The year was 2014 and I was road tripping across Minnesota, on my way to Walnut Grove, Pipestone National Monument, and ultimately Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A stop in Austin, Minnesota to visit the iconic SPAM® Museum was on my bucket list for some time, so I pulled off the highway to see the attraction in real life.
Note: The SPAM Museum was closed a month after my visit and will re-open in 2016 in a new location in downtown Austin. You can still, however, visit the SPAM store and shop for all your curated meat merchandise.
Photo below: A SPAM store full of t-shirts, hats, recipe books, and other souvenirs.
I’m not certain if any of these attractions will carry over to the new-and-improved museum, but I learned a few things about:
- How the product is manufactured (see bad hair photo below):
2. Where the product is shipped and consumed—if you’ve ever visited Hawaii, you may have seen SPAM on the menu, as the Pacific Ocean island state is the number one consumer of SPAM worldwide.
Or, 3. Perhaps some SPAM theater? If anything, the museum is a super fun place to take touristy photos and buy a souvenir.
If you visit, plan to spend a few hours fully exploring the museum and the exhibits. I remember a nominal admission fee, but can’t tell you exactly what we paid.
Chances are someone will be out with food samples and you can try some SPAM for yourself.
Happy trails!
