Rhythm! Discovery Center

I took my toddlers here to give them an opportunity to play some music. There were lots of drums and different musical instruments. We came on a great day because there was hardly anyone there. I like how you can even practice inside your own private room while there. There was lots of signage to keep you informed on what kind of musical instruments you were playing and it was kind of like a museum of musical instruments. It was a great time although my toddlers lasted all of about an hour here smh. Older kids would probably play the instruments for much longer than mine did. I would definitely come back but maybe next time with my niece and nephew who are older.

This place is a hidden gym. It is tucked away in the heart of downtown Indy. With being downtown, it adopts all of the parking woes that comes with a downtown business. There are parking garages and metered parking available, if you can find it . If you have your choice of the 2, you will come out a lot cheaper.The place is located downstairs in the Panera Bread building. If you are not paying attention, you will miss it.Masks are required by all visitors, even kids. But don't worry, if you forgot or don't have one, they have some available for you. The staff here is very friendly and helpful.So after you get there and pay your admission they give you a bag with a couple of pair of drum sticks and mallets to play the instruments in the place. The bag also contains some very valuable items, ear plugs. They are worth the price of admission alone. Just kidding the place really did not get that loud while I was there. The place has many percussion instruments that can be played by visitors including a traditional drum set, an electric drum set, congos, xylophones, chimes, timpanis, tamborines, cow bells, wood blocks, marimba, and a gong. The self guided tour starts with a huge wall mounted bass drum. If you hit it and stand near it you can feel the waves go through your body.In addition to all of the interactive instruments, they have displays, videos and information boards throughout the place. They also have two sound rooms with drum sets and other instruments that you can experiment with sound in different type of venues. This place is really a fun place to learn.This fully interactive place teaches children about percussion instruments and gives them the opportunity to try them out. It also turns a grown up to a kid wanting to jam out.The museum is kind of small and we were able to thoroughly go through the place in about an hour. The tour ends, where most do....in the gift shop. My little had such a good time that we could not leave there empty handed. So I got a kazoo (what was I thinking) and a shape drum ( again, what was I thinking). Anyway, this a great fun and either an introduction to percussion instruments or just plain fun for percussion enthusiasts. It is definitely worth a visit and is a must see.

Been here twice now, once with kids and once without. It's a nice little museum, it's just very small so it takes about 30 minutes to read every single sign and sample each instrument. I honestly think it took longer to check in and get our little bag of drum sticks than it did to go through it. I enjoyed the current rotating exhibit about Jewish violins but the rest was just OK. Held my toddler's attention for a little bit and then he was ready for lunch. It's nice to check out if you've exhausted all other local museum options or happen to be in the area, but not really worth making it's own trip. It's also a little tricky to access with a stroller/wheelchair but I figured it out.

My kids and I had a great time at the Rhythm! Discovery Center on a hot Friday afternoon. We found street parking about a block away and ventured in. We started off waking up anyone who was sleeping in Indianapolis with the giant interactive gongs. The we moved on to the drum circle, the electric drum sets, the low volume band drums, xylophone, chimes and the orchestra drums. I think our favorite though was the acoustical rooms where we rocked on the different drum sets. I also liked seeing the instruments throughout the museum. My favorites was the drums from the band Rush (see pics). It's not huge and we were done in a couple hours. It was a fun afternoon by all.

When you think of a museum, you usually think of somewhere like an art museum, children's museum, etc. It's best to remove that mindset before coming here as it's not at all what I was expecting. This place is more of an experience and an experiential center, as the name suggests. I came during an event. There are lots and lots of informational sections and hands-on stuff for kids and adults alike to learn about the history of drums, their cultural significance, and then get to play with them yourself. Honestly, this place needs to get better at marketing as most people have no idea that it's right below the Panera and underground in downtown Indy. I personally never see any marketing or PR from them so hopefully they can get that going to get more people in. Aside from their lack of getting into the marketing spectrum, it's a fun, very small, center that's worth checking out.Don't forget to check in on the Yelp app for a $2 discount (at least available at the time of writing this review).

We went 11/23/2018 and it was great. I forgot to use the discount on here but I felt like we got our monies worth. We spent close to 2 1/2 hrs here. Not that we had too but we had that much freedom and it was not busy at all. We tried a ton of the drums and other instruments.Definitely worth it!

Fine place to explore and definitely unique, but the reason it didn't get the final star (for me) is because of its size. Ever wanted to bang a gong? This is your place. Ever wanted to participate in a drum circle, sober :) ? This is your place. How about beat on a HUGE drum, wanna do that? This is your place. Looking to show off your skills at keeping or making a beat? This is your place. Ever wanted to put your hands in some stellar and unique percussion instruments? This is your place. Looking to kill like 60 to 90 minutes at a very unique spot? This is your place. I had the whole family with me, which includes a going-on-seven-year-old that it's beginning to get bored very easily. So that influences this review, TBH can you kill an afternoon here? No. Is it for those sensitive to loud noises? NO! I love percussion. I have/has dated many drummers and drum majors in HS and college. I think it is INSANE if someone cannot naturally hear the rhythm or beat of anything, but I still calm those people friends. So, I REALLY liked this place. As I've been hinting, at this place you may not last tok terribly wrong before your kiddos are bored and/or all the (amazing) noise gives you a headache.My fav? The practice rooms where you can experiment with different acoustics!!

From a drummer's perspective, my husband described the interactive museum as a great gateway for kids -- or really anyone -- to get into percussion. We spent about an hour going through the different exhibits and playing the instruments. It was Free Museum Day during our visit, which was an added bonus, but we went late enough in the day that we had the place mostly to ourselves. The complimentary earplugs were a nice touch and much needed. Highly recommend!

This is a really cool museum, but fellow parents / caretakers with young children must know one thing: You absolutely cannot touch everything. (And by "you" I mean that child with you who wants to touch everything.) There are roped-off sections in here with friendly signs that say "Do Not Touch," and it can get a little confusing to kids, especially when the off-limits things are right beside the things they are allowed to play with. For me, this meant a lot of the following: "Yes, go ahead and play with that drum!""No wait, not that drum!""Ok, you can touch that.""But not that thing that's right next to that!"Sigh. It's kind of stressful. But it's nice that admission is free for kids ages 5 and under, which is exactly the age ranges that wants to touch everything. This museum is kind of small, and we went through the entire thing in about 35 minutes. However, we spent a lot of time in the back area, which is where they keep a whole shelf full of drums, maracas, tambourines, triangles, shakers, and other instruments that make loud noises. This area is set up for children, and you can tell because almost everything is at their eye level, and there are beanbag chairs on the floor to sit in. (There is also a hand sanitizer dispenser there, too, which is another way you know this area is for kids. *Cough* germs *cough.)We had a great time here, but I can't see us coming here more than once a year, if that. Also, the parking here is nonexistent. You basically have to park at the Circle City mall parking garage and then walk. That is the cheapest place to park, at $2 for three hours. There is no designated parking for this museum, and they do not validate.

Go here if you want to watch your kid play drums. It's perfect at that. That's the review!