At some point, I became aware of the existence of a SPAM museum in Minnesota. I actually like SPAM, and generally have an “emergency can” in my pantry. Sometimes a SPAM sandwich or “hillbilly charcuterie” really hits the spot.
Okay, that above photo is the fancy one for date night. But if I’m making it for myself, and don’t have all the fancy toppings, it looks like this:
I have even been bold enough to try some SPAM microwave dinners–and found them surprisingly good! Spam Jambalaya, anyone?
I wonder if these are still being sold.
Anywho, while I am no SPAM super fan, I am certainly no stranger to enjoying this unique “meat in a can.”
From Wisconsin Dells to SPAM…
We recently returned from a drive up to Wisconsin Dells, WI. You can find photos from that excursion here:
On the way there from Des Moines, Google’s WAZE GPS program took us kinda east then north. On the way back, it decided to take us west then south. This return route had us go through Minnesota, and that made me wonder …. just where in Minnesota is the SPAM Museum?
Turns out, it is in Austin, MN and we were going to be driving right past there! So naturally, we had to stop in. I mean, it’s FREE after all!
SPAM Museum
I was immediately surprised to find out how large a museum dedicated to a canned meat product could be. It was divided into several areas. The main room (shown above) featured a variety of information displays and interactive touch screens. If you ever wanted to know “what kind of SPAM” you are, there was one for that. Of course.
And overhead, reminding me of Star Tours at Disneyland (and the old Gag Shop at Toontown) was a conveyor belt of SPAM cans. It circled all over the main area, and into the gift shop, where a large gearing system appeared to control it.
There was a display dedicated to the famous Monty Python’s SPAM sketch, which I had heard about, as well as one for SPAMalot, which I was not expecting.
There is an area that covers the International versions of SPAM and how it is used in other countries. I don’t know why, but this section really gave me EPCOT World Showcase vibes (Millennium Village, circa 2000).
Who knew other countries liked SPAM even more than America!
There was also one dedicated to SPAM during wartime.
As well as one that focused more on the Hormel company that created SPAM.
And knowing kids get bored at museums (even ones with all kinds of interactive displays), there was a “Factory” room where kids could put on outfits and then see how fast they can stuff a “SPAM can”.
Of course, the SPAM Shop was there for all your SPAM merchandise needs… You could even buy a huge pack of all the flavors of SPAM currently being made. Almost. There were still a few that we had to buy separately because they wouldn’t fit into the 12-pack. Who knew there was “Hot Honey” SPAM???
You can take a deeper look into this fascinating museum in my Misc photo gallery. I now have an entry of Minnesota that features SPAM and a random coffee shop we stopped at (Cabin Coffee Co., which originated here in Iowa).
Check out all 223 SPAM Museum photos here:
https://www.disneyfans.com/photos/misc/OtherPlaces/Minnesota/index.html
Now I’m hungry. I wonder what’s for lunch.
Oh, wait…
Until next time…