Global Musical Instrument Museum
Visit the World’s Only Global Musical Instrument Museum
Explore the world’s music and cultures at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). Founded in 2010 by Robert J. Ulrich, former CEO and chairman of Target Corporation, the Musical Instrument Museum opened up in April 2010 in North Phoenix, just minutes from Scottsdale, AZ is the biggest museum of its type in the world. The museum was inspired by the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels, Belgium, and was designed after the Musee De La Musique in Paris, France. The MIM takes you on a journey around the world, deep into the heart of human creativity.
This one-of-a-kind museum commemorates music by exhibiting instruments from every country in the world. There are more than 15,000 instruments and objects in the collection, with thousands of them, showed for the public to enjoy in five geographical galleries and an Artist Gallery. Musical traditions are shared and experienced here; not only can museum guests view the displays, however, but they can also touch as well as play some of them, learn about how they function, hear how they sound, participate in workshops.
MIM’s five Geographic Galleries showcase worldwide music and also cultures through multimedia that enables you to listen, see, and feel the creative spirit of people as they play their instruments. Check out the Experience Gallery to play instruments from cultures around the world and enjoy making some music on global instruments similar to ones on display throughout the museum.
Visit the Artist Gallery to get a close-up look at instruments and also memorabilia from prominent musicians, such as Elvis Presley, Ravi Shankar, Carlos Santana, Clara Rockmore, Johnny Cash, Maroon 5, Taylor Swift and more. MIM’s cozy but luxurious theater offers visitors a chance to hear a diverse range of world-class concerts and global artists in an intimate, comfortable environment to enjoy and don’t miss out on the award-winning café, the Café Allegro. The museum is open daily seven days a week.