Can You Hear Me? Now? :: museum exhibition of sound communication artifacts
Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon
Can You Hear Me? Now? online exhibition of sound communication technology Can You Hear Me? Now? museum exhibition of sound communication artifacts Benton County Historical Society, Philomath, Oregon, USA
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CAN YOU HEAR ME? NOW?

Think of sounds that bring people together: live music, recorded music,
the voice of a loved one, the big game on tv. Over the centuries tolling of church and school bells has brought communities together.
Exhibition entry view museum entry and introduction
When did your family first acquire a television? Have you used a rotary dialtelephone or talked on a party line? Today some wireless telephones take better photographs than our old cameras, and use satellites and electronic voices to guide us to our destinations!

Travel through Can You Hear Me? Now? and explore the evolution of 200 years of sound communication technology from the days of travelling musicians to today's era of cyberspace.

 Can You Hear Me? Now? sound communication exhibition
sound vibration
George De Moss: De Moss Family Bards

De Moss Family Lyric Bards of Oregon

The DeMoss Family Lyric Bards used music to communicate the ideals of founder James DeMoss to audiences around the world from 1872 to 1933.

DeMoss Family Bards >>>

Exhibition Photograph: De Moss Family Lyric Bards

Museum exhibition photo featuring DeMoss musical instruments and ephemera
Sound Waves

Sound Waves

"Sound Waves" is an informative exhibit that focuses on how we hear. It includes a 1925 carbon hearing aid, a whale ear bone, an operational oscilloscope, and more.

Sound Waves >>>

Sound Waves exhibit

"Sound Waves" oscilloscope and artifact display
All the bells and whistles

All The Bells and Whistles

Actually this exhibit doesn't include ALL the bells and whistles from our vast collection, but it is a fun representative sampling.

Visit All The Bells and Whistles >>>

 All The Bells & Whistles museum exhibition, Philomath, Oregon historic photos of prominent Benton County Oregon bell towers, bells, and whistles
Sound Off! Music of the civil war

Sound Off: Musical Instruments from the Civil War

In "Sound Off!" we learn about a deserter being drummed out of camp and see cherished instruments that have been preserved over the past 150 years.

Sound Off! >>>

 Soud Off! sounds of the civil war musical instruments from the American Civil War
Flutes from around the world

Flutes From Around The World

Longfellow said "Music is the universal language of mankind." [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Outre-Mer]

That universality extends to the instruments that produce the music. For example, flutes can be found in almost all cultures from as early as 35,000 years ago.

Flutes from the BCHS museum collection >>>

 Flutes From Around The World
telegraph key

Telegraph

The invention of the telegraph brought about a transformation in communications and sparked the invention of many other devices.

More about telegraph history >>>

 telegraph hands-on museum exhibition
Off The Hook: telephone history museum exhibit

Off the Hook!

Telephones from 1882 - 1992 are featured in "Off the Hook!", as well as the Monroe, Oregon, switchboard and an operational "party line" for museum visitors to call from 1920 - 1940 - 1960!

"Off the Hook!" >>>

 telephone museum exhibit hands-on telephone exhibition Working party line uses a 1940s wooden phone booth

Sponsored by:
Pioneer Telephone Cooperative
antique radio museum exhibit

Radio

Featuring seventy years of radios from our museum collection:

Radios >>>
hand crank phonograph record player

Recording and Playback

Wax cylinders through compact discs:

Recording & Playback Devices >>>

   recording & playback history exhibit
1939 G.E. television

Television

A sampling of televisions from the museum collection.

Televisions >>>

 television museum exhibition
Sounds Like A Broken Record: common English language proverbs, ideoms, etc.

Sounds Like a Broken Record

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, such as "ears are burning", the meaning of which has nothing to do with fire.

Here is a list of auditory-related english language idioms >>>


Exhibition In The News:

The Philomath Bulletin: "Museum's Newest Exhibit Brings Sound To Life"

 
   
  sound vibration  
     
Sound Waves De Moss Lyric Bards of Oregon Sound Off! musical instruments of the American Civil War All The Bells and Whistles Off The Hook! telephone history Musical flutes from around the world Radio history television history