We have also developed an extensive collection representing the developments that have taken place from coast to coast. The collection has been developed with the idea of documenting the technological, economic, social and cultural changes that have taken place over the years. The collection not only allows for major exhibits in the Museum, but it also provides for travelling exhibits and meets the demand for loans to other institutions across Canada. It is also a national resource for study by researchers and scholars in the field. In some cases we are preserving the only extant examples of the technology, while in others we are retaining typical examples of artifacts that were mass produced.
Communications is a field of extremely rapid growth and technological change.
While the pressure to collect in the historical area is lessening, there is a constant effort required to keep abreast of modern developments and to continue to collect into the foreseeable future. It also includes various types of automated telegraph instruments such as transmitters, receivers and teleprinters. The system was sold and used in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It was not compatible with the Strowger system so it went out of service in the early 1920s. Includes telephone sets, switching and transmission equipment, power plants, paging equipment, wire and cable samples including optic fiber cables, tools and test equipment.