Chucalissa Archaeological Museum

What a great experience for children. Shilling Farms Elementary School extended the learning experience by visiting the Indian artifact museum. Long distance, but well worth the drive. There is a small gift shop. And a hands on exhibit for the children to touch and feel and create conversations. Also the scavenger hut had them reading exhibits, reading questions and searching for answers - great group cooperation. They were also able to hand make pottery bowls to take home. Great Field-Trip!

Stayed at the T.O. Fuller Campground and our camp host gave us free tickets to go. It was a cool place to go and look at. Wasnt many people there when we went.

No matter where you live in Memphis, this is probably a 30 minute drive for you. We're talking middle of nowhere, y'all.

I've heard about this place forever but finally decided to make the trek down there and spend some time. I am part Native American and while I never knew my grandmother, the history and culture has always piqued my interest...even though (full disclosure) I know basically nothing. I should have mentioned before (although you probably guessed by the name) that this is a Native American museum and abandoned village site from the 1500s.

There is an 8 minute introductory video that is a little bit confusing. I say confusing because I didn't find it very informative and it lost my interest after about a minute and a half. All I gathered from it is that the University of Memphis controls the site and a lot of their students write projects on it. Oh, and they talk about the "hands on" exhibit kids get to see where they get to see archaeological finds. I peaked in afterwards and it was pretty cool. If you have kids, this would be very fun for them.

The exhibits inside are very small with more words and reproduction displays than artifacts and I spent the majority of the time outside. It was a gorgeous day and the village is beautiful but there isn't really that much to look at...or information. I think this place would be a goldmine for kids though. I liked it but don't think I'd take a second trip back unless there was a special event. Definitely, definitely glad I went though. It is really cool to know more of Memphis's history.

Oh, and there are also hiking trails through the forest. We started but I didn't have the right shoes on. Great place to be outdoors!

To get to the Chucalissa archaeological site, you take a wide, winding road lined with "Turtle Crossing" signs through southwestern Shelby County, past factories and and train yards. When you turn into T.O. Fuller State Park, the landscape changes suddenly - the open fields and gravel give way to a dense forest.

Chucalissa is the former site of a Mississippian Indian village that was home to about 1,000 people in the 15th century. It's original residents built large earthen mounds to define the village. The village was abandoned sometime in the mid-1500s.

Though the replicas of the original huts and exhibit on human burials are gone, there's still plenty to see at Chucalissa.

The C.H. Nash Museum features diorama-style displays on the lives of the site's residents and artifacts found around the mounds. There's a hands-on room that's full of touchable pottery, furs and artifacts from the site. Those who aren't squeamish can attempt to rebuild a disassembled raccoon skeleton.

The University of Memphis archaeological school has managed Chucalissa since 1962.Chucalissa has special programs throughout the year that promote Mississippian Indian culture. The annual Heritage Festival in September features spear throwing demonstrations, dance, stickball games and traditional Native American food.

The museum also has two weekly Family Days (Tuesdays and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.) where families who pay regular admission can get a music program or archeological program, go on a scavenger hunt through the grounds, and make pottery to take home.

This is a very cool museum that delves into the Native American way of life for a people who lived on the site and abandoned it, approximately 500 years ago.

This museum is surrounded by walking trails and was actually built on an old Native American village site. You can study the culture in the museum, and their general way of living. There's also a nice museum store filled with crafts that are reminiscent of those made 1000 years ago. For only $5 for adults, it can't be beat.

I went to this on a lark while other family members went to the Belz museum. I took my 6 yr old son. For a small museum, it was very well done. The exhibits were incredibly informative. Several of the graduate students from the U of Memphis program were present. They were incredibly friendly and willing to provide information or assistance. The building is small. The museum is small. The admission price is small also, which is good.

The museum was within 15-20 minutes from downtown. It was definitely worth a look.

Not impressed. There was a strong smell in the air that the lady in the gift shop said was due to the sewage processing plant nearby. The museum looks like it hasn't been updated in a very long time but does a good job explaining the history of the area and people. It's dirty. My daughter said when staff clean the building and bathrooms especially they should use soap. Once outside there's a poorly maintained walkway in a small area. The one replica dwelling was padlocked so we couldn't get in. You can walk to the platform where a structure used to be but now you see chemical plants from there. There are trails into the surrounding woods but they may or may not be good. There were so many flying insects that they kept hitting my face and getting in my daughters hair. We left soon after we arrived. Really was a big disappointment. I won't be back and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. There are other small museums that focus on indigenous populations in the surrounding area that are much better.