Culture · Phoenix

Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum — MIM to locals — is the largest museum of its kind in the world, with a collection of more than 15,000 instruments drawn from nearly every country on earth. It sits in north Phoenix and is one of the city's most surprising and rewarding attractions.

The signature experience is the wireless headset every visitor wears: as you approach each display, video and audio of that instrument being played fade in automatically, so the galleries are quietly alive with music as you move through them. Regional galleries take you around the globe, and a hands-on Experience Gallery lets kids and adults actually play. There's also an intimate concert theater that hosts touring musicians.

It's a perfect answer for a triple-digit afternoon or a rare rainy day, and easily a two-to-three-hour visit. Buy tickets ahead in the busy winter season, and check the concert calendar — catching a show in the theater is a memorable night out.