Plan Your Visit
Class Visits and Tours
*The Collection is closed for renovation and not hosting tours at this time.
Gallery tours and class presentations are offered to University and non-University groups interested in the history, design, construction, and preservation of musical instruments. A typical tour visits the museum’s three galleries and focuses on select instruments. Staff members place the instruments in a historical context and discuss their roles in the cultural life of the period. Specialized tours that focus on distinct groups or families of instruments may be arranged.
A fee is customarily charged for tours presented to non-Yale groups.
More about the Collection
Hours and Directions
The Morris Steinert Collection of Musical Instruments is located on Yale's Central Campus at 15 Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut. It is within walking distance of libraries, galleries, and the University’s undergraduate admissions office.
The Collection is typically open Tuesday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., September through July. It is closed on national holidays, during the month of August, and during Yale University recesses (Thanksgiving break, winter break, and spring break).
*The Collection is closed until fall 2024.
Admission to the Collection is free, but contributions are gladly accepted to further the museum’s educational programs, concert series, and ongoing exhibits.
Directions and Parking
Take the I-95 (Connecticut Turnpike) to I-91 to Exit 3 (Trumbull Street). Turn left at the second set of lights onto Temple Street. Take the first right onto Grove Street, then the first right again onto Hillhouse Avenue. The Collection is the second building past St. Mary’s Church on the right.
The Collection is 10 minutes by taxi from Union Station and 15 minutes by taxi from Tweed-New Haven airport.
Short-term (metered) parking is available on the street, and longer-term parking may be found at several commercial garages within three or four blocks of the museum.
Contact Us
Questions or feedback? Call us at 203 432-0822 or email musinst@yale.edu.
Mailing address
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments
P.O. Box 208278
New Haven, CT 06520-8278
Fed-Ex or UPS
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments
15 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 06511
Collection Staff
William Purvis
Director
Susan E. Thompson
Curator
Christina Linsenmeyer
Associate Curator
Wm. Nicholas Renouf
Curator Emeritus and Consultant
Intern at the Collection
Established in 2010, the Collection’s internship program provides a yearlong program for recent graduates of accredited undergraduate or graduate school programs. Interns assist with archival preservation, instrument documentation, exhibit preparation and maintenance, concert management, public relations, and the presentation of tours and classes.
For more information about the internship program, contact William Purvis or Susan E. Thompson.
