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PlayLab is an interactive, hands-on sound playground where visitors of all ages can explore, experiment, and make music together. Free and accessible to all, the space invites children and their families to discover how sound works and create music in their own way.---
PlayLab is open to the public with free admission on Level 1 of Studio Bell every day from 10 am to 5 pm.
Bring the whole family for hands-on activities in PlayLab every Saturday! Visit studiobell.ca/whats-on to see what's coming up.
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Designed to turn young visitors from observers into active music-makers, the space brings together children, families, and multigenerational audiences to explore, experiment, and make music together. With interactive stations featuring a variety of instruments, visitors will discover how music works by engaging with the building blocks of sound—pitch, volume, timbre, and vibration. Pluck a string, strike a drum, blow into an organ, or shape sound on a synth to hear how instruments create their unique voices. Designed for curiosity and creativity, PlayLab encourages you to listen closely, explore freely, and discover how musicians turn sound into music.
The experience unfolds across three connected zones. The first section features Strings, Percussion, Wind, and Electronic instruments, allowing visitors to explore different instrument types and make connections between how vibration, timbre, and pitch are created through hands-on interaction. The Learn to Play area offers a chance to pick up a ukulele and try it out, with the voice of local musician and educator Jason Valleau guiding beginner or advanced-level journeys. At the Sound Stage, everyone can become conductors of their own musical composition. By placing a hand over a tube, participants can activate or layer instruments into an evolving musical score. As multiple people engage simultaneously, the composition grows in complexity. Table-top instruments provide experiences for our youngest visitors, encouraging them to rattle, bang, and make sound at their own level.
PlayLab is made possible with support from the Alberta Museums Association and the Radomski Foundation. Saturday activities in PlayLab are presented by CIBC BackBeat.
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National Music Centre | Centre National de Musique, 876 4 St SE, Calgary, AB T2G, Canada
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