Museum of Innovation and Science

Exploring an AM/FM Radio

Tabletop television, 1948. It originally cost $200 and had a 10-inch diagonal screen

In Days Gone By

Betty Bower, technician on WGY-radio engineering staff, tries her hand at creating radio sound effects, December 1942

Take a Bow

Explore the changing methods people used to listen to radio in its early days, from wireless telegraphy to transistor radios.

Listening to Radio

Program Description

The invention of radio allowed for a transformation in the way that people seek entertainment for themselves. Music, plays, and dramas sent over radio waves allowed individuals and families alike to hear stories that they may not have encountered otherwise, especially when up until that point all entertainment was done in a collective setting, such as a tale around a fire, or through travelling actors.

In the following activities, students will begin to explore how the invention and evolution of televisions and radios allowed for a massive cultural shift, one that continues to happen with technology we continue to use today.


·        Understand the difference between satellite radio and conventional radio stations, and how the use of a tuner is essential to the latter

·        Describe the changes that both the radio and television have gone through, from their invention to now, and identify those changes through observations of advertisements

·        Distinguish differences in writing for radio vs. writing for television by creating their own radio play

·        1-PS4-4. Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of

o  Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include a light source to send signals, paper cup and string “telephones,” and a pattern of drum beats.

o  Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include technological details for how
communication devices work

·        MS-PS4-3. Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.

o  Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on a basic understanding that waves can be used for communication purposes. Examples could include using fiber optic cable to
transmit light pulses, radio wave pulses in Wi-Fi devices, and conversion of stored binary patterns to make sound or text on a computer screen.

o  Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include binary counting. Assessment does not include the specific mechanism of any given device

Radio: Instant Communication and Information

education standards