Travel the world through music for just $20
You don’t need a passport to travel the world through music—just a ticket to the Musical Instrument Museum! At MIM, you can explore instruments from every country in the world and enjoy unique experiences you can’t find anywhere else. Here are 20 reasons to spend $20 on a ticket to MIM.
20. Connect with your favorite musicians in our Artist Gallery. See instruments, stage outfits, and Grammy Awards from world-famous artists such as Prince, Madonna, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Celia Cruz, the Police, the Wailers, and many more!
19. Snap a selfie to share with your friends! You can take a great photo anywhere in the museum. Grab a pic with your favorite instrument in our galleries, or strike a pose in the corridor, on the spiral staircase, or with the iconic MIM sign out front!
18. Feast your eyes during an art walk through the museum. Many of MIM’s instruments look as beautiful as they sound, and brightly colored costumes and clothing are also on display throughout the galleries. Plus, our exhibits are constantly updated with new acquisitions—there’s always something new to admire!
17. Share a song on the Steinway piano in MIM’s first-floor corridor. Take a moment to play a favorite tune or try something new—everyone is welcome to sit down and play!
16. Hit a high note and hear it resonate up the walls of our rotunda! To hear an incredible echo, stand on Italy in the world map in front of the Artist Gallery and raise your voice.
15. Discover your new favorite genre of music. You can view nearly 1,000 performance videos across 335 monitors in our exhibits and hear phenomenal music from all around the world.
14. And bust a move! With your headset on, you can dance to the music in the monitors, too—especially at our exhibits highlighting movement-inspiring genres, such as our Salsa, Vaudeville, and Ballet | Opera exhibits.
13. Listen to the music of a 100-year-old instrument during daily demonstrations of our massive mechanical orchestrion. It has a repertoire of hundreds of songs and plays every day at noon and 3:00 p.m.
12. Make some music in our Experience Gallery, where you can play instruments from around the world—and even perform a solo on MIM’s house-made tubulum!
11. Or jam with friends and fellow guests! Create brand-new tunes together in the Experience Gallery on instruments such as banjos, harps, drums, marimbas, gongs, a digital piano, and a theremin.
10. Time travel back to the Stone Age to see ancient instruments such as the paigu drum in our China: Ancient Traditions exhibit, which was made and played around 6,000 years ago!
9. And travel the whole world through music strolling through our Geographic Galleries, where you can see instruments and objects representing cultures from more than 200 countries and territories around the globe.
8. Make a friend on your journey! Discuss your favorite instruments and exhibits with fellow guests from around the world, or enjoy an engaging conversation with one of our wonderful volunteer team members.
7. Take a breath of fresh air. MIM’s courtyards feature serene fountains and beautiful plants representing the Sonoran region and deserts from around the world.
6. Don’t miss the scenic views! Large windows in the museum’s second-floor alcoves offer stunning vistas of the McDowell Mountains to the east.
5. Sneak a peek through the window into our Conservation Lab, where you can see our conservator, preparators, and volunteers maintaining instruments and preparing objects for installation.
4. Get a glimpse at instrument-making methods in our workshop-themed exhibits, which show how instruments such as Martin guitars, Steinway pianos, masterpiece Italian violins, and Indonesian gamelan gongs are made.
3. Look up at MIM’s enormous octobass, which is more than 11 feet tall! Only a few of these huge string instruments exist throughout the world, and MIM’s is the only one on public display in the United States.
2. Expand your mind. Grow your musical knowledge during our exciting Spotlight programs, MIM Talks, and World Choir Workshops.
1. Celebrate distinctive genres and traditions from around the world! During our monthly Signature Events, enjoy live music and dance performances, interactive workshops, and much more musical fun—all included with museum admission!
There are many more reasons to pay us a visit—come discover others yourself! MIM is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and you don’t need to make a reservation in advance. The next time you’re in the mood for an unforgettable adventure, come on in and purchase admission at our Guest Service desk! Your ticket to travel the world through music is only $20.
