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Miami Children’s Museum (MCM) will open the newly renovated Music Makers Studio on Saturday, December 17, 2016.  It will showcase many interactive exhibits that share with children and their families the experience of the vast variety of instruments and musical styles and what makes them work.

Made possible in part by an anonymous family foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Grant # MA-10-16-0213-16), the new Music Makers Studio provides children with a stimulating and interactive musical experience involving kinesthetic, auditory and visual modalities.

The new Music Makers Studio, located on the second floor, will pulse with sound and light, incorporating eight distinctive interactive components that allow for full engagement in a variety of music-based activities.  Children will explore different instruments, discover how musical sounds are made, be introduced to the concept of musical notation, collaborate with others to make music, and compose unique pieces of music.

Walk into the center of the exhibit where 14 musically interactive, color changing clouds are overhead. When a child passes underneath it strikes a note and changes color creating a unique musical light show.

Then enter the Symphony Orchestra Room.  The complete orchestra is laid out through tiles on the floor.  From the strings to the woodwinds, from the brass to percussion, all the components of the orchestra are there. As you step on a tile the sound of the instrument comes through as well as the visual projection of it being played.  Combine with others and you can bring the whole symphony to life!  Through the Symphony Interactive children can explore the sounds of the orchestra groups by listening to them individually or work collaboratively to hear the whole piece.

And there is so much more!

In an exciting development MCM has had the opportunity to collaborate with world renowned brilliant artist and inventor, Remo Saraceni, who has played an integral part in the creation of the new Music Makers Studio. Remo is a creator and visionary of many interactive exhibitions that connect the imagination of childhood with the technology of the future. He is best known for inventing the Big Piano™ from the movie BIG, starring Tom Hanks. The Music Maker’s Studio will include MCM’s very own Big Piano.  Additionally in extending the music theme to more of the Museum, the main staircase will be transformed into an interactive musical instrument playing a variety of notes and melodies as one goes up and down the stairs.

“Recognizing that early childhood is the time when children learn about their world, primarily through the process of play, The Music Makers Studio will offer children meaningful interaction with the sights and sounds of music,” says Deborah Spiegelman, CEO and Executive Director of MCM.  “Music enriches our lives and the exposure with musical performance and familiarity with the instruments can inspire the next generation of musicians.  Miami has a rich cultural music landscape and it is never too early to encourage children to attend programs such as the New World Symphony.”

The opening of the new gallery coincides with the Museum’s Season of the Arts series which will introduce children and their families to high caliber fine arts each Saturday in December. To commemorate the opening of the Music Makers Studio, New World Symphony will offer several performances throughout the day including an interactive performance where children will have the opportunity to explore brass instruments.

The Miami Children’s Museum (MCM) offers bilingual and interactive exhibits; programs and classes and learning materials related to arts, culture, community and communication. They have 14 interactive galleries as well as housing many exciting and fun traveling exhibits. Miami Children’s Museum is dedicated to enriching the lives of all children by fostering a love of learning and enabling children to realize their highest potential. Through arts and educational programs, MCM seeks to include and target all audiences in Miami’s changing and diverse community by becoming the “town center” for Miami-Dade County’s children and families.