When people ask me what to see when they visit Arizona (and the Valley of the Sun in particular) with their families, I have previously been at somewhat of a loss. I mean, the standard family and cultural activities here -- the Zoo, the Children's Museum, etc. -- are good, but if you're coming from another metropolitan area, you probably have something of similar quality in your own town. While baseball spring training is great, it's just one month a year. And a lot of the activities/locations that are unique to Arizona -- I'm thinking of our excellent Native American museum The Heard Museum and the Desert Botanical Garden -- are not necessarily the most friendly for families. Not unfriendly, mind you, just not much of a wow for young kids. I usually just end up telling folks to loll around the grounds and pools of a resort if they're staying there, enjoy the weather (except during this time of year), and make sure to get up to Sedona or the Grand Canyon to enjoy different non-desert sights. But I've got something to tell 'em now. I've been following the progress of the Musical Instrument Museum in north Phoenix for awhile now, long before it opened its doors this spring. I first had a chance to get a small peek earlier this summer when Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem came through Phoenix to play a concert at the MIM's sweet 299-seat theatre. But there wasn't time (not with two kids at least) to add a museum visit on top of the show (which, I might add, was really good. Go, folks, and see 'em in concert!) So a couple weeks ago the whole family (plus the official mom of Zooglobble, in town for a visit) went up to north Phoenix to see the museum itself. The verdict? Well, cut to the chase -- the museum's kinda awesome. The building itself is about 190,000 square feet spread over 2 stories. The heart of the museum, taking up most of the second story, is five separate rooms covering every country in the world. That's right, there's an exhibit featuring instruments for each and every one of the world's countries. The commitment to showing all of the world's instruments is inherent in the museum's design, which directs most visitors to start their visit in the African and Middle East portion of the exhibits, rather than the more familiar (for most visitors) North American or European rooms.