Austin, Minnesota, 85 Years of a Canned Ham

At a Glance

The SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota opened at its current site in April 2016 across from Hormel Foods. Celebrates 85 years of the canned ham that travelled from WWII rations into Hawaiian, Korean, Filipino and Guamanian cuisines. Free entry; 250,000 visitors a year.

A Canned Global History

Created in 1937, SPAM hit 15 million cans a day during WWII and filtered into Pacific and Asian cuisines via US military channels.

Highlights

• Global Table — 17 countries' SPAM dishes.
• WWII gallery with original ration materials.
• Production line simulator.
• Monty Python "Spam Spam Spam" screening.
• Limited-edition SPAM shop including Korean budae-jjigae flavour.

Visiting Tips

1h40 south of Minneapolis. Free. 1–1.5 hours. Open daily except holidays.