"The American Museum of Radio and Electricity (Update: now the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention) offers an exciting and educational experience for audiences of all ages. Compelling, interactive exhibits spanning four centuries of scientific achievement and cultural heritage are featured in a world-class collection of unique objects. The American Museum of Radio and Electricity displays the inventions and innovations that changed the course of human history.
The American Museum of Radio and Electricity is a 501(c)(3)non-profit charitable organization."
I was fortunate enough to visit the museum this past weekend. The museum primarily focuses on the history of electricity and radio. To my surprise they had a display on the theremin. The museum as a whole was pretty incredible. I hadn't been to their website prior to my visit so I had no idea what to expect. If you are ever in the area, definitely drop by and ask for the mini guided tour. The tour guide we had did a great job not only letting us know what we were looking at and answering our questions, but he gave us some functional demos of the historical equipment. BTW, if you are into steampunk, this should rank on the top of your list of sites to visit. Just check out my flickr set here (or slide show at the bottom of this post). Note the black and white key layouts on the keyboards in the pics. Aside from the one organ, they are not actually musical keyboards, they are telegraphs. Side note: all photos were taken with my iPhone 4.
Update: above I mentioned some fun demos on the guided tour. Here's one with my friend Laura, Carbon111's wife. Scott Rise of Division 6 also came along on the trip.
not too long ago, a show on PBS called "history detectives" did a segment on a Theremin (hybrid, rca cabinet with theremin shop internals). check here: http://video.pbs.org/video/1527264347/
ReplyDeletehi matrix
ReplyDeletehere`s a litte knobbing you might like:
FX Pedal feedback loop (MI Audio Blue Boy Deluxe Subdecay Noise Box Eowave Sci-Fi Bug + Space Bug)
yours
rob
You were in my hometown! Bellingham is a bit of a hotspot of electronic music. And Western Washington University, just up the hill from where you were, has a beautiful Arp 2500 and Emu modular.
ReplyDeleteThe museum is a lot of fun. I have an old Sony pro mixer that I've been meaning to donate to them.
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/wweams/img/pac178wide.jpg
ReplyDeleteNice! Ivan, shoot me an email. Contact info is on the bottom right of the site.
ReplyDeleteAs Ivan knows that 2500 was the first Synth I ever played. I ran the studio there for a while and taught the hardware side of the Electronic Music courses there for 400 level credit. That is how I met Ivan who was a high school student at the time and came in with his class on a tour. The Emu must have came in later. I wonder if it was the one I sold the UW when I worked at Electronic Music Box. The Studio looks great now.
ReplyDelete