Its hard to keep your hands — and your feet — off the instruments in the new interactive areas at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad.
But that's the point, to bring out everyone’s inner musician and give visitors a more immersive experience.
"You'll find what we might think of as traditional instruments ... guitar and piano and drums. But then you also have the new electronic instruments, DJ turntables ... electric theremin ... a new lighting console that you can try out with mixing music," said B.J. Morgan, the marketing manager for the museum. "You don't really have the type of experiences you normally have if you were just picking a guitar. There's something beyond just playing a traditional instrument here."
He said musical innovations are shaping the way music is made, and they have to follow the tunes.
"This museum is all about innovations; things that help change instruments and what made them the way they are," he said. "Over time, you could recognize that, yeah, you had a record player maybe back in the '20s and '30s, but what does that look like now?"
But rather than adding a new exhibit, the museum created two new interactive spaces for everyone to try.
"We realized we've got a lot more opportunity here. And so that was the catalyst for this new remodel to add even more interactivity and more advantages and a little bit more spaces where we can tell some deeper stories," Morgan said.
The first interactive room is called "Center Stage" and caters to all ages, from pre-school to high school. It provides ukuleles, guitars, drums, a floor piano and other electric instruments for hands-on play time.
The second room is the "Backstage Lounge" and is designed for older teens and adults. It includes acoustic and electric guitars, amps, a harp, high-end percussion and a piano.
"It's not exclusive to adults, but you can sit down in a nice comfortable chair, pick up a really nice guitar, a couple of pianos, and sit and relax and feel confident that you can play music without any judgment. It's like a living room almost," Morgan said.
The renovations were funded through a grant from the Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation in hopes of promoting the value of music education.
And that education is often offered to local students in the form of field trips, which the museum subsidizes through donations and grants.
"I don't really play an instrument, but I've always wanted to perform on a stage or do something with an instrument or my voice. I love this museum," said fourth-grader Eloise Hofhine.
We joined her class during a recent field trip to the museum.
She got to control the beat of the drums for her class before exploring the rest of the museum, "The drum circle was really cool because it's like everyone beating in. It's like synchronized swimming, except it was drums."
It was her first time seeing the new interactive rooms, "I liked the accordion the best," she said.
For older students, a visit to the museum is often a trip of rediscovery.
"I like the harp because I wanted to play the harp when I was younger ... I kind of got my got my hopes up a little bit. It's not as fun as I thought it was gonna be. But I definitely want to get back into playing the drums again," said Gina Buono, a high school sophomore.
"I like playing guitar. I kind of wanted to play piano, but ... this gives me a more open mind about other instruments I could play or what I could do if I wanted to be in the music industry," said high school sophomore, Amaya Fox-Williams.
Morgan said music has evolved from our grandparents' age, but it's still cross-generational, and here, age doesn't matter.
"Every generation has something that they do gravitate towards. But even in those generations, you still have a whole variety. And so our goal is to make sure we're trying to offer as much as we can, no matter what your interests are," he said.
He said the museum is where you can go and find a place in making music. "A lot of folks don't think that they have the ability to make music, but we really want to break down those barriers and make it more accessible to everyone and learn where these instruments came from and learn where the possibilities exist," he said
And Morgan said the possibilities never end. The museum offers adult music programs such as a concert band and orchestra program for all levels.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday with different concerts and classes throughout the year.
