A Family Road Trip to the SPAM Museum in Austin, Minnesota

After our family vacation to Hawaii this summer, we came home with more than just great memories and lots of photos — we also came home with a newfound appreciation for SPAM! And considering SPAM is packed only about an hour from our home, we decided it was time to make a road trip to Austin, Minnesota, to learn a little more about the canned pork product our family had been enjoying so much.

Before our trip to Hawaii, SPAM wasn't something that showed up regularly on our family menu. But Hawaii definitely changed that. Hawaii is the top consumer of SPAM in the United States, and we quickly discovered why. We enjoyed SPAM with eggs for breakfast and diced up in rice dishes while we were there. Once we got home, we continued experimenting with it in our own kitchen.

So when we woke up to a rainy weekend, visiting the SPAM Museum seemed like the perfect family adventure. And the best part? The SPAM Museum is free and open seven days a week!

As soon as you walk through the doors, you know you're up for a sizzling adventure. A conveyor belt runs throughout the museum carrying cans of the different varieties of SPAM, immediately catching your attention. From there, we started our self-guided tour through the different sections of the museum, learning about SPAM, Hormel Foods, the Hormel family and the history behind the iconic canned pork product. The museum isn't huge, but it packs a lot of information into its different rooms and exhibits. It was especially fun because so much of it is interactive, which kept all four kids engaged.

One of our first stops was Can Central, where we played SPAM trivia, learned what type of SPAM we were (apparently, I'm a SPAM dog!) and checked out different recipes. We also learned that Guam eats more SPAM per capita than anywhere else in the world. Who knew?!

One of the highlights of our visit was running into the museum's SPAM-bassadors, who were handing out samples throughout the museum. We tried several different varieties of SPAM, including the newest flavor, Hot Honey. It was a hit with our entire family. We liked it so much that we ended up purchasing a couple cans to take home with us.

Next, we headed into the Hormel Foods section, where we learned more about the company and just how many familiar brands are part of Hormel Foods. We knew Hormel Ham and SPAM, of course, but we didn't realize the company was connected to so many brands we recognize, including Skippy Peanut Butter, Planters, Jenny-O Turkey, Wholly Guacamole, Dinty Moore and Herdez, along with many others.

The Pop Culture section was another fun stop. The kids learned about the role SPAM has played in popular culture, including the famous Monty Python sketch that they had playing on screens, and that helped give the word "spam" an entirely different meaning.

Then we got to learn about how SPAM is made and even got to try our hand at working on a "production line". Let's just say I thought I was moving pretty quickly as I packaged a can in about 20 seconds. But the Austin plant could have made 140 cans in that same amount of time! Needless to say, I think I'll leave the production line to the professionals.

Our middle daughter trying her hand on the production line.

We also learned about SPAM's important role during wartime and how the product became a staple for soldiers and civilians around the world. That led us into the Provision Market, where we learned more about the Hormel family and the history of the company.

Our final stop was the Global Market, where we learned about the many different SPAM traditions and ways people enjoy it around the world. After our Hawaii trip, this section was especially interesting to us. We'd already seen firsthand how popular SPAM is in Hawaii, but it was neat to see just how many cultures have their own ways of preparing and enjoying it.

The kids really enjoyed all of the interactive games and activities throughout the museum. There was plenty for them to do while still learning about food production, business, history and different cultures.

Our family of six spent about 90 minutes going through the museum and gift shop, and of course we took plenty of photos along the way.

It's not a huge museum, but it's very well done. There's a lot of information packed into the different sections, and it's presented in a fun, approachable and interactive way that makes it enjoyable for the whole family. And for a family that now considers itself a group of SPAM lovers, we had a great time!

If visiting the SPAM Museum leaves you craving even more SPAM, we have another recommendation. Head down the road to Piggy Blues BBQ and ask for their SPAM menu. They offer several SPAM creations, including SPAM fries, a SPAM burger and a SPAM po-boy.

SPAM fries at Piggy Blues BBQ

Between the museum, the samples, lunch and our purchases from the gift shop, we came home with even more SPAM to enjoy. Who knew our Hawaii vacation would turn us into such SPAM enthusiasts?