"The Philharmonic Gets Dressed" and Mechanical Musical Marvels in Morristown

Sylvia and Sasha punch out the tune to "Happy Birthday", and then roll it through the cylinder music box at the "Mechanical Musical Machines and Living Dolls" exhibit.

Recommended Children's Books That Love Music:

• "The Philharmonic Gets Dressed" by Karla Kushkin is the gold standard in creating excitement about listening to music. As the sky darkens, and musicians all over the city get ready to go to work, the anticipation of their arrival to play beautiful music together builds.
  
• Another, more recently written book we enjoyed was "Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin" by Lloyd Moss, with vividly colorful illustrations by Marjorie Priceman that sing off the page. Moss uses rich rhyming language to introduce the orchestral instruments.
  
• Finally, "Music, Music, For Everyone" written and illustrated by the amazing Vera Williams, where the true power of music to heal and bring people together is embedded in a lovely story featuring a young girl and her Grandmother.

“Mechanical Musical Machines and Living Dolls”

You’ll hear the colorful sounds of flute, violin, clarinet pipes, trombone, piccolo, trumpet, snare drum, bass drum and cymbal all coming from one amazing mechanical music machine – the 1910 ‘orchestrophone’ from Paris, France – as you pass through the red velvet curtain and enter the wonderful world of “Musical Machines and Living Dolls.” The collection of 150 rare and beautiful mechanical musical instruments and automatic toys dating from the late 16^th century to the early 20^th century are displayed in the new wing of the Morris Museum. Part of the Murtogh D. Guinness collection that was bequeathed to the Museum in 1993, it is the largest collection of its kind in the Western hemisphere.

OK - you're nowhere near Morristown - fear not - you can see and hear the sounds of these incredible machines on the website. More below.

Featuring music boxes, mechanical organs, orchestrions and mechanically-activated lifelike figures, these marvels of exquisite craftsmanship represent a major milestone in the evolution of music and technology. Considered the first form of music-on-demand, they anticipated recorded sound, spreading the sound of music – from polkas to opera - to people everywhere.

Children and adults will be enchanted by the ingenuity of these objects: an automatic banjo plucked by metal fingers, a clown with a disappearing head, a barrel organ containing 16 animated characters and 4 ranks of pipes that plays ten tunes. Live demonstrations, interactive technology, and hands-on activities will make you feel like you’re right inside the music.

See collection highlights, with video and audio availability.

Morris Museum

6 Normandy Hts. Rd.
Morristown, NJ 07079
(973) 971-3700

Daily demonstrations at 2 PM, excluding Monday

Regular Hours
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thursdays: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sundays: 1-5 p.m.

Holiday Schedule
Closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Admission
Members free
$8 / Adults
$6 / Children
$6 / Seniors
Children under 3 years of age are free
Free admission on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m.