Welcome to MIM! The acronym is for the Musical Instrument Museum, and is self-proclaimed as "The World's First Global Musical Instrument Museum." While the original estimate to build MIM was projected to be $125 million, it was completed at a cost of $250 million, and one sees the results of this additional expenditure immediatly in the extensive use of polished marble floors and walls, and the enormity of the building itself. To add to the distinctiveness of this world-class museum, there is also an acoustically superb Music Theater, which brings live performing artists and special musical workshops to the community, as well. Check out the theater performance schedule for upcoming events.
The experience begins right in the entry courtyard plaza, which is a sight to see in and of itself. The beautiful landscape architecture it is especially enchanting to visit after dark, which can be done on certain days of the week. Check MIM's Schedule for museum hours.
The museum shop is always open during business hours, and is definitely worth browsing for awhile as it is filled with wonderful and unique items. As for the museum exhibits, if you are thinking, "who cares about seeing a bunch of guitars and drums?" you will be in for a huge surprise! The point of the exhibits go far beyond a description of the instruments; the exhibits demonstrate how different cultures down through the ages, have used the music played on these instruments as an integral part of their culture and heritage. This New York Times article gives additional insight to the vision of the museum.
If you pass on the museum tour, there is the MIM Cafe' and Coffee Shop that is open to the public without museum ticket purchase, and overlooks a stunning plaza. Have lunch between 11:00 - 2:00 or a snack and beverage whenever the museum is open, and take a nice break out of your busy day. A typical tour of the entire museum, if you decide to stay, can range from two to three hours, to all day, if one so desires.
For more information about the construction project see this Phoenix Business Journal article. It is literally a one-of-a-kind museum, right here in our own backyard!
To find the coordinates for the cache (Stage 2):
Use the posted coordinates to get you to the front doors of the museum and go inside. Once inside, you will only be looking for three numbers to fill out the final coordinates to the cache:
N 33° 4a.b6c
W 111° 58.8d3
"a", "b","c",and "d" can be found by going inside the gift shop. Find the MIM Black T-Shirts "Music is the Language of Our Soul". If they are currently out of stock, just ask a clerk for the price. Many clerks know geocachers come in. Assume the format for the price to be $??.?? "a" = the third number in the price, "b" = the fourth number in the price, "c" = the first number in the price, and "d" = the second number in the price. Total distance from the doors into the museum to the cache is about .12 of a mile.
There is a nice FTF prize, so when the FTF cacher logs his/her/their find we will e-mail them with instructions as to how to retrieve it!
Special thanks to MIM's head of Security and Guest Services Manager for their assistance in placing this cache! As always, when on privately-owned property, please be respectful of the premises and landscaping, and polite to the employees. Two prior caches have already been archived at this location by Groundspeak due to complaints from MIM. We sure don't want this to happen again!
MIM hours are:
- Monday - Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Thursday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Saturday - 9:00 am - 5:00 p.m.
- Sunday - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
We hope you enjoy this experience as much as we did placing it. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REPLACE EXACTLY as you found it! We rarely find it in its home and this is a really crummy thing to do to the next cachers. 
Happy Caching!