SPG.com
Here's one museum where silence isn't a virtue: The Musical Instrument Museum, now open in Phoenix, features some 10,000 instruments from a whopping 200 countries and territories. That impressive feat is part of its mission: to collect and display instruments from every country in the world, and to allow visitors to explore and experience their diversity.
But after leaving the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, how best to do that? The first step before you embark on your tour of the 75,000 square feet of exhibition space is to get a wireless headset, which, as you approach the nearly 300 exhibits, will allow you to hear the instruments being played. The first floor's exhibits are organized by themes; the second floor arranges them by geography, broken down into 10 major regions that include Africa, United States/Canada, Latin America, and Oceania. There, you'll hear everything from the sounds of a Chinese orchestra to a big-band jazz ensemble and the music of Appalachia. Many of the both indigenous and popular instruments are more than 50 years old, and range from exquisite pieces from royal courts to humble family heirlooms generations old. But there's more: The Experience Room lets you touch and play a selection of instruments; peer through the glass window into the Conservation Lab to get a behind-the-scenes look at how these items are maintained and repaired; the 299-seat music theater brings many lesser-known genres to life through live performances.
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