music4kids. Making and Experiencing Music

From May 4th 2010, young  boys and girls who wish to explore the phenomenon of sound are invited to immerse themselves in a motley and colourful  world of musical islands and a sonorous forest at the Württemberg State Museum. The exhibition “music4kids. Making and Experiencing Music”  buzzes and cheeps, vibrates and resonates over an area of  almost 600m2 . By following historico-cultural and scientific trails, the young explorers pursue answers to questions like “what causes sounds?” or “how is music generated?”.

In a so-called sonorous forest, the young visitors experience an enthralling journey through the world of noises and sounds. By actively trying out larger-than-life sound installations, the children comprehend the way musical instruments function. At “music4kids”, they learn what a “bottlephone” or a “walking bass” is, and even get the chance to try their hand at a DJ’s turntable. Models made of everyday objects can be touched, and explain in a style and form suitable for children the way in which the human voice and hearing function. The manner in which sound and music re generated, as well as the effect they produce, are presented and demonstrated  in an interactive installation that reveals the connection between music and emotions. Besides installations and hands-on exhibits, the children get the opportunity to elicit notes from traditional instruments, too, such as the guitar, the trumpet, or the bongo drums.

The exhibition dedicates one “island of sound” to each of the five major categories of musical instruments: the chordophones (stringed instruments), the aerophones (wind instruments), the membranophones (such as drums), the idiophones (such as xylophones) and the electrophones (producing electronic music). At the entrance to each of these special “islands”, there are two cabinets displaying additional special musical instruments.

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