Radio for All
Maker Faire Bay Area 2026
September 25th-27th
Learn about wireless communication and discover how the technology behind your smartphone began over a century ago.
Kids and families can create their own Morse code message using our popular beading activity. Nearby, watch a live demonstration of a vintage radio being restored.
Our interactive display traces the evolution of wireless technology, featuring a spark gap transmitter, a classic All-American Five (AA5) tube radio, and a mid-century transistor radio. We complete the story with a deconstructed modern cell phone, revealing that even today’s devices still rely on the same fundamental principles of radio communication.
This exhibit connects the past to the present and shows how radio continues to shape our world.
California Historical Radio Society
The California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization founded in 1974 to promote the preservation, restoration, research and publication of early radio, wireless communication, and broadcasting history.
