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I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! For Thanksgiving my wife, kids and the famous Heidi the dog and I drove to Phoenix to visit my folks.

Alan at Museum of Musical Instruments

Alan at Museum of Musical Instruments

After the Turkey and discussing what you have been up to with your family what do you do next? Forget braving the shopping crowds. A movie? (Did that) Take the dog to the dog park? (Check).

How about a museum? We went to the recently opened the Museum of Musical Instruments (MIM) in Phoenix and it is Amazing!!! It is a beautiful space and well organized with instruments and video footage from all over the world. Each room is organized by continent or area and before we knew it we had spent almost 4 hours there and could have spent many more.

I could have spent a whole day in just the Africa room. There are instruments, video footage and costumes from many of the places I have been including a recent trip to observe voodoo culture in Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso. In fact I have contacted them about donating some footage and photos I took of sacred dances that I had the honor of observing. The Tanzanian exhibit was very interesting with 2 long drums that once belonged to the mother of Julius Nyerere the first president of Tanzania.

Looking for something to do when you are in Arizona? Be sure to check out this great museum!