Rhythms on the Rooftop: How Madison's Coolest Children's Museum Is Making Music

A leading children's museum in Madison, Wisconsin, has created several musical installations to encourage music-making, creativity, and expression among children in the community.

The Madison Children's Museum, situated opposite Wisconsin's Capitol Building, recently installed several outdoor musical instruments designed and manufactured by Percussion Play.

The museum has enhanced its offerings with musical zones designed for children in the community to explore and enjoy. These include;

The Duo xylophone situated in the outdoor Wonderland area, provides a unique musical experience for kids and families to enjoy together.

The Rainbow Trio Ensemble, also located in the Wonderland area, is creatively fixed to a dynamic wall mural. The instruments are painted in custom colors specifically chosen to complement the mural, creating a visually stimulating musical experience.

The Cattail Chimes positioned in the museum's rooftop garden offers a serene and harmonious play option that integrates nature and music.

The Large Babel Drum found alongside the Cattail Chimes on the museum's rooftop allows children to create gentle sounds.

These musical areas are designed not only to provide entertainment but also to foster musical creativity and appreciation among children in a welcoming, communal environment.

Funded by several community donations, the community can now benefit from multiple outdoor musical instrument installations. Musical play encourages intergenerational play between adults and children.

It is well-known that playing outdoor musical instruments promotes relaxation, alleviates anxiety, and nurtures well-being among children and adults of all ages. Music therapy has long been recognized as having a powerful therapeutic effect.

The museum's Volunteer Coordinator, Tim Gruber, comments on the addition of the instruments and the impact this is having on his summer program; "I facilitate a music program at the museum for children which includes a variety of different things, playing songs for example. A lot of the children are very young, three to four years old. We do have some older children, too, but they all get involved in the music classes that I run in our outdoor area- the Wonderland space. I try to get the children playing along to the songs we are singing, as kids are so good at just improvising and making it work!"

Tim continues; "Like a playground which children explore, kids are great at exploring the instruments to create different sounds. Aside from the music program that I run, I'll often find kids playing with them on their own, enjoying the tunes that they are creating. Adults often don't feel like they can play them as they think it won't sound nice, but the good thing about these instruments is that they always sound good, no matter how you play them."

Many of Percussion Play's outdoor musical instruments are pentatonically tuned, which are harmonious; therefore, players cannot make harsh sounds. This means that even those who may struggle to achieve in other areas of academic or social life can succeed in music, which, in turn, can reduce feelings of self-isolation and low self-esteem.