Children Find La Habra Museum Exhibit Worthy of Note : Letting Them Toot Their Own Horns Is Instrumental in Fostering an Appreciation of Music and Its History

Sitting cross-legged in a corner of the Children’s Museum in La Habra, the schoolchildren were regarding the lizard-skin banjo with more than a little skepticism. They had never seen a musical instrument like that before.

“All instruments have mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers,” said the tour guide, straining to be heard above the din of the kids. The instrument they were looking at, she said, was a kalimba , “the African ancestor of the banjo.”

Now she had their attention. And a few minutes later, when she promised to hand each child a musical instrument to play, she had their wholehearted approval. As more instruments were passed out, the noise level rose proportionately until some 20 first-graders were banging, ringing and blowing.

“Hear that sound?” asked the docent, Tina Minner of La Habra. “You are tuning up, just like an orchestra.”

“The Musical Express,” the exhibit at the Children’s Museum through Sept. 10, traces the history of music from ancient times to the present via drums, cymbals, bass fiddles, clarinets, pianos, a conductor’s stand and an orchestra pit. Among other things, children are invited to lead their own bands and to perform on stage--and to learn how instruments not only make music but enhance our culture.

With woodwinds hanging from the ceiling, tambourines piled on the piano and a keyboard stationed at the entrance, the exhibit includes about 45 instruments. During a recent school tour, little hands reached out for bells, triangles, maracas and drumsticks.

In another corner, called “Mother’s Kitchen,” kids were being shown how to make their own instruments out of oatmeal cartons, paper plates, spoons and other household items.

After the children learn about the instruments, they are free to dig into costume bins to don tutus, top hats, cowboy vests and anything else they can find to transform themselves from local schoolchildren into Broadway stars, Charlie Chaplins or mariachi members. Their fantasies unfold on a star-spangled stage near the rear of the exhibit.

“We try to incorporate role-playing in almost all of our changing galleries,” said Assistant Museum Director Melissa Banning, referring to displays that change four times a year and are geared to ages 2 to 10. The displays are funded by Target stores.

Scheduled to coincide with the exhibit are Saturday events pegged to musical and theatrical themes. Next Saturday, Annette Vega will conduct a dance workshop; on July 30, the Depot Playhouse of La Habra will present musical and dance selections from “Alice in Wonderland.”

All the Saturday events begin at noon and are free with the regular museum admission, $1 for children, $1.50 for adults. Along with the changing exhibits, the museum offers a miniature train village, a model caboose, a carrousel and a nature walk.

The Children’s Museum at La Habra is at 301 S. Euclid St., La Habra, and is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (213) 905-9793.