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Monday, April 20, 2009

Who Says Learning Isn’t Fun?

Monday, April 20, 2009 10:31:50 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00) ( )

As the museum/parks series continues this week, we’ll turn our sights to two museums that offer a unique blend of education and entertainment: The Pink Palace Museum and the Children’s Museum of Memphis.

The Pink Palace Museum – 3050 Central Avenue (www.memphismuseums.org)

What began as the would-be dream mansion for grocery store tycoon Clarence Saunders would become one of the most-visited museums in the South, with an average 240,000 visitors per year. In 1922, Saunders, who built his fortune as founder of Piggly Wiggly, began construction of a 36,500 sq. ft. mansion made of pink Georgia marble. Unfortunately for Saunders, he lost his fortune in 1923 and he and his family never even slept a night in the house.

After the City of Memphis received the mansion as a donation from the company that took ownership, the city completed construction of the home and opened it as the Memphis Museum of Natural History and Industrial Arts in 1930. Long referred to by Memphians as “the Pink Palace,” the museum took the moniker as its official name in 1967. In 1977, a massive expansion project saw exhibits once housed in the mansion moved to an adjacent building. Today, the restored first floor of the mansion itself showcases exhibits highlighting the history of Memphis from 1900-1960.

The museum features a combination of rotating and permanent exhibits. From now through May 3, you can get the “Scoop on Poop,” an exhibit detailing what poop is, how animals make use of it, and how humans—from Maasai tribesmen and farmers to veterinarians and power companies—put utilize it. Also running now is “Underground Memphis,” which examines the lives of African-Americans in Memphis in the mid-1800s as “they moved from slavery to freedom and from plantation to city.”

The Mansion Exhibits—which include the museum’s famous shrunken head, the Natural History Exhibits, and the Cultural History of the Mid-South comprise the permanent features. For me, the most captivating is the Cultural History of the Mid-South. It includes a replica of Saunders’ first Piggly Wiggly store, a Model T, and the amazing, handcrafted Clyde Parke Circus Parade (http://www.memphismuseums.org/clydeparkereturns/) among other intriguing displays. For information on hours, admissions, and more, go to http://www.memphismuseums.org/museum-visitor_information/.

Children’s Museum of Memphis – 2525 Central Avenue (www.cmom.com)

Located just a few minutes down the road from the Pink Palace, the Children’s Museum of Memphis has seen over 2.5 million visitors since it opened in 1990. The museum features a myriad of exciting, interactive, role-playing exhibits ranging from a bank and a garage to a football locker room and WaterWORKS!, a voyage down the Mississippi River. The latest permanent exhibit is Kid’s Market, an exhibit provided by Kroger that allows children to shop for three grocery items, learning lessons about healthy food choices and math along the way.

The museum also hosts traveling exhibits. “Children of Hangzhou: Connecting With China” runs until May 31. Children “meet” four children of Hangzhou in different settings: at home, at school, in the library, in the theater, and in the countryside. The exhibit allows children a glimpse of life in China, giving them an understanding of how ancient customs mix with modern life.

Beginning June 13, “Top Secret: Mission Toy,” will role into town. Created by the Canadian Children’s Museum, the exhibit allows kids a chance to be “toy detectives” and examine toys popular across the globe.

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