I have to admit, I’m not a museum person (perhaps old enough to be in one but museums aren’t usually high on my list of priorities); however, my visiting Granddaughter Becca is a musician and expressed an interest. What a lovely surprise. It was magnificent. I will only give you a taste of what it is here and later on I’ll write a column on it.
Since it was just off the #101 loop in a relatively new area of North Phoenix, I assumed perhaps it was started in an old building in Phoenix and moved here to start life anew. Nope! The MIM opened in April of 2010 and 
encompasses two floors, with the top floor displaying over 10,000 instruments in five geographical galleries. Each display shows the location and a map for the area it represents and a small video provides the natives playing and singing in their colorful dress.
With your $15 (Seniors $13) admission, you are provided with ear phones that start playing as you get within the area of the display. It was really exciting wandering through these very open, pleasant displays listening and seeing each country’s music performed. The first floor had a theatre for live performances, films, concerts, educational activities, and family programs. Other rooms showed instruments played by famous musicians; another was filled with mechanical instruments; another was a lab where 
instruments are restored and preserved; and the best, a gallery where you can actually sit down and play the various instruments that you have seen displayed.
They also have a Café that we were told closed at 2 p.m. which it does, but then we learned belatedly that the Coffee Shop in the front part of the Café offers sandwiches and drinks the rest of the time. The Museum Store offers some very unusual and interesting books and souvenirs.
Non-flash photography is allowed, surprisingly. Wear comfortable shoes and take plenty of time and stamina with you. We wandered for several hours and even Becca was exhausted. Go and enjoy. God Bless until next week.
Minshall’s RVing Alaska and Canada (A “How to” and “Why not” book) is available thru Amazon.
At 45, Widow Minshall began 20 years of solo full-time RVing throughout Alaska, Mexico, and Canada. Sharlene canoed the Yukon, mushed sled dogs, worked a dude ranch, visited Hudson Bay polar bears, and lived six months on a Mexican beach. She lectured at Life on Wheels, published six RV-related books and wrote a novel, “Winter in the Wilderness.”
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