Spam Museum and Visitor Center - Austin, Minnesota - Museum with Spam Exhibits and Artifacts

The Spam Museum and Visitor Center is located at Main Street North in Austin, Minnesota and is approximately 100 miles from Minneapolis International Airport via Interstate-35 S. The museum opens 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 12 noon to 5pm on Sundays and is free to enter. It remains closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Spam Museum is dedicated to the meat first created at Hormel Foods Corporation in 1937 and features 16,500 square feet of artifacts and history. Jay Hormel organized a competition to find a name for his product and the winning entry from Kenneth Daigneau came up with the name Spam. It is eaten all over the world with over 7 billion cans having been sold since 1937, and 100 million cans are sold every year in the United States alone.

Hormel Foods also makes other food products and is headquartered in Austin, so in 1991 the company opened a small storefront company museum in a local mall. Curiously though the visitors to this museum were mainly interested in Spam, and as a result the company quickly rechristened it the Spam Museum. In 2002 Hormel opened an expansive new Spam museum in its own custom building, right across the street from the meat plant, where a guide shows visitors around explaining the Spam making process.

Spam is made of pork, ham, salt, water, potato, starch, sugar and sodium nitrite and was an important source of food for soldiers during the Second World War. This war effort is illustrated in one of the exhibits at the museum, where visitors will also be able to try the Spam quiz as well as view various other exhibits. There is also a Cyber Diner to surf the net and join the fan club as well as find Spam recipes.

Visitors can also view short videos about the product as well as see some vintage advertising and memorabilia. There is also a chance to help with the canning process on a mock assembly line, while learning about the different varieties including the hard to find ones. Group tours of the museum can be arranged too although it is will be necessary to book these in advance.

One of the attractions at the museum is called Chez Spam, which is a small amphitheater that hosts live cooking demonstrations. Global Spam has a big blinking map to show where in the world the meat is consumed, while The Garb and Guards exhibit shows the equipment and attire worn over the years of Spam making. Fans of Spam can purchase various branded gifts and souvenirs such as caps and hats, umbrellas, baseballs, blankets and many other items.

A related attraction in the area is the J.C Hormel Nature Center, which is named after the Spam founder and features over 10 miles of walking trails through prairies, wetlands and forests. Should visitors wish to stay in Austin overnight or longer there are numerous hotels and inns here including Holiday Inn, Days Inn, AmericInn Lodge & Suites and Super 8 Motel.