Cigar Box* Ukelele and More

Eli Whitney Museum

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Vacation Program

  • Friday, April 22, 2011
  • 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
  • Designed for ages 8 to 12

The ukulele is a small, guitar-like instrument developed in Hawaii in the 19th Century. Hawaiian Kings and Queens enjoyed its simple melodies. The instrument traveled to the United States in the early 20th Century. Almost as soon as it arrived, designs began to appear for ukuleles that recycled cigar boxes. Construct one of your own. We'll use boxes donated to use by the Graves Family, New Haven's last cigar makers. Sophia Szymkowiak, our versatile string-playing apprentice, will teach you to tune and play your instrument.

All in a day.

*The Eli Whitney Museum condones cigar boxes, not cigars.


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