#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.

Virtual Tour

International Collaboration

Working visit of senior communication specialist Sorin Șclearuc to Vienna, Austria

November 11-20, 2023

The EU4Culture project

Between November 11-20, 2023, our colleague Sorin Șclearuc, main communication specialist at the National Museum of History of Moldova, paid a working visit to the Artivive company in Vienna, Austria. The move was financially supported by a short-term mobility grant under the #EU4Culture programme.

The purpose of this trip was to establish thorough connections with the Artivive team in order to study and implement the best practices in the field of augmented reality in NMHM exhibitions.

Being at Artivive HQ for a week, guided by Anna Kósa (executive assistant) and Dalila Cataldi (business and development manager), Sorin had the opportunity to learn in depth how Artivive integrates augmented reality in the cultural and artistic context. . This experience included:

Studying new technologies: together with the Artivive team, aspects were discussed regarding the augmented reality technologies used in their projects and the practical ways of implementing and integrating them into the NMHM exhibitions.
Observation of ongoing projects: the projects implemented by Artivive at museums such as Kunsthistorisches Museum, Belvedere Museum, Albertina Museum, etc., as well as ongoing projects, were analyzed. Different aspects of them were addressed, such as how copyrights are protected, the creative and technical processes involved, how they can add value to museum exhibitions, how augmented reality can increase the level of interaction with the visiting public, etc.
The interaction with the Artivive team: during the visit there were valuable established precious conexions, which will facilitate the communication between NMHM and Artivive in view of future projects and collaborations.

In addition, during the working visit, Sorin presented the National Museum of History of Moldova, the exhibitions and the most important events that take place at NMHM to his colleagues from Artivive. Once familiar with the specifics of the museum, together with Anna and Dalila, constructive ideas were outlined regarding the potential modernization of the museum, their exhibitions and the museum's education through augmented reality, a long process, but extremely useful and necessary for the contemporary public.

The mobility was funded by the European Union in the framework of the EU4Culture project implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Czech Centers, Danish Cultural Institute and Institut Français de Géorgie.