Tune into History at KC’s New Media Tech Museum!
Museum Founder, Jon Trozzolo, discusses changes in telephone technology with museum visitors.
Have you heard about KC’s newest museum? Jon Trozzolo’s Media Tech Museum is now open to the public, and it’s a treat for anyone interested in how technology has changed over time to help us become informed, entertained and connected to others. Here’s what Jon has to say about the museum he has worked so hard to establish:
Media Tech Museum focuses on the intersection of art, technology, culture, exhibits and multimedia installations. The collection of artifacts is related to various media formats. For example, telegraphs, telephones, radios, televisions, phonographs, tape players, film, video, etc.
Media Tech Museum is a space for exploring innovation, preserving history, and engaging audiences with the dynamic world of media and technology.
From the telegraph machine to the smartphone, “Bell to Cell,” the Media Tech Museum showcases the remarkable evolution of the tools that transformed how the world communicates, learns, creates, and connects.
Visitors will journey through an extraordinary collection of more than 1,000 rare and historic artifacts. These include telegraphs, telephones, radios, phonographs, televisions, projectors, tape players, cameras of all kinds, video equipment, and early to modern digital devices. There is even full-size television and radio station recording equipment. Through multimedia installations, hands-on exhibits, moving-image presentations, and educational displays, the Media Tech Museum highlights how media technology has shaped communication, entertainment, business, and culture across generations.
Designed as both an educational resource and cultural center for experimentation and innovation, the Media Tech Museum advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, techniques, and technology behind telephones, radio, film, television, photography, and analog and digital media.
Media Tech museum will be the realization of a man’s dream to showcase a vast collection of artifacts, most of which was out of public view in storage. The dream was that of radio, television and film professional Jon Trozzolo. Trozzolo has a 30+ year career working as a radio announcer, film and video photographer and editor, and film producer. Throughout this career, Trozzolo collected devices and items from every medium, some of which was donated once peers were told of his vision to open a museum.
“Media Tech Museum is more than a collection of devices, it is a living story of innovation,” said owner and founder Jon Trozzolo. “By preserving these technological milestones, we inspire curiosity, creativity, and appreciation for how media has influenced our personal and professional lives.”
Conveniently located near downtown hotels, the Kansas City Convention Center, and the city’s thriving arts and entertainment scene, the Media Tech Museum is positioned to become a must-visit attraction for residents, students, tourists, and convention attendees alike.
“As Kansas City continues to grow as a center for culture, creativity, and innovation, the Media Tech Museum stands ready to preserve the past while inspiring the future,” said Trozzolo.
The Media Tech Museum
1600 Baltimore Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64108
This section of the museum features a wide range of recording technology used over time.
Many of the museum’s displays include merchanding fixtures and promotional signing like these from Zenith and Philco.
A museum visitor enjoys experiencing phone calls from a telephone booth. Does anyone have a quarter?