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CONNECTIONS

Telephone exchange 7A. Photo.

An example of a signal object in the exhibition is the enormous telephone exchange 7A, which was in use in Oslo from 1921 to 1980.

In spring 2022 The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology will open its largest permanent exhibition in the museum's history. An entire floor will be converted into an innovative and interactive exhibition about information and communication technology, in collaboration with the design and architecture firm Snøhetta.

ICT – information and communication technology – is a very comprehensive field. As a collective term, ICT is quite new, and perhaps not apt. We could easily talk about computer history, telecommunications history, broadcasting history. Or we could talk about information, control, digitalization, programming, workplaces, the internet and social media – new realities that are constantly changing and rapidly developing. Some unifying perspectives can be useful when shaping the exhibition and telling what it is about.

One concept we have with us is “connections.” It can help give us such an overall perspective.

An example of a signal object in the exhibition is the enormous telephone exchange 7A, which was in use in Oslo from 1921 to 1980. The exchange illustrates how technologies connect people. It tells about the development of telephone systems and the automation of operators' work, about Norwegian telecommunications history and a gender-segregated workplace with cleaning ladies and male technicians. But last but not least, it is about communication.

The technologies that connect usshape our lives in various ways. The traces we leave behind online or when we pass a toll booth can be misused by governments or commercial actors.

In a similar way, the 7A exchange was used to collect information through a wiretap line to the Oslo police station.

Technology can also disconnect us. While we used to watch the same TV programs, new media technologies have meant that we have lost many of the common references that this provided. The smartphone and other digital channels can cause us to disconnect from the physical world. In the new exhibition we want to create interest and understanding of how ICT can involve both connections and frictions.

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The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology

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Norway's National Museum of Technology, Industry, Science and Medicine. Here you will find exciting exhibitions and activities a short distance from central Oslo.

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