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Yesterday's History. Tomorrow's
Innovators

Celebrate the story of Arthur A. Collins and and the Collins’ inventions that forever changed communication.

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Explore

Select a topic to discover or search our digital archive.

Explore Amateur Radio

Revolutionary high frequency, short wave radio for long range communication.

Explore Avionics

At the forefront of commercial and military avionics.

Explore Space

Connecting the first American space explorers to Earth.

Explore Military Mission Systems

Quality, reliable radios and systems for air, land, and sea.

The Collins Story

Arthur A. Collins Early Life

The Life and Legacy of Arthur A. Collins

Arthur Collins has been described as a genius, a visionary, a fireball casting a brilliancy across the sky. There is no doubt Arthur and his Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company engineered many pioneering technologies that greatly influenced significant moments in our world and in space.

“Your progress will depend on your individual imagination. I urge you to give it free reign.”

The Firsts

Discover the world-changing technologies developed at this small radio communications company headquartered in Iowa.

First Broadcast Radio Station at Antarctica

Explorers in the Richard Byrd expedition regaled Americans with stories of their discoveries at the bottom of the Earth through Collins’ radio equipment.

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Learn

Be inspired by learning more about The Collins Story with these tools and archives located right here at your fingertips.

For Parents &Amp; Educators

For Parents
& Educators

Bring Arthur’s story and his world-changing inventions to life for children and classrooms K-12.

For Students

For Students

Explore a topic and the research materials for your next class project.

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For Employees

Discover the Collins’ legacy of innovation that influences employees’ work today.

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For Researchers

Investigate the little known history of Arthur Collins, his Iowa-based company, and its global impact.

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Cinema

The Collins Story comes to life in these award-winning films. Click on the film title to watch and learn more about each documentary.

Events

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Donate

Donations of money and artifacts support future documentaries, the Collins Museum operations and efforts to promote STEM programming in grades K-12. Gifts are tax deductible.

This Month in History

December

Date Line

December 22, 1941

The production requirements forced the company to cancel all leaves of absence during the holiday season.

December 1, 1943

A celebration was held commemorating the 1,500th ART-13 radio manufactured for the war-time effort.

December 4, 1965

Gemini 7 was launched by a Titan II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, manned by Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on a fourteen-day mission. Station-keeping experiments were performed using the Titan II second stage. On December 15 Gemini 6A was launched. Gemini 6A caught up to Gemini 7 and rendezvous was technically achieved and station-keeping begun on the same day.

December 15, 1965

Gemini 6A was launched by a Titan II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, manned by Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford. The mission priorities were to demonstrate on-time launch procedures, closed-loop rendezvous capabilities, and station-keeping techniques with Gemini 7 which was already in orbit.

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World War II Production Defending Liberty

It’s World War II. The United States government needs rugged, hi-tech radio equipment for U.S. and Allied Forces. It needs lots of it, and fast. One of the companies the U.S. military turns to is Collins Radio, an Iowa company led by a young CEO known for his engineering genius. The small company answers the call to help defend liberty, producing thousands of state-of-the-art radios to provide troops, sailors and airmen with reliable, long-distance communications essential to liberating Europe and the world.