Rhythm! Discovery Center — Attraction in Indianapolis

There were so many percussion instruments here. Instruments made of wood, skin, and metal. We tried them all! We must’ve banged on every drum, shaken every tambourine, and played every xylophone in the place!

We really loved the interactive tribal-like circle featuring the many percussion instruments created by The Leedy Drum Company, a company that began in Indiana. Their Interactive Area was also a lot of fun – I can see many field trips having a good ol’ loud time here. So many instruments to choose from. Believe me, my son tried them all! Probably our favorite parts of the museum were the sound-proof rooms that allowed you to play a real drum set and be as loud as you wanted to be – we felt like rock stars!

Handy Tip: Visit this museum late in the day. We arrived about an hour and a half before closing and had the entire museum to ourselves. I’m sure it’s very noisy (and migraine-inducing)...

It was a lovely experience. There were some exibits with the history of different drums and what they were used for, as well as some drums of importance. They had different "play areas" were you could play some of the instruments and try them out. There many things around the walls that showed how to play certain instruments. The staff was friendly, and welcoming. While the gift shop was a little lacking, they still had some really cool things! I wish they did have practice pads that weren't just the portable one that go on your knee. I wish there was some expansion on the percussive arts overall. There was a focus on more of the concert aspect, and nothing about drum corp., street drumming, WGI, or other activites like such. Overall, it was a fun experience. I would recommend it to those vaguely interested in drums and experienced...

I unfortunately was pretty disappointed with my visit today. I came to Rhythm! Around 4 and 8 years ago and it is nothing like it used to be. The mirror wall is gone, there was no audio playing for any of the videos to teach you about percussion, as well as the screens being so dark you could barely see them.. the big wall of auto played instruments (you pressed a button and it played the instrument) was gone.. the celestaphone didnt have its own special place like it used to, and looked to be in less than good condition. Overall the museum felt empty. There didnt seem to be a learning aspect about the place like there used to be. I brought a future percussionist there (along with 7 other people over the years) to learn and she didnt get to do much of that. I used to adore the museum but I'm not sure I'll be bringing people back...