Music Makers

“If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.” —Zimbabwe Proverb

It’s time to make a little noise! Discover how sounds make music, and how music makes you feel in this melodious exhibit.

Things to Do: 
  • Make melodies on the bolt-a-phone and wrench-a-phones.
  • Use soft sculpture pegs to make your own music box.
  • Blow air over a reed to learn about woodwinds.
  • Move musical notes on a staff to create a melody.
  • Feel the vibrations that sound can make on the thump deck.
  • Layer a melody, a harmony, and a rhythm to create a symphony.
  • Dance away, and watch your body make patterns on a colorful video screen.
  • Beat the drums and other percussion instruments in the Jam Room.
  • Pluck a bass string and watch the vibrations.
  • Create an artistic masterpiece that reflects how your music makes you feel.
Learning Outcomes: 
  • Gain an understanding of melody, tempo and rhythm with their whole bodies.
  • Discover how sound is made and that music is organized sound.
  • Discover how sounds blend when different melodies play together.
  • Become adept at listening and discerning differences in sounds.
  • Understand the concept of music notation, and how notes on a page translate into sounds.
  • Realize that musical instruments are played – and enjoyed – by people of all ages.
  • Learn the individual sounds of a variety of instruments.
  • Observe the differences in the look, feel and sound of orchestral instruments.
  • Invent and compose unique pieces of music.