Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium facts for kids
The Museum of Science & History - Pink Palace is a really cool place in Memphis, Tennessee. It's a big museum that teaches you all about science and history. Imagine learning about everything from ancient tools to amazing chemical reactions! More than 240,000 people visit this museum every year.
The Pink Palace is part of a larger group called the Museum of Science & History - Memphis. This group includes several fun and educational spots. For example, the Lichterman Nature Center is part of it. It was the first nature center in the U.S. to be officially recognized for its quality. There's also the Coon Creek Science Center, where groups can explore a real fossil site!
You can also visit two historic homes that are part of the museum. The Mallory-Neely House is a huge, three-story mansion built in 1852. It has 25 rooms and still has most of its original furniture. The Magevney House is an older, smaller cottage from the 1830s. It shows what a home might have looked like in 1850. It's one of the oldest houses left in Memphis.
Inside the museum, you'll find the AutoZone Dome at the Sharpe Planetarium. This planetarium has 165 seats and a round theater. It shows amazing public shows with stars, images, and laser lights on its domed ceiling. There's also the Crew Training International 3D Giant Theater. It opened in 1995 and has a huge, four-story screen! The Pink Palace, Planetarium, and 3D Theater are all recognized by the American Alliance of Museums.
Pink Palace (2008)
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| Established | 1930 |
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| Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Type | Science and history |
| Visitors | 240,000 (annual) |
Contents
The Pink Palace Mansion: A Historic Home
The main building of the museum is a beautiful mansion. It's covered in pink marble, which is why it's called the "Pink Palace"! The city of Memphis bought this mansion after its original owner, Clarence Saunders, lost his money. Saunders was famous for starting the first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly. He began building this grand home in 1923. However, he lost a lot of money in a financial crisis on Wall Street.
After the Stock Market Crash in 1929, the Memphis Museum of Natural History and Industrial Arts opened in the mansion in March 1930. At first, the museum showed things like stuffed animals and birds. It also had dolls and old items from wealthy collectors in the area. There were also things related to Memphis's history, including Confederate army uniforms and souvenirs.
What You Can Explore: Museum Exhibits
The museum has many different exhibits that tell the story of Memphis. One popular exhibit is a copy of the very first Piggly Wiggly store. This celebrates Clarence Saunders, who invented the idea of the supermarket in 1916.
Other exhibits you can see all the time include:
- Pottery made by Native Americans from the 1400s.
- Ancient artifacts from before Christopher Columbus came to America.
- Clyde Parke's Miniature Circus, a tiny circus display.
- Fossils and dinosaur bones.
- Mounted animals, showing different wildlife.
History exhibits also focus on how music and cotton shaped Memphis. You can learn about the American Civil War and how women's roles changed over time. There are also exhibits about important Black Memphians throughout history. The museum also brings in new, special exhibits several times a year.
Artistic Stories: The Murals
In the main entrance lobby of the Pink Palace Mansion, there are three large paintings called murals. A Memphis artist named Burton Callicott created them. These murals show the story of the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. They show him and his men discovering the Mississippi River near where Memphis is today. The murals also show their meetings with Native American people.
These three murals were ordered in 1934 by the U.S. government. This was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan to help people find jobs during the Great Depression. Many art and public works projects were started to give work to artists and others. Burton Callicott, who passed away in 2004, also taught at the Memphis College of Art.
See also
