as displays featuring poles cables splicing equipment and tools as well as antique telephones that tell an amazing tale.

Tours of all ages can be accommodated, and an organized reference library offers additional research capabilities. Please contact the museum for further inquiries.

The telephone allows people to instantly communicate across language, culture and distance differences, helping bridge any potential divides that might exist in languages, cultures or distance. From wooden wall-mounted telephones that required hand cranking all the way to multifunctional touch screen smartphones of today – telephones have revolutionised societies by improving connectivity.

Telecommunications historical centers preserve telephone memorabilia and document the development of technology through museum displays. Some museums even maintain working panels and crossbar electromechanical central offices.

Telecommunications History Centres

Telecommunications History Centres are interactive museums that commemorate the history of wired telephone networks. They showcase working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central-office switches, outside plant displays of poles, cables, splicing equipment tools as well as antique telephones and switchboards in addition to having an outstanding archive of related reference materials.

The Edmonton Telephone Historical Centre opened in 1987 and remains one of Edmonton’s best family attractions. Housed within Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre, this attraction houses an extensive collection of telephones dating back to 1878 – available for guided tours for groups of 10 or more visitors.

Retired and active telecom employees were outraged to see many historic items being thrown away as buildings were relocated or closed down, prompting them to found the Telecommunications History Group (THG), an international nonprofit with two museums and an outstanding archive specializing in telecom history. Furthermore, THG offers various outreach programs for schoolchildren.

Telephone Museums

A non-profit organization created by retired ED TEL employees, this museum preserves the history of telecommunications through antique switches, switchboards and crank wall phones used during earlier times – as well as tools your ancestors may have utilized themselves. Furthermore, educational programs at this museum further excite young minds about engineering and history.

The Museum offers everything from Alexander Graham Bell’s original box-shaped telephone to modern flip phones and everything in between, including open wire insulators and operator switchboards as well as wall-mounted magneto crank phones.

The Museum of Telecommunications Technology is an incredible source for anyone interested in learning about its evolution. Offering both guided tours and self-guided visits of its impressive collections – featuring functioning Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central-office switches as well as outside plant displays of poles, wires and splicing equipment; plus an outstanding cataloged telecommunications reference library – this museum celebrates the inventiveness, craftsmanship and ingenuity found within North American’s Telecommunications industry and stands as one of the largest such institutions in North America!

Telecommunications Historical Centres for Schools

Though modern phones may seem mundane now, when first introduced in the late 1800s they were revolutionary innovations. This museum showcases both social and technical history of telecommunications through both guided and self-guided tours ranging from solid wood wall-mounted telephones requiring operators to hand crank each call through to today’s pocket-sized touch screen cell phones, celebrating creativity, craftsmanship and ingenuity while informing visitors on how telecommunications have changed our world around us.

The Museum collection showcases fully operational pieces that demonstrate both the social and technical significance of this communication revolution, such as working Panel and Crossbar electromechanical central office switches; antique telephones; switchboards; outside plant displays with poles, cables, splicing tools and equipment as well as an extensive cataloged technical library. It makes an ideal family outing, school field trip destination or group sight seeing tour destination; it also serves as an engaging learning opportunity for Boy Scouts pursuing either Invention or Engineering merit badges.

Telecommunications Historical Centres for Group Sight Seeing Tours

No matter your interest – antique collector, historian or telecom worker – you’re sure to find a wealth of telecom historical centres offering an abundance of telephones and related equipment that are sure to please. These museums showcase how communication technology has developed locally as well as globally; making these venues perfect family outings, school field trips or sightseeing tour destinations.

The Museum of Telecommunications in Roseville California boasts one of the nation’s largest collections of antique telephones and memorabilia, from early wooden prototypes to modern cellular phones. Exhibits cover an extensive array of topics.

Established on December 3rd 1987 in Old Strathcona neighbourhood and later moving to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre, Edmonton’s non-profit Telecommunications History Centre provides acquisition, research, organization, documentation, exhibition and storage of telecom history materials. Offering hands on exhibits illustrating communication principles along with multi-media historical Theatre Show experiences for visitors!