From the Overland Telegraph Line to artificial intelligence, First Nation’s storytelling and the cutting-edge technologies of tomorrow, a new Australian museum explores out relationship with technologies and the role they play in our lives. Melbourne’s first major museum to open in 25 years, the National Communication Museum opened in September last year, with exhibitions and programmes centered around cutting-edge communication technology through the ages: the hits and the misses and the downright weird. It also answers the questions about technology you are too afraid to ask.
Through its extensive collection of artefacts and the innovative use of technology, including robotics and responsive AI, NCM connects audiences with past, current and future technologies. NCM Co-Chief Executive Officer Emily Siddons describes the NCM as “a trip down memory lane for those who remember retro tech like MSN messenger, rotary phones, the talking clock, the iconic burger phone and the first Internet cafes.” The museum spans two levels of dynamic and changing gallery spaces, with a working historical telephone exchange, immersive rooms, interactive experiences, temporary exhibitions and a dedicated Kid’s Hub. There is something for all ages to marvel at here — amongst our favourites is the Collections Gallery, a cacophony of objects sourced from the NCM collection. Gere, visitors can find their own unique connections between seemingly disparate technologies through delving through objects of interest in a connected digital interface.
This display is a powerful visuals statement that technological innovation is not a linear process, instead it draws on many fields of knowledge — scientific, engineering, mathematical, historical and cultural. Speaking Clock, a mainstay of worldwide telecommunications offerings until it ended in 2019, restored and featuring the familiar voice of Gordon Gow and develop her own sonic systems. There is also the Cyber Café, stepping back in time to the mid-1990s and the beginning of the Information Age; Lone Phone brings you on an interactive sonic adventure inspired by the iconic imagery of glowing phone booths at night in regional Australia, and many more. Two major temporary exhibitions are also on display at NCM; an invisibility coat, robotic birds, a WW2 enigma machine, police-made malware, 4.7 million LinkedIn passwords and a yellow umbrella are among the Instruments of Surveillance exhibition. The Artificial Sky exhibition explore the human-made constellations orbiting our planet and revolutionising communication and connectivity, on Earth and beyond. Artificial Sky has been developed in partnership with Swinburne University of Technology and Space Machine Company, which is showcasing its prototype Optimus Satellite.
The new, not-for-profit museum is also uniquely housed in a refurbished 1930’s telephone exchange building on Burwood Road. in front of a working exchange building that is still used today. NCM aims to be an industry-led institution that serves as both a dynamic chronicle of humanity’s journey in communication technology and a hub for industry to showcase its latest breakthroughs and cutting-edge projects. It is a hands-on learning experience for children of all ages with a Kids Hub and an extensive schools and education program for primary and secondary students. It also promotes research and further learning, through its partnership with Swinburne University of Technology.
Visit: www.ncm.org.au
