Memphis Museum of Science & History (MoSH)
Let’s just put this out there: Locals are always going to call this museum “The Pink Palace,” despite the fact its new, official name is far more representative of what it is today. The ostentatious pink-marble mansion was built by grocery-store magnate Clarence Saunders shortly after World War I, and anyone who grew up in Memphis fondly remembers visiting its planetarium, mini circus, or kid-friendly old-timey grocery store every year.
So who was Saunders? He’s the one who revolutionized grocery shopping by opening Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service market, in 1916. Within 7 years, there were 2,600 Piggly Wiggly stores across the country, and Saunders was a millionaire. During the early 1920s, he began building himself a 22-room, pink-marble mansion—you know, as one does—and then got into a legal dispute with the stock exchange that led him to promptly go bankrupt before he could finish it. Today it is a museum of cultural, scientific, and natural history, connected to a brand-new building next door (which is technically the MoSH).
The three-story entry hall shows off murals by local artist Burton Callicott, and exhibits include a full-scale reproduction of the maze of aisles that constituted an original Piggly Wiggly. Other walk-through exhibits include an old-fashioned general store, pharmacy with soda fountain, and an extensive medical-history exhibit that scared me to my core as a child. Kids will enjoy exhibits including a life-size mechanical triceratops, a real mastodon skeleton, and a hand-carved, animated miniature circus. The Sharpe Planetarium, a 165-seat theater-in-the-round auditorium, offers public shows that project star fields, visual images, and laser lights on a domed ceiling. The Giant Screen shows everything from nature documentaries to blockbusters like “Star Wars.” Allow 1 to 2 hours.
Let’s just put this out there: Locals are always going to call this museum “The Pink Palace,” despite the fact its new, official name is far more representative of what it is today. The ostentatious pink-marble mansion was built by grocery-store magnate Clarence Saunders shortly after World War I, and anyone who grew up in Memphis fondly remembers visiting its planetarium, mini circus, or kid-friendly old-timey grocery store every year.
So who was Saunders? He’s the one who revolutionized grocery shopping by opening Piggly Wiggly, the first self-service market, in 1916. Within 7 years, there were 2,600 Piggly Wiggly stores across the country, and Saunders was a millionaire. During the early 1920s, he began building himself a 22-room, pink-marble mansion—you know, as one does—and then got into a legal dispute with the stock exchange that led him to promptly go bankrupt before he could finish it. Today it is a museum of cultural, scientific, and natural history, connected to a brand-new building next door (which is technically the MoSH).
The three-story entry hall shows off murals by local artist Burton Callicott, and exhibits include a full-scale reproduction of the maze of aisles that constituted an original Piggly Wiggly. Other walk-through exhibits include an old-fashioned general store, pharmacy with soda fountain, and an extensive medical-history exhibit that scared me to my core as a child. Kids will enjoy exhibits including a life-size mechanical triceratops, a real mastodon skeleton, and a hand-carved, animated miniature circus. The Sharpe Planetarium, a 165-seat theater-in-the-round auditorium, offers public shows that project star fields, visual images, and laser lights on a domed ceiling. The Giant Screen shows everything from nature documentaries to blockbusters like “Star Wars.” Allow 1 to 2 hours.
Details
Bookstore
Available as paperback
and as e-book.
