Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum Inc

The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum is open for self-guided tours Thursday through Saturday. The organization received grant funding from Visit Meridian to help cover advertising expenses outside a 90-mile radius of the museum. The Museum hosted the 22nd Annual Soule Live Steam Show again this year with more than 1,000 visitors. Since the event started in 2003 the museum has offered free admission to students and children on Fridays during this event. Programs during this event are used to educate the public with various demonstrations including blacksmithing weaving molten metal pouring steam engines operating belt-driven machine shop letter-press printing and broom-making. The museum hosted the 9th Annual Maker Faire Meridian in April attracted 186 people to attend this free event.

The museum continues its outreach by opening the museum for private events during the year. Larger groups of visitors attending private events provide an opportunity for a different public audience to experience and learn about Soule and industrial heritage. Private events open the museum to the hosts their family friends colleagues employees and business patrons. For a set fee the museum is open during the off-hours for these private events. The museum also participates in state and regional conferences and events for additional outreach with other museums preservationists and other organizations. The Museum hosted the Meridian Symphony Associations presentation of "A Night to Shine Jimmie Rodgers and Where It All Began"