Pavek Museum

The Museum of Broadcasting houses one of the world's finest collections of antique radio, television, and broadcast equipment. The Museum has gained international recognition for its continuing efforts in preserving and documenting the history of an industry that has made monumental changes in the fabric of modern life. The foundation of our programming is the Joseph R. Pavek Collection containing hundreds of radio receivers, transmitters, and televisions from the first half of the Twentieth Century.   Highlights include a working 1912 rotary spark-gap transmitter, crystal radios of the early Twenties, a chronologically ordered collection of vacuum tubes (including several original De Forest Audions), and one of the most extensive treasuries of radio literature ever assembled. Other attractions include the Charles Bradley Collection, representing more than thirty radio companies from the Twin Cities area, and the Jack Mullin Collection, documenting one hundred twenty-five years of audio recording technology. From the earliest days of the phonograph to talking pictures to the revolution of magnetic recording, the Mullin Collection preserves the entertainment technology that has forged the cultural achievements of the modern era. We are dedicated to the preservation of these collections and the creation of new opportunities for learning and discovery. Children can actually create their own radio broadcasts in an authentic 1960s era studio or participate in Saturday morning basic electricity classes. Amateur operators can make world-wide contacts from our state-of-the-art Ham Shack, and people of all ages can enjoy a variety of classic programs and interviews with local broadcast pioneers. Please stop in and play our original 1929 RCA Theremin, or try your hand at tuning an early 1920s radio (it’s not as easy as you might think!) and, for just a nickel, play a record on one of Wurlitzer’s first juke boxes.