Several years ago, they purchased and restored the childhood home of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. In 2024, they opened what Dani calls an "interactive, accessible space where visitors, especially young people, can engage directly with music, sound, and storytelling." The Music Project is a community-based nonprofit "anti-museum" that provides a hands-on platform to learn about, create, and experience music.

Finding treasure

Building an interactive museum isn't cheap, so when Lee and Dani learned about DES surplus operations from a community organization, they contacted Surplus Program Specialist Coby Armstrong to learn more.

Today, Lee and Dani are frequent customers of the program, always searching for the next item to enhance their vision. The items are both unique and affordable, allowing the Bacons to invest more of their resources into expanding their project. As operators of a non-profit organization, they qualify as surplus priority customers and can participate in the federal surplus program, which DES facilitates in Washington.

Coby said it's been fun working with the Bacons to find unique items to further their community-based mission, and celebrate the unifying force of music.

"They have been getting old music equipment for displays, old retro furniture, lights, security cameras, projectors, two full-size stages, and much more," Coby said. "Dani and Lee are very frequent users of the program and get a lot of different items from us."

Creating a journey

"These pieces have been especially helpful in advancing our timeline for building out our interactive environments, where flexibility and functionality are key," Dani said. "We are continuing to expand our footprint with an additional 5,000 square feet, currently in a construction phase."

They expect construction to be complete by mid-2027.

"Together, these spaces create a journey: from understanding the past, to engaging in the present, to creating the future," she said.

To learn more about the museum, visit https://themusicproject.org.