#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

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Exhibitions

„Polish Scouting and Guiding Association in the International Scouts' Family"

February 1-18, 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova and the Polish Institute of Bucharest opened on February 1st, 2018 the exhibition „Polish Scouting and Guiding Association in the International Scouts' Family".

The exhibition consists of 30 stands made by the Museum of Scouting ZHP in Warsaw at the initiative of the Polish Institute in Bucharest. It is part of a series of cultural events marking in 2018 the 100th anniversary of the National Revival of Poland.

The exhibition „Polish Scouting and Guiding Association in the International Scouts' Family" introduces to the Moldovan public the traditions of the Polish scouting, its beginnings and the founding personalities of the organization.

The authors of the exhibition focused on the participation of the scouts at important events for Poland's history and independence, on the relationship between Polish scouts and scouts in other countries. The exhibition displays heroic stories, friendships made during jamborees organized in different countries, the continued desire for the recovery of freedom and peace, the recognition of independent Poland at international level, the care for tradition, as well as, or perhaps first of all, the play and the good will that accompany scouting activities and educational importance of this movement.

Among other things, the exhibition teaches us about the influence of scouting education on many generations of Polish young people, based on values such as patriotism, friendship, service to others, faith, hard work, fairness, freedom and peace.

The exhibition can be visited at the National Museum of History of Moldova between February 1 and 18, 2018.