Thumbs Up For Hands On (House of Music Museum)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	House of Music Museum
Date:	06/08/01 (74 review reads)
Rating:

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Introduction
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This weekend (or rather the weekend I oringially posted this op) marked what I think was the end of my 20th week in Vienna in the last 10 years (quite a lot for someone who does not live there). This means there is not a lot in the city among the main tourist sites that I haven’t done. Couple this with the fact that this weekend Lou’s friend Scott, a musical expert, also came to visit and you have a great reason as to why we went to the recently opened Haus der Music.


Thumbs Up for Hands On
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One of the best (and busiest) parts of this museum was the interactive hands on bit just as you went in. It’s a musical version of the Science Museum’s Launch Pad where you can sing into microphones and watch the sound waves on a monitor (Lou and I did a medley of Take on Me, Nellie the Elephant and, erm, All Things Bright and Beautiful). I also found out I can hear marginally more pitches than a grasshopper which is always nice to know. Finally there was a display all about never ending scales - “trick your hearing!” the recorded American woman exclaimed.


Sit Down with Britney
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There are no chairs in the above area, so it’s a welcome relief when you round a few corners and come across a darkened alcove which boast comfy, comfy chairs and an interesting mix of Robbie Williams and Britney Spears, and some more classical pieces from Carmen and so on.


In Space No One Can Hear You Scream
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..... but lots of space related noises can still be recorded and played for your benefit, from the Apollo 11 take off and recovery, to a monkey in a space shuttle, all are here at the sound gallery. “Let your ears take a walk” as the sign says, and walk they can, though the Tokyo underground, New York’s broadway and much more. You
can even create your own CD, but be warned, the nice people in charge will make you BUY it later if you want your own copy.


History Lesson
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On the next floor up, the interactiveness takes a back seat and is replaced instead by a more laid back, calmed down look at some of the greatest composers of all time – Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Mahler all have their biographies told (in your choice of German or English) through hand held tape players as you walk around and look at the exhibits. Lots of the items, including a letter Mozart wrote to his father, are just photocopies though, the originals being on display in Salzburg (thought that looked familiar....oh, yeah, saw it last weekend).


Be a Conductor
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After the historical info, when your kids are getting restless, simply round the corner and find another game. Visitors can conduct the (albeit virtual) Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna, but be warned – if you’re not quite up to standard the players might get stroppy. When we went, this wasn’t working, but we informed one of the member of staff and they soon sorted it out.


“Stop It, Jessica!”
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Up on the top floor there is a “mind forest” where you can play some more. You can steer musical notes along a rollercoaster, play with a rhythm tree and record yourself talking and then go next door and stretch and shape your recording into all sorts of funny sounds – as if they were spoken by martians of clockwork dolls or monkey – by anyone but you in fact. We managed to find our phrases, but in doing so we also got to listen to others that had been recorded all day – one which kept occurring being a very American, very annoyed sounding “stop it Jessica!”


Mozart, Mozart and a bit more Mozart
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The S
hop. Often the best part of a museum, but defineatly not in this case. There was quite a lot on offer, but it all seemed to be Wolfgang themed – pens, CDs, T-Shirts, Figurenes, Mugs and the quite disgusting but not the less popular marzipan fille Mozert Kugeln. There were also numerous toy musical instruments on offer which helped insure this room was no less noisy than any other part of the museum. Prices started at 15 Os (70p for a postcard, up to several hundered pounds for the ornaments.


How Time Flies
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The museum is open 10am to 10pm every day. We went at about 1.30pm on a Sunday and stayed for nearly 4 hours, partly because there was so much to do, and partly because it took as while as it was so crowded with screaming (or singing) kids. We only left because it was time to haul ass to the nearest snack stand to relieve those hunger pains. The museum costs about 2.50 GBP for kids aged 6 – 12 (younger than that they’re free). Concessions are about 4 GBP and Adults 5.50 GBP. Family tickets start at 12 GBP for 2 adults and up to 3 children.

It’s walking distance from Karlsplatz and Stephansplatz U-bahns, meaning it’s easily accessible with underground lines 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Address : Seilerstätte 30, A1010 Wien

Telephone : +43 1 516 48 51


Verdict
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Well worth a visit when you’re in the city, assuming you speak either English or German (and if you don’t, how come you managed reading this far?) as all the displays are explained in both of these languages. Go early or late to avoid the crowds, and if you’re likely to get peckish, take a snack as the restaurant looked pretty expensive.

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