Hebrew Music Museum — Attraction in Jerusalem

Tl;Dr A beautiful waste of time.

Long version: A small but beautiful display of various musical instruments with some text and sound demonstrations. It could have been a great experience, but there was almost no context given, no clear path (or paths) to move through, no clear connection to either general history or Judaism, and mostly just the geographic source for an instrument was given, which was just not enough info on which to relate. Most interactive screens and displays were out of order, and it was unclear whether some or any of the instruments could be handled or touched, so we steered clear. In addition, visitors are given a tablet and set of headphones to go through the displays, which quickly becomes repetitive and disjointed while also completely isolating you from the environment (and from your partner or group, obviously). It just feels weird moving around silently through a museum of music. Lastly, it was not cheap (60 ils pp). For this sum, i would expect more involvement, rather than sending me off alone on a confusing and random tour. A shame, really. I don't...

We had a very negative experience with the self-guided iPad tour. You’re given an iPad and walk room to room watching videos and hearing clips of musical inducements. Meanwhile, you’re paying the same price as for an interactive guided tour where you are able to touch, play, and see the instruments. We had asked for a guided tour and were told there were no group tours in English for the day. Meanwhile while we were walking in the museum, we encountered an English group tour and were asked to leave the room because it was a private tour, and then we had to leave a second room because a different group was playing instruments. I really don’t see why walking around and looking at an iPad should be the same price as an interactive guided tour. We were not able to see the VR experience as there were too many people in the museum. To top it off, my husband’s iPad died after 25 minutes as it was not properly charged in advance. Would...

Our tour guide was wonderful. The museum offers both audio guides in about five languages, and live docent tours, also in a number of languages, on a timed schedule. The range of instruments on display is incredible, with an optional iPad guide allowing visitors to learn more about - and to actually hear- each of the hundreds of instruments. Wind, percussion and stringed instruments from virtually every time period are presented and contextualized. Under the supervision of a docent some hands-on playing is even encouraged. Because music and song formed an integral part of worship in the Temple, the museum shows a model of the Second Temple, including an incredible virtual reality tour of the structure. That, to me, was the highlight of my experience. Highly...