Virginia Musical Museum facts for kids
The Virginia Musical Museum is a cool place in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. It's filled with musical treasures! You can find rare, old instruments, amazing music machines, and even items from famous musicians from Virginia. The museum first opened its doors on June 22, 2013. It brings together a collection that started over 40 years ago, plus gifts from Virginia's music stars.
Contents
The Museum's Story
The museum's amazing collection began in 1963. That's when Jesse (Buddy) and Peggy Parker bought their very first music box. From then on, this couple collected instruments from all over the world. They especially focused on musical items from Virginia. The museum now shows the history of music in Virginia. You can learn about it through the artists, objects, and instruments on display.
What You Can Explore
The Virginia Musical Museum has many different exhibits. Each one shows a special part of music history.
Virginia Music Stars
This is the biggest collection at the museum. It features personal items from many famous musicians from Virginia. You can see things that belonged to Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald, and Wayne Newton. Other stars include Bruce Hornsby, Ralph Stanley, and The Statler Brothers. You'll also find items from Pearl Bailey, Roy Clark, Ricky Van Shelton, Gene Vincent, Phil Vassar, and Jimmy Fortune.
The Piano Gallery
In this exhibit, you can see how the piano has changed over time. It starts with older instruments like the cimbalom. Then it shows how they led to the modern grand piano. One very rare keyboard here is a 1770 Joshua Shudi harpsichord. There are only two of these known to exist in the world!
Phonographs and Recorded Music
This exhibit explores the history of recorded music. You'll see phonographs made by Thomas Edison and RCA Victor. There's even a sample of Edison’s very first tin foil phonograph. It shows how we started listening to music whenever we wanted!
Nickelodeons: Automatic Music Machines
The nickelodeon exhibit features machines from as far back as 1905. These are like old-fashioned player pianos. One special machine is the Mills 'Violano-Virtuoso'. It can play a violin while also playing a piano!
Music Box Collection
The museum has many different music boxes. Some are small enough for a table, while others are large floor models. Some music boxes in the museum can play bells and drums. One even plays a reed organ!
Organ Exhibit
This section is full of different types of organs. You can see a self-playing pipe organ and a monkey organ. There's also a glass organ, a Hammond organ, and a Reed organ. A very old hurdy-gurdy, which is 300 years old, is also on display. Visitors can even watch and hear some of these instruments play on iPads and monitors.
Amusement Park Fun
Many old amusement parks used to have a Laffing Sal figure. You can see one of these fun characters here! There's also a Wurlitzer Caliola band organ. This amazing machine could play music using punched-paper rolls. It also had a keyboard so someone could play it like a calliope. This exhibit also shows other cool attractions from old amusement parks.
More Musical Discoveries
Beyond these main exhibits, the museum also has other interesting things. You can find musical toys and different string instruments. There's also a visual timeline that shows how recorded music has developed over the years.
See also
- Music of Virginia
- List of music museums
