13 Pictures of The Spam Museum

In our travels we chanced upon a billboard advertising The Spam Museum. Though not heavy Spam eaters, we couldn’t resist. Here is a quick tour of the place.

1. The Spam Museum is attached to the Spam plant in Austin Minnesota. It’s free and open to the public.

2. When you first walk in, you’re in what appears to be a simple hall until you turn around. This display is made of cans of Spam. My first thought was thank Gawd it didn’t collapse as I was walking under it.

3. Right behind the receptionists desk is what looks like the bar of a diner, complete with Formica counter with a number of computer stations set up. Look closely in the bottom right corner and you will see a place mat with a round ball for an egg yolk and a pat of butter sticking up. This is the mouse and clicker. The only place they take you is Spam’s official website. The kids spent a long time playing Spamalot.

4. Through the pig faced double doors is a movie theater where you will be subjected to a montage of old Spam commercials and workplace cheap type footage designed to make you giggle. I tried to take pictures of the film. It didn’t work.

5. On the other side of the theater (through another piggy door) is the display area. We start off with a bit of history.

6. Then move on to full-sized, campy dioramas built to glorify the wonders of spam.

7. We get a complete history of the canned ham.

8. From World War rations

9. And the original equipment used for processing

10. To modern times.

11. Moving conveyor belts of Spam run overhead like toy trains.

12. Right past this heinous contraption. It’s a game. You are supposed to start from the left and put all the parts together to make can’s of spam. When you’re done, they compare you’re speed with how many cans the plant we’re in produced in the same time. There’s no way to compete. Unless you compete with the other members of your family. We had a blast.

13. In the Spam Museum, all roads lead to the gift shop. Yes, we suckered in. More on that Tuesday.