South Dakota’s National Music Museum Gets $1 Million Gift

An ongoing renovation project for a building on the University of South Dakota campus in Vermillion has received a major boost thanks to the generosity of the state's richest man.

The National Music Museum has received a $1 million gift from South Dakota philanthropist and businessman T. Denny Sanford to support the museum’s ongoing exhibit renovation project. The donation will help update the facility's second-floor galleries.

The project will feature exhibits that explore the science of sound, offering visitors a hands-on learning experience about how sound works and how instruments produce different sounds.

Two years ago, the museum completed the renovation of its first-floor exhibits, featuring seven galleries that explore how the world is shaped by music – in homes, places of worship, entertainment venues, and the world marketplace, using stories, sound, and interactive displays.

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The National Music Museum was founded in 1973 and spans hundreds of years of culture, ranging from priceless Italian violins to celebrity guitars, from organs to orchestrions, from harps to harpsichords, from dombaks to didgeridoos, from Les Paul to Sgt. Pepper, from Stradivari to Elvis.

The museum is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

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Filed Under: University of South Dakota, Vermillion

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