The Cotton Museum
Encyclopedia
The Cotton Museum, located in Memphis, Tennessee
, U.S.
, is an historical and cultural museum that opened in March 2006 on the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange
at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis.
The mission of the Cotton Museum is to share the story of the cotton
industry
and its many influences on the daily life, arts, and the development of the Mid-South
region. The museum highlights artifact
s through interpretive exhibits, educational programs, and research archives that help tell the story of cotton and cotton trading, from crop to becoming fabric.
The Cotton Museum preserves the history of the cotton business and its impact on economics
, history
, society
and culture
, and science
and technology
. The museum's exhibits are appropriate for field trip
s for middle school
ers and older, and provide visitors context for other attractions in the city.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is an historical and cultural museum that opened in March 2006 on the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange
Memphis Cotton Exchange
The Memphis Cotton Exchange is located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, USA, on the corner of Front Street and Union Avenue. It was founded in 1874 as a result of the growing cotton market in Memphis. Cotton merchants of the time became aware of the need for a trade organization to regulate cotton...
at 65 Union Avenue in downtown Memphis.
The mission of the Cotton Museum is to share the story of the cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
and its many influences on the daily life, arts, and the development of the Mid-South
Mid-South
Mid-South may refer to:*The East South Central States*The region centered on the Memphis and Little Rock MSAs, including portions of West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and northeastern Arkansas, as well as the Missouri Bootheel and extreme northwestern Alabama; see Memphis metropolitan...
region. The museum highlights artifact
Cultural artifact
A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
s through interpretive exhibits, educational programs, and research archives that help tell the story of cotton and cotton trading, from crop to becoming fabric.
The Cotton Museum preserves the history of the cotton business and its impact on economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The museum's exhibits are appropriate for field trip
Field trip
A field trip or excursion, known as school trip in the UK and school tour in Ireland, is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment...
s for middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
ers and older, and provide visitors context for other attractions in the city.