MIM

As a gift to Andrew for his 5th birthday, Grandma Cady bought Andrew and his parents tickets to the brand new Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). She even offered to babysit the little sister so we could take him all by himself.

After getting outfitted with our high-tech headphones we ventured out to learn about instruments from all over the world. The museum is divided by continents and does an amazing job of being very comprehensive. There were tons of lute-like guitars, things people shake, endless variations on drums, all kinds of materials can be hollowed out, blown across, stringed up and plucked. Andrew started off in amazement, watching each screen we came across and listening to the headphones. We should have paces ourselves a little better as we were running out of steam by the time we got to the exciting Steinway & Sons exhibit. I would have loved to spend more time in Europe and Americas learning about the bag pipes (yes, i guess it is a musical instrument...Charlie insists it is.) After a few hours, we headed down stairs to discover the best part. The Artist Exhibit. Right there in front. the symbol of peace. THE PIANO Mr. John Lennon composed Imagine. It was just a beautiful simple Steinway upright.

Just past the Imagine Piano was an actual drum from the stunning Chinese Olympic Opening Ceremony from 2008. Paul Simon's guitar was great for me as he is one of my all time favorite artists, singing Father and Daughter. Santana, and Eric Clapton were also among the artists who donated or loaned instruments.

We found the displays to be very educational and we loved seeing how they explained how many instruments are made. Andrew really enjoyed this place, but we know he's a special kid with a different kind of attention span and a great love and appreciation for music.

Watching him play this harp was so cool! The small Hands-On experience was fun for mom and dad too! Dad got a kick out of gonging the HUGE gong! We will definitely have to go back again...maybe during a musical performance.