The Spam Museum is an admission-free museum in
Austin, Minnesota
Austin is a city in, and the county seat of, Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Po ...
dedicated to
Spam
Spam may refer to:
* Spam (food), a canned pork meat product
* Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages
** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages
** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...
, a brand of canned precooked meat products made by
Hormel
Hormel Foods Corporation is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, ...
Foods Corporation. The museum tells the history of the Hormel company, the origin of Spam, and its place in world culture.
History
The Spam Museum originated in January 1991 as the Hormel Foods First Century Museum, when Hormel opened a small storefront company museum in celebration of the company's 100 year anniversary. Located in Austin's Oak Park Mall, Hormel later re-branded it as the Spam Museum.
A much-larger Spam-focused museum opened in September 2001. The 16,500-square foot space included a theater, historical displays, family activities and games, and a gift shop. The lobby of the museum featured a wall of Spam with more than 3,300 Spam cans and, for many years, the theatre showed a short film entitled "SPAM: A Love Story." In September 2014, the museum temporarily closed while it moved to a new downtown location.
Exhibits and galleries
The museum re-opened on 22 April 2016 at its new location at 101 3rd Ave NE.
The location in downtown Austin is approximately 14,000 square feet in size and comprises seven main galleries. These include Can Central, "the heart of the museum";
the World Market, where visitors can learn about the advertising and use of Spam and Spam recipes from 44 different nations; a World War II-themed exhibit explaining the importance of Spam as a staple for American troops; and Spam Brand 101, an interactive exhibit where visitors learn about 15 varieties of Spam and families are able to compete in the "assembly" of mock cans of Spam.
[ Many of the exhibits include games, interactive videos, and hands-on activities.
The Spam Shop offers hundreds of Spam-branded items and gifts. Volunteer guides - known as Spambassadors - offer visitors small bits of Spam on a toothpick or pretzel stick, commonly known as Spamples.]
Pop Culture
The Spam Museum is a featured stop in the Dan Gutman
Dan Gutman (born October 19, 1955) is an American writer, primarily of children's fiction.
His works include the '' Baseball Card Adventures'' children's book series that began with '' Honus & Me'', and the '' My Weird School'' series.
Early li ...
book series ''Genius Files.''
Gallery
File:Spam Museum - World Market.jpg, World Market exhibit at Spam Museum
File:Spam Museum - World Market (England).jpg, World Market (England) at the Spam Museum
File:Spam Museum - 1891 and Beyond.jpg, 1891 and Beyond exhibit at Spam Museum
File:Spam Museum - Canstruments.jpg, Canstruments at the Spam Museum
File:Spam Museum - Kids CAN Play.jpg, Kids CAN Play zone at Spam Museum
File:Spam Museum - Gift Shop.jpg, Gift Shop at the Spam Museum
File:Downtown Austin MN looking south.jpg, Spam Museum in Downtown Austin (2016–present)
File:SpamMuseumAustinMN2006-05-20.JPG, Former Spam Museum location (2001-2014)
File:Spam Museum in evening.jpg, The Spam Museum at dusk
See also
*Hormel Historic Home
The Hormel Historic Home, also known the Cook-Hormel House or simply The Hormel Home, is a historic Italianate style home with Classical Revival facade located in Austin, Minnesota. The home was built in 1871 and was added to the U.S. National R ...
- Museum and historic home in Austin focusing on the Hormel family
References
External links
*
Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau
{{Museums in Minnesota
1991 establishments in Minnesota
Food museums in the United States
Museums in Mower County, Minnesota
Museums established in 1991
Buildings and structures in Austin, Minnesota
Spam (food)
Roadside attractions in Minnesota