Making Music: The Science of Musical Instruments

Music inspires creativity, evoking emotion and communicating, on a level that words cannot. Musical instruments are expressions of human design, engineering, and innovation driven by the desires of musical expression. Visitors to Making Music: The Science of Musical Instruments can explore how musical instruments are created and how they are played, investigating the relationship between key design variations, the sounds produced, and stories of the people who make and play musical instruments. 

The exhibits in this exhibition include sections on string instruments, percussion, air instruments, and electronic instruments. Each section includes stories of the people who make and play these instruments, as well as opportunities for visitors to experiment with the ideas and science behind the instruments themselves. Real examples of instruments from each family are on display, with video of musicians playing each.

In addition, a separate exhibit area allows visitors to play in a band together, where they can choose to play either a guitar, a drum set, or a keyboard, to experience how these instruments allow a group of musicians to create music together.

Throughout this new 2,500 square foot exhibition, visitors become a part of the process of both making instruments and playing them.  They discover that all instruments, from a simple flute to a synthesizer, are tools that use science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to make the music that affects us deeply.