'Cellphone: Unseen Connections': D.C. Smithsonian museum exhibit explores history of the mobile phone
CTV
In the fabled National Museum of Natural History, which houses some of the world's oldest artifacts, the latest 'relic' on display is… the cellphone.
In the fabled National Museum of Natural History, which houses some of the world's oldest artifacts, the latest 'relic' on display is… the cellphone.
Dr. Joshua Bell, a cultural anthropologist, told CTV National News the first-of-its-kind exhibit, called "Cellphone: Unseen Connections," offers visitors a chance to explore the way cellular phones have brought people closer together.
"The cell phone is this wonderful piece of technology that allows us to think about what it means to be human," Bell said. "In the span of 50 years, almost everyone on the planet has one—there are more cell phones than people on the planet ... so what we have in this device is a story that really talks about how we're interconnected."
One of the show stoppers of the exhibit is the so called Tower of Technology, where cell phones of all types and sizes are mounted inside a glass case, and visitors can often spot the devices they used to own.
"I had this one, then a flip phone," Katheryn Kernoff of Vermont told CTV National News, reminiscing about all the phones she's had through her life.
"Smartphones came out when I was in college, and it definitely changed how we connected and got together with friends," she said. "So it's changed how we connect to people, but my kids don't have cell phones yet. They still go and ring the neighbours' doorbells and just go outside. So, I'm glad they still have that experience."
There's no denying the cellphone, the fastest spreading technology in human history, has transformed our lives. Bell says the exhibit traces its history, which includes an old Motorola DynaTAC 8000—which weighed about two pounds and took 10 hours to charge—to an iPhone than can fit in your pocket.
