Street organs, orchestrions and musical clocks that a guide winds up and sets going while you stand in front of them.
This is the rare museum where silence would defeat the point, so the staff play the machines: a fairground organ fills the hall, a dancing-bear automaton is wound, a nineteenth-century orchestrion imitates a whole band badly and wonderfully. It works on children who have no interest in museums and on adults who did not expect to care. The demonstrations run on a schedule rather than on demand, so arriving at the hour rather than at twenty past is the difference between the visit and a walk past cabinets.
Highlights
- Instruments played, not just shown
- Street organs and orchestrions
- Two minutes from the Dom
Insider tips
- →Shut on Mondays, and on 1 January, 27 April and 25 December.
- →Come on the hour — the guided demonstrations are the whole experience.
FAQ
Do I need to book Museum Speelklok ahead?
Is this a good first-time visitor choice?
Where you'll find it
Utrecht, Netherlands
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