Metal Museum facts for kids
The Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, is a special place that shows off amazing metal art. It used to be called the National Ornamental Metal Museum. An artist named James Wallace, who worked with metal, started this museum. It's all about showing beautiful metal creations and teaching people about how metalsmiths work.
Entrance to the museum
|
|
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Founder | National Ornamental Metal Museum 060523.jpg |
Contents
History of the Metal Museum
The Metal Museum buildings have a long history. They first opened in 1884 as a hospital. This hospital mainly cared for patients from the Civil War. It was also a science center. Scientists there looked for cures for yellow fever.
Hospital Buildings and Changes
The hospital grounds originally had six buildings. These included a stable, a surgeon's house, and two patient wards. There was also a nurse's building and an executive building. Today, only the nurse's building and executive building remain. The others were taken down in the 1930s.
The two remaining buildings were moved using wagons and mules. Other buildings were then added to the property. In the 1960s, the hospital closed its doors. The City of Memphis took over the property. This eventually led to the Metal Museum leasing the land.
Creating the Metal Museum
Jim Wallace was hired around 1977 to lead the new metals museum. Since 1979, a lot of effort and money has gone into making the museum a great place. About $2.5 million was spent on renovations. This money helped build a blacksmith's shop and a foundry.
It also helped create a repair lab and a gazebo. The museum's library was also restored. Wallace led the museum for almost 30 years. Under his leadership, it became a place for artists to live and work. It also became an official museum with a library. He retired in 2007 after the renovations were finished.
New Location for the Museum
In May 2022, the museum signed a lease for a new site. This new location was once the Memphis College of Art. This move will give the museum even more space.
What You Can See: Exhibits
The museum has over 3,000 items in its main collection. It also hosts special traveling exhibitions. These shows bring new and exciting metal art to see. There is also a working smithy and a foundry on site.
A smithy is where blacksmiths shape metal with heat and tools. A foundry is where metal is melted and poured into molds. Besides the displays, you can take hands-on classes. These classes teach you how to work with metal yourself.
Repair Days Event
Every fall, the Metal Museum hosts a special event. It is called Repair Days Weekend. During this event, volunteer metalsmiths come from all over the country. They fix almost any metal object you can imagine.
The best part is that the public can watch them work. It's a great chance to see skilled artists in action. You can learn how they repair and restore metal items.
See also
