Phoenix, Day 5, Thur 23rd, Monet & Impressionist Immersion Experience & Musical Instrument Museum

Thursday, February 23rd, would be out last full day in Phoenix. This was the day we should have been at the Grand Canyon in a helicopter flying over that amazing piece of land. What does one do to replace that experience. We learned there was a Monet and Impressionist Immersion Experience in the area. We saw the Van Gogh Immersion experience with Bailey, our grandmonster, in 2022. We totally enjoyed that experience. We purchased tickets to see what Monet and the Impressionist's was like. 

The adventure took us to Old Town Scottsdale. What a delightful place to be. I realize I am judging Scottsdale by the few blocks of it we drove, but it seemed like a place Claude and I could live. The event was held at the Lighthouse AirSpace in Scottsdale. We found parking a block away with bougainvillea to say Ahhhh at. 

We walked to the Lighthouse AirSpace and took the escalator to the basement level. They were clearly decorated for Van Gogh, sunflowers everywhere. 

They scanned my eTickets and let us enter.  

A photo area was set up. The nice lady graciously took a bunch of pictures of Claude and me. 

Then she directed us to an colorful entry followed by two rooms. This changed colors as you walked through it. I waited for the purple and then took my picture.

We were to choose where we wanted to watch the Immersion Experience. The first room was for standing only. The second room had benches and chairs. We opted for benches and chairs. Fortunately, we arrived a little before the first showing. We were able to pick where we wanted to sit from the entire room. We chose a bench in the middle of the room facing a large wall. 

This was different than Van Gogh. The Van Gogh in Cincinnati had you walk thru a maze of rooms with the story of his life depicted in his painting as well as quotes from him or letters he wrote to his brother. By the time you reached the Van Gogh Immersion portion, you knew a lot about the man and his life. With this Impressionist Immersion, you go right to the immersion experience. Maybe that is because there were a lot of impressionist artists. 

I did video the entire experience. I also took some still shots. These are hard to come by as the video is constantly changing and moving to different phases. It is often displayed on the walls and the floor. These are my still shots.

We really enjoyed this visit with Monet and the Impressionists artwork. As we drove to our next adventure, I asked Claude what he thought would be the next Immersion Experience after Van Gogh and Monet and the Impressionist? Claude's response: Alfred E. Newman.

Next, we decided to visit the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. This museum opened in April 2010, it is the largest museum of its type in the world. The collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects includes examples from nearly 200 countries and territories, representing every inhabited continent. The museum is two stories and divided into parts of the world. 

We purchased tickets at the door. They directed us to the orientation gallery. This is where most people start their tour. 

We took the escalator upstairs and went through all the rooms there. Again....LOTS of pictures. I tried to include the label for the instrument where I was able to get them in the picture. The label will usually tell you the name of the instrument, where it is from and when it was acquired by the museum. These are pictures of instruments and clothing from the upper level of the museum.

After sharing with you only a bit of what is seen on the Upper Level, we now go down the elevator to the Lower Level. Time for a bite to eat. Café Allegro has food from all over. We only purchased water and a goodie to share. But you could plan on having a very nice meal in this restaurant. 

We then finished off the Lower Level by visiting the Artists Gallery and the Mechanical Music Gallery. The musical score is "Every Breath" one of my favorites. The last picture in this group is how a music roll is made for a player piano. The piano is on the left. On the right is the machine that stamps the notes as they are played on the piano. 

And finally, we looked into the Conservation Lab. All the instruments are restored and maintained in this room. 

I would also like to share some of the quotes found on the walls in the Cafe and other places. 

This museum was amazing. You are given a headset to wear throughout the museum. As you approach a television screen, the sound of the music being played with that display automatically comes into your ears. The entire time through the museum you enjoyed music from around the world. This is another on our 'highly recommended' list for anyone traveling to Phoenix. 

We ended our day with dinner at Panera not too far from our hotel. We did our packing and tried to rest before the long journey home. Another great day full of interesting learning experiences. My favorite way to travel.