Experience  |  MIM will offer a shared experience of the history of musical instruments throughout the world. The space will be bright and open, providing guests with a warm and comfortable environment.

	The collection will include instruments from every country in the world.

Guests will be given wireless headsets to wear throughout the museum. As they approach different displays they will hear the instruments being played, either solo or as an ensemble. Photographs and video will familiarize guests with the unique sounds of each musical culture, allowing them to share a common experience. Special display areas and exhibitions will emphasize interactivity and personal selection.

Signage with information about the instruments, along with maps for orientation, will allow guests to tour the many displays through each country of the world. The approximately 300-350 displays will be spaced to provide comfortable viewing and an uninterrupted wireless signal.

Collection  |  The collection will include instruments from nearly 200 countries and territories in the world. Some larger countries such as India, China, Russia, the United States, Congo and others will have multiple displays with subsections for different types of ethnic, folk and tribal music. The instruments will have both historic and artistic merit and many will be more than 50 years old. MIM's goal is to acquire instruments that have been used for fold and tribal occasions wherever possible.

Research at MIM  |  The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) is a center for scholarship and research, employing a staff of ethnomusicologists, musicologists, anthropologists, and museum professionals who study the use, construction, preservation, performance, history, significance, and cultural context of music and musical instruments from every country in the world. This research informs selection and presentation of musical instruments for exhibits, promotes development of content for educational programs, and stimulates contribution to scholarly publications and academic discourse. In addition, as a research institution MIM is a member and active participant in such scholarly communities as the Society for Ethnomusicology and American Musical Instrument Society.

The research done at MIM is cross-disciplinary, drawing primarily on methods and paradigms from the fields of ethnomusicology, musicology, organology, and museum conservation. Ethnomusicological and musicological research the domain of MIM curators involves the study and documentation of sonic, social, cultural, and historical aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts, including traditions that are rapidly disappearing. This research includes ethnographic fieldwork; hands-on investigation of instruments and performance practice; and analysis of audio-visual materials, archival information, and music-related items of material culture. Curators on MIM staff also employ methods from the field of organology (the science of musical instruments) to inform research into instrument classification as well as the technical study of materials and the mechanics of instrument sound-production.

MIM also conserves instruments and music-related artifacts to ensure their structural integrity and preservation for future generations. Research and study into best practices for musical instrument conservation and related cultural items (i.e., clothing, tools for making instruments, and ritual objects used with the instruments) are integral aspects of MIM’s function and mission. Conservation work also includes careful testing and documentation of various methods for stabilizing, preserving, and restoring a wide variety of materials including woods, metals, bone, hides, and plastics; this research is significant for the broader field of museum conservation and helps to inform the treatment of ethnographic and anthropological collections in museums around the world.

Bringing together the ongoing and active research of curators and conservators, MIM makes a significant contribution to the knowledge and resources available to the world’s community of scholars in music and museology, as well as to the visiting public.