Memphis Museums & Exhibits
Elvis Presley and Graceland - www.elvis.com
Learn more about Elvis' dynamic life story from his humble beginnings
through his rise to stardom. It is a fascinating journey which has
earned Elvis his still undefeated title of the "King of Rock 'N Roll".
Tours of Graceland give the public an opportunity to see how Elvis lived.
You can now see Giant Pandas at the Memphis Zoo. A pair of giant pandas
named Ya Ya and Le Le from Beijing, China. There are also ongoing events,
information on many animals and educational programs for children.
Located in and adjacent to the home built by grocery store magnate
Clarence Saunders is Memphis' natural history museum and planetarium.
The Pink Palace is the largest museum in the state, and one of the
largest in the Southeast. The museum includes a new underground
education wing featuring classrooms, labs, and an IMAX theater.
Permanent displays include a moving dinosaur and a geology exhibit
tracing 4.6 billion years of the earth's history, as well as a
re-creation of the first Piggly Wiggly grocery store. The planetarium-
one of the 20 largest in the nation-is one of only four in the country
that produce and market their own programs. In addition to astronomical
fare, the planetarium also features laser light shows and special
presentations.
Housed in and adjacent to the former Lorraine Motel-where Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., was killed in 1968 - the National Civic Rights
Museum centers around exhibits that focus on major events in the history
of the civil rights movement in America. The exhibit trace the struggle
from the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 to the 1968
Memphis sanitation strike that brought King to the city. The most
emotional section of the museum is the balcony where King's room can be
viewed as it was the day he was assassinated. The museum is truly a
living testament to the ideas and actions of all those who have fought
for civil rights in this country.
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Once the private home of Margaret and Hugo Dixon, the gallery and
gardens that now bear their name opened to the public after the couple
died in 1974. The Dixons were art lovers and avid collectors, and their
legacy includes a veritable treasure of fine art. The house, the 17
acres of formal gardens that surround it, and the art collection are
now a private museum opened to the public throughout the year. Today, the
Dixon Gallery and Gardens has one of the nation's most intriguing collections
of French and American Impressionism, with a healthy sampling of 18th-
century British portraiture and landscapes as well.
From the only collection of Renaissance art in Tennessee to one of the
finest collections of English portraiture and landscapes in the South,
the list of influential artists with work appearing in the Brooks
Museum reads like a who's who of art through the ages. Brooks'
Renaissance collection includes works by Jacopo del Sallaio, Girolamo
Romanino, and Jacopo Bassano. The Moss Collection of Renaissance and
Baroque works includes paintings by Salmon van Ruysdael, Pieter Boel,
and Sir Anthony Van Dyck.
Brooks also offers an intriguing gift shop on the premises, as well as
an elegant restaurant, and special lectures, films, and demonstrations
are regular features. Award-winning structural additions to the museum
have lately doubled the space available for exhibits and
collections, adding to the museum's versatility and allowing it to rise
in stature as one of the region's premier fine arts facilities.
Memphis College of Art
This fine, local art institution frequently exhibits the works of its
students and faculty, many of whom have international reputations.
The National Ornamental Metal Museum
Everything from model trains to medieval swords has been displayed in
this unique attraction overlooking the Mississippi River just off
Interstate 55 south of downtown Memphis. Cast- and forged-iron items,
precious metals, sculpture, and weaponry have been included in the
museum's ongoing series of temporary exhibitions. Its permanent
collection includes 19th-century iron furniture, fences, kitchen
utensils, pressed-tin ceilings panels, a New Orleans-style cornstalk
cast-iron fence, and a diorama complete with Victorian blacksmith's
tools. Also featured is an outdoor sculpture garden-all right on the
Mississippi River bluffs.
The University of Memphis Art Museum
The highlight of the U of M gallery, which also features temporary
exhibitions, faculty and student art, and regional art, is its 44-piece
collection of Egyptian art and artifacts-the only such collection in
the region. Among the objects from Egyptian tombs are a wooden model of
a boat dating from about 2000 B.C. and two mummies.
Children's Museum of Memphis
Located in a WPA-era building that once was a National Guard Armory,
the Children's Museum of Memphis mixes fantasy and reality to come up
with an educational experience for children 12 and under that feels
like just plain fun. Indeed, a stated goal of this place is to "
instill the lifelong attitude that learning is fun." Hands-on
exhibits here include children's versions of everything from
fire trucks to grocery stores, automobiles to manholes, and even a
whole "Time Square" that explores-through a giant mechanical
clock and a wall of gears-time, its measurement, and nothing less than
infinity itself.
Lichterman Nature Center
Located amid the tangle of busy streets and bustling office and
shopping areas of East Memphis is a 60-acre oasis of natural beauty.
Lichterman Nature Center is preserved as an "urban natural
area". The center features several educational walking trails,
including paths cut through dense forest, as well as around a marshy
lake. An observation tower and greenhouse are also located on the
grounds. Open throughout the year, Lichterman Nature Center is serene
retreat in the midst of the frantic pace of the city, a welcome reminder
that the world of nature is a treasure worth preserving.
Memphis Botanic Garden
The splendors of nature abound at the Memphis Botanic Garden located
in Audubon Park. On 88 acres of carefully tended parkland, the Memphis
Botanic Garden features a wealth of trees, shrubs, flowers, and walking
trails, as well as a scenic Japanese Garden surrounding a serene lake. The
Rose Garden features more than 4,000 plants, while other special gardens-
including a Sensory Garden for the disabled-are filled with stunning
specimens. Special springtime treats include the azalea and dogwood
trails, while the perennial and herb collections are also seasonal
favorites.
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