National Music Museum, University of South Dakota

The world’s premier collection of musical instruments, the National Music Museum (NMM) is a magnet for music lovers and an eye-opening discovery for people of all interests. More than 1,200 instruments and music-related artifacts are on public display — a fraction of the overall collection of more than 15,000 musical instruments.

The NMM’s holdings span history and include some of the world’s most famous musical instruments, from the ‘Amati King’ (the world’s oldest cello) and the ‘Harrison’ Stradivari violin to seminal modern instruments like Adolphe Sax saxophones and pop-culture pieces like Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley guitars. NMM highlights also include the world’s oldest playable harpsichord and the largest Javanese gamelan orchestra outside Indonesia.

Called “a national treasure” by Jim Leach, National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman, the National Music Museum is located in the heartland of the United States, in Vermillion, South Dakota. It is a destination in itself or a culture point en route to Mount Rushmore.

*Note that the National Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota, is currently closed for architectural expansion and renovation. Reopening is slated for 2021.*

After several years of planning and evolving architectural concepts, the National Music Museum has received the go-ahead to add approximately 16,000 square feet (two floors plus an underground level) to their existing Carnegie building.

The NMM addition will provide much needed room, including approximately 4,600 square feet of new exhibit space, a gallery dedicated to temporary exhibits, a new performance hall, a dedicated classroom, a new conservation lab, a new photography lab, and new above-ground staff and administration offices. This construction also presents the opportunity for reconfiguring existing museum space, as well as re-conceptualizing exhibits.