Boston Kids Find Musical Spirit

It's hiding behind a 40-foot tall milk bottle, at the Boston Children's Museum. A $2 million interactive exhibition, "Making America's Music," is grabbing kids there until May 2004.

In a recent article by Boston.com, museum CEO Lou Casagrande explained that he wanted to "reconnect children with making music… It's been very passive up to now. Children listen to CDs and watch videos, but they don't actively understand how music is made."

The temporary, 2500 square-foot exhibit, which was unveiled in June by the Museum and partner Boston Symphony Orchestra, hopes to change that. It celebrates a century of music in America, across a wide variety of styles, weaving history into hands-on, multimedia displays designed for both kids and adults.

In various sections of the exhibition, kids can conduct the Boston Pops playing a Sousa march, get step-by-step lessons for dancing with the Bee Gees, scat to jazz karaoke, pound on drums, and learn about the principles of music using computer games.

After the Boston run, organizers hope to tour the exhibit across the US and Japan, using partnerships of children's museums and local symphony orchestras.

Visit "Making America's Music" or find our more about the Boston Children's Museum

Read the press release about the exhibition

Read the complete article at Boston.com [fee required]