Spam Museum facts for kids

The front of the Spam Museum building

The Spam Museum is a fun museum in Austin, Minnesota. It's free to visit and is all about Spam, a famous brand of canned meat. Spam is made by a company called Hormel Foods Corporation. At the museum, you can discover the history of the Hormel company, how Spam was invented, and how it became a part of cultures worldwide.

The History of the Spam Museum

The Spam Museum first opened its doors in January 1991. Back then, it was called the Hormel Foods First Century Museum. Hormel created this small museum to celebrate their 100th birthday! It was first located in Austin's Oak Park Mall. Later, Hormel changed its name to the Spam Museum.

A much bigger museum, focusing mainly on Spam, opened in September 2001. This new space was huge, about 16,500 square feet! It had a theater, many historical displays, fun activities and games for families, and a gift shop. The museum's lobby even had a wall covered with over 3,300 Spam cans! For many years, the theater showed a short film called "SPAM: A Love Story." The Spam Museum temporarily closed in September 2014. It moved to a new, easier-to-reach spot downtown.

Explore the Exhibits and Galleries

The Can Central exhibit inside the Spam Museum

The museum opened again on April 22, 2016, at its new home. You can find it at 101 3rd Ave NE in downtown Austin.

This new downtown location is about 14,000 square feet. It has seven main areas, called galleries, for you to explore.

• Can Central is known as the "heart of the museum."
• The World Market lets you learn about how Spam is advertised and used in 44 different countries. You can even find Spam recipes from around the world!
• A special World War II-themed exhibit explains why Spam was so important for American soldiers during the war. It was a key food for them!
• Spam Products Around the World is an interactive map. It shows you all the different kinds of Spam products sold globally.
• The Can Chronicles exhibit shows how the Spam can has changed over time.
• Spam Brand 101 is an interactive area. Here, you can learn about 15 different types of Spam. Families can even compete to "assemble" pretend cans of Spam!

Many of these exhibits have games, interactive videos, and hands-on activities. This makes learning about Spam super fun!

Before you leave, check out the Spam Shop. It sells hundreds of items and gifts with the Spam brand. You might even meet volunteer guides called Spambassadors. They often offer visitors small tastes of Spam on a toothpick or pretzel stick, which are called Spamples!

Spam in Pop Culture

The Spam Museum is so famous that it's even featured in books! It's a special stop in the Genius Files book series by Dan Gutman.

Gallery

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  World Market exhibit at Spam Museum

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  World Market (England) at the Spam Museum

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  1891 and Beyond exhibit at Spam Museum

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  Canstruments at the Spam Museum

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  Kids CAN Play zone at Spam Museum

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  Gift Shop at the Spam Museum

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  Spam Museum in Downtown Austin (2016–present)

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  Former Spam Museum location (2001–2014)

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  The Spam Museum at dusk

See also

• Hormel Historic Home – This is another museum in Austin. It focuses on the history of the Hormel family.