groups

Guided tours in English at the mim

All guided group tours are by reservation only.
Please contact us on 02 545 01 53 or click here

Children and teenagers

5 to 8 year-olds

Instrument families
The flute and the trumpet are most certainly wind instruments. But how do you make a sound? Just blowing isn't enough! And why is it that the sound changes when you cover the holes or push the pistons? What are the different ways to make a chord vibrate and how can you alter the resulting musical note? The instrument families invite you to come and make your own experiments with sound.

Peter and the Wolf
Peter is a very brave boy, so brave that he's even not afraid of a wolf. Even so, his grandfather has warned him: "Be careful, my boy!" But Peter has some friends: the duck, the cat and the bird who will perhaps help him to catch the wolf... After listening to the story in class, you'll discover at the mim how animals and characters can become musical instruments.

8-12 year-olds

Discovery tour
The ideal way to discover the museum during your first visit! Throughout the tour, the families of instruments reveal themselves to you: harp, violoncello, trombone and xylophone are hiding in the most secret corners of the museum. All they want is for you to come and find them and enter into their world.

Journey to the end of the earth*
Why do certain drums talk? What do they say? What's a gamelan? Where can you hear one and during which occasion? To discover what the body of a Kora is made from, or how to blow a Tibetan horn, all you have to do is embark on this exploration of distant continents and cultures. A tour designed to increase your appreciation and understanding of some astonishing music.

How does it work?
Musical instruments are tackled through the eyes of the person seeking the sound and then the person who builds the instrument. Wave, vibration, resonance... How does a sound come into being? And afterwards, how is that sound amplified? In this introduction to acoustics, you'll discover some secrets about and some recipes for making musical instruments...

10-12 year-olds

Orchestral instruments
There are a multitude of instruments in an orchestra: violins, flutes, trumpets, etc... You've probably seen them all already, but have you really listened to them? It's not easy to hear the difference between an oboe and a bassoon, between a trombone and a trumpet when they're all playing at the same time! Some are in front, and some are behind but there's nothing chaotic about an orchestra. Everything is aligned, just like music paper...

12-18 year-olds

Discovery tour
Discover not only the instruments, but also how to manage and look after them: why does an instrument enter the museum and how does one manage such a collection?

Acoustics and instrument making
Building a musical instrument involves many skills: woodwork, metalwork, working with leather, earth and even stone. But above all, the instrument maker must find the perfect balance between the materials and sound. This visit shines a light on this unsung profession and the magic of the object that becomes music.

Orchestral instruments
There are a multitude of instruments in an orchestra: violins, flutes, trumpets, etc... You've probably seen them all already, but have you really listened to them? It's not easy to hear the difference between an oboe and a bassoon, between a trombone and a trumpet when they're all playing at the same time! Some are in front, and some are behind but there's nothing chaotic about an orchestra. Everything is aligned, just like music paper...

World instruments
We often have a sweetened image of world music. What we hear in Europe is usually transformed and adapted to suit our musical tastes. During this tour, you can rediscover world instruments in their original musical and cultural context, which is not always what you might think. We make a journey into sounds and imaginations that are at times very distant from our own.

When? Tuesday to Saturday
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: €40 per group of 15 people + €1 entrance fee per person

*Tours marked with an asterisk can only be given to groups of 30 children maximum (2 x 15 children).

Adults

Instruments Along the Silk Road
(Please note! Only from 28/10/09 until 13/02/10)
Guided tour in the framework of europalia.china

Piano? Forte!
(Please note! Only from 05/01/10 until 30/06/10)

A tour of the world in 80 minutes
Traditional instruments from around the world

The anatomy of instruments
Musical instruments and their manufacture through the ages

À la carte
You choose your instrument or family of instruments!

Discover the mim
General guided tour of the museum collections

When? Tuesday to Saturday
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: €74,5 per group + €4 per person (maximum group 15)
+ €13 on Saturdays