The glass doors opened to the sight of dozens of kids, teens, and tweens buzzing around the lobby. I instinctively scanned the room for a bar, but remembered that it was daytime, that this afternoon was meant to be wholesome.
So I settled for a sugar cone stuffed with smooth ice cream. The Music Musica exhibit had lured me into the Miami Science Museum, with a toddler as cover. Once slapped with the shining, happy faces of the kids who had left their laptops to take advantage of the museum's Family Fun Day, I found myself riding an - ugh - natural high. As I watched raffle-ticket holders clamor for copies of the High School Musical DVD game and sing cacophonic Hannah Montana ditties, I realized that the energy was sugar-fueled - not even a tune from the New World Symphony could rock these babies to sleep.
I squeezed past the mini-orchestra and entered the exhibit - a collection of music memorabilia including a lime green Steinway art case piano by Dale Chihuly. I scurried past the life-sized keyboard that was never meant to be played by a gal wearing a size 9 boot. I yelled a few curse words into the telephone-doohickey claiming to return a perfect echo. (It did.) And then came the holy grail of the exhibit. A stage for recording my own music video. Eager for my turn to transform into a Madge/Sasha/Mimi hybrid, I stood in line and cringed as a 7 year old girl danced seductively to "I'm a Barbie Girl" as lightning crashed in the background and her creepy father/uncle looked on.
I hope both of our videos are lost on the cutting room floor. Music Musica will be up until February 28, 2009.
Raina McLeod
