Event Contact: National Music Museum
Contact Email: nmm@usd.edu
Contact Phone: 605-658-3450
Event URL: https://www.nmmusd.org/
Event Locator: 2025-ACCSNQ
The National Music Museum Celebrates Black History Month at Discovery Saturday
Kick off Black History Month this Saturday, February 1, at Discovery Saturday at the National Music Museum (NMM) in Vermillion, SD. Throughout the day, visitors will have the opportunity to explore Black and African musical traditions represented at the museum. Museum Educator Anna Van Kley will host Spotlight Talks throughout the day and a specialized tour at 1:30 p.m.
The focus of this month's Spotlight is one of the NMM’s recent acquisitions: an ornately carved gourd fiddle made around 1860 by James Russell Cluxton. Cluxton and his family were deeply involved with the Ripley line of the Underground Railroad, and he designed the fiddle as a symbol of the path to freedom for many enslaved Americans. The fiddle will be on view, with short Spotlight Talks scheduled for 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
At 1:30 p.m., Van Kley will lead a specialized tour through the galleries, highlighting instruments and musicians of Black and African descent.
All activities are free with museum admission.
Earlier in the day, families are invited to join NMM Music Storytime at 10:30 a.m. Museum Educator Van Kley will read The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield. Music Storytime is free and sponsored by the M.A. Everist Foundation.
Discovery Saturdays at the NMM take place on the first Saturday of each month. These special events offer visitors additional activities and educational tours throughout the museum. Looking ahead to March, the NMM will celebrate Women’s History Month with a special presentation by Kay Krekow titled She is Music on Saturday, March 1, at 1:00 p.m.
The NMM is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information about Discovery Saturdays and other events at the National Music Museum, please visit www.nmmusd.org.
