Largest Playable Guitar In The World On Display At Exhibit Dedicated To Instrument That Rocked The World

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - One of the world's most popular musical instruments is finally getting its due thanks to an exhibit at The Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.

"Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked The World" shows off the history of the guitar and musicians that have made it so popular.

"We're always looking for things in our culture that can tell the story of human history in different ways, so picking a musical instrument to tell that story is just one way to do that," says Jessica Brummer, Communications Director at The Durham Museum.

The exhibit features over 70 guitars and several interactive features for children to learn more about music.

"There are instruments in this show that date all the way back to 3,000 B.C. when humans were first starting to make instruments and all the way up to what we know as the modern guitar today," Brummer tells CBS affiliate KMTV.

The highlight of the exhibit has to be the Guinness Book of World Records' largest playable guitar.

"It's 43.5 feet long, so it's hard to miss that when you come into the gallery and people love to take their turn strumming on that," Brummer says.

Visitor Ken Leischner, who has had guitars since he was about 12 years old, says the exhibit shows just how iconic and versatile the instrument is.

"You've got acoustic, you've got the different types of electric guitars, different shapes. Some that are pretty standard and others that are pretty wild," he says.

Guitar sales exploded during the pandemic, Rolling Stone reported in January, proving that even in hard times, the love for music lives on.

"Whether you're a novice or a complete professional like some of the people in this show, people get a lot of joy out of it," said Brummer.

The exhibit is on display at the museum until April 25.