When can Music Worlds be visited?

The exhibition opens on October 20, 2026, at 10 AM. The regular opening hours of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM.

What is the entrance fee for Music Worlds?

The regular admission for adults is 9 Euro. Discounts, family prices, and other tariff groups are indicated at the museum cash desk and on the website of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums.

Are there guided tours or educational offers?

Yes, the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums offer guided tours and educational programs related to Music Worlds. Prior registration is required for groups and school classes.

Where is the exhibition located?

Music Worlds is located in the Museum of World Cultures of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums at Mannheim Square D5, 68159 Mannheim.

Is the exhibition suitable for families and young people?

Yes, the exhibition presents music history, cultural diversity, and technical developments in a comprehensible way and is suitable for families as well as young people.

Are there parking facilities nearby?

There is an underground parking garage under the Museum of World Cultures in D5.

Discover Music Worlds: A fascinating sound journey through cultures, times, and human expression

Name: Music Worlds
Start: 2026-10-20T10:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-20T17:00:00+02:00
Location: Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Museum Weltkulturen

Music Worlds: A sensual journey through the sound history of humanity

The exhibition Music Worlds at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums opens an atmospheric access to the universal phenomenon of music. Between pre-Columbian whistles, fire dance masks from Papua New Guinea, and a completely analog recording studio from the 1980s, sound is experienced as a cultural form of expression, social practice, and historical memory.

Instruments as testimonies of cultural diversity

The exhibition presents a wealth of extraordinary instruments and objects from different epochs and regions. The foundation is the significant collection of the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums with more than 1,600 European and non-European musical instruments. The curated selection connects music history, ethnology, and material culture into a multifaceted study of the works.

From whistle vessels to the analog recording studio

The exhibits tell of human inventiveness and the diversity of musical communication. Pre-Columbian whistle vessels refer to early sound concepts, while fire dance masks from Papua New Guinea make visible the close connection between music, ritual, movement, and community. An analog recording studio from the 1980s ultimately leads into more recent media history and makes the technical changes in sound production tangible.

Music as communication and community

Music Worlds views music not only as an aesthetic event but as a means of communication. Sounds structure ceremonies, strengthen communities, and accompany transitions in human life. The exhibition invites visitors to question familiar notions of music and to rediscover the cultural significance of instruments, rhythms, and sound spaces.

Cultural education and in-depth offers

The Reiss-Engelhorn Museums supplement the exhibition with educational programs and guided tours. In a workshop related to the exhibition, the Indonesian bamboo instrument Angklung will be addressed, among other things. Participants will experience how individual sounds come together to form a collective musical structure through precision, listening, and collaboration. Musical prior knowledge is not required.

An artistic experience for curious senses

The atmosphere of the exhibition connects forms, materials, historical traces of use, and the idea of audible sound worlds. In this aesthetic experience, painting, sculpture, installation, and music history meet not as separate disciplines, but as different ways to shape cultural significance. Music Worlds is aimed at all who are interested in art, ethnology, history of technology, and the global history of making music.

Conclusion: Experience music history live

Music Worlds makes visible how closely sound, body, ritual, technology, and community are interconnected. The exhibition promises an engaging study of the works, cultural-historical insights, and a sustainable artistic experience for adults, families, and young visitors. Anyone who wants to understand music as a global form of expression with all senses should definitely visit this exhibition in Mannheim live.