What's New in Mississippi

E xciting things are happening in Mississippi. This Southern state is abuzz with energy over new attractions and tourism experiences, some of which opened late last year and others that are coming online this year or early in 2019. These and updated museums, plus a beach resort with a famous name, are giving groups new reasons to plan tours to the state.

In Jackson, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opened side by side in December and have already proven popular with visitors. The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience in Meridian pays tribute to many of the famous creators and entertainers from around the state, as well as the communities that shaped their voices. And the upcoming Catfish Row Museum in Vicksburg will tell stories of this river city’s unique history and culture.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast had several notable openings as well. In Biloxi, the new Margaritaville Resort is a coastal property full of Jimmy Buffett-inspired activities and dining options. And the Infinity Science Center in nearby Pearlington just debuted a $9.8 million overhaul complete with interactive exhibits.

courtesy MS Development Authority

DYNAMIC DUO

In Jackson, Mississippi’s capital city, a pair of museums opened in tandem in December, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum sit adjacent to each other in a 200,000-square-foot complex that was built with more than $107 million in public-private partnership funding.

The Museum of Mississippi history gives visitors a comprehensive look at the state’s past. Exhibits cover early Native American inhabitants, the slavery era, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Guests also learn about events that happened in the 20th century and even some of the forces shaping Mississippi today. These stories are all told through thousands of artifacts donated to the museum by people from around the state.

At the adjoining Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, seven galleries give visitors a closer look at the period between 1945 and 1976 to highlight the pivotal role that Mississippi played in the civil rights movement.

MDAH.MS.GOV

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE

What do Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Eudora Welty, Walter Anderson and Jimmy Buffett have in common? They all hail from Mississippi, a state that has made impressive contributions to America’s arts and entertainment culture. To honor these and other figures, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience opened in April in Meridian, a town in the east-central part of the state.

The museum has been in the works since 2001, though it officially broke ground in 2015. Organizers designed it to be an immersive experience that would not only introduce visitors to Mississippi stars but also give them a look at their heroes’ cultural influences, their early artistic works and even the creative processes they went through to craft their writing, music and other products.

The exhibits are just as much about Mississippi as they are its celebrities. Galleries highlight the physical landscape, the home life, the community support and the church culture that shaped the perspectives and work of Mississippi’s creative spirits.

WWW.MSARTS.ORG

MARGARITAVILLE ON THE COAST

Because beach music superstar Buffett is a Mississippi native, it’s only fitting that his Margaritaville brand should have a home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Last year saw the opening of the Margaritaville Resort, a 371-room, 23-story resort in Biloxi themed around the music and culture that made Buffett famous.

Though many people know Biloxi for its gaming properties, Margaritaville has no casino. Instead, the city was built with families in mind and features a wide variety of activities for people of all ages. A 55,000-square-foot indoor entertainment center features a 48-foot-high rock-climbing wall in the shape of a volcano, as well as ropes courses, golf simulators, bowling alleys and a “cloud coaster.” Outdoors, the pool complex features a 450-foot-long lazy river, a splash pad and other amenities.

Adult groups will find plenty of fun at the resort as well, including a variety of dining options themed around concepts from other popular Buffett songs. Favorites include the Landshark Bar and Grill, the 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar and Doe’s Eat Place.

WWW.MARGARITAVILLERESORTBILOXI.COM

SOUL OF VICKSBURG

It’s difficult to pin down the precise geographical boundaries of the fabled Mississippi Delta region, but author David Cohn once said that it begins at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and ends in Vicksburg on Catfish Row. With an opening planned for late 2018 or early 2019, the Catfish Row Museum hopes to capture some of the cultural heritage and diversity that makes this city a unique part of the Delta experience.

The museum is being constructed in a 1911 building on Catfish Row that has housed a factory, a car dealership and other businesses. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it was a club that hosted touring R&B acts. The museum organizers want to showcase these various elements of the city’s history and are planning to have a live-performance space in addition to the exhibit areas.

Groups that visit the museum will learn about the Mississippi River and how it has shaped the city, as well as various aspects of local history and culture.

WWW.CATFISHROWMUSEUM.ORG

DIVING DEEP

In Pearlington, a town on the Gulf Coast just across the border from Louisiana, the Infinity Science Center just unveiled a new $9.8 million overhaul that added several new immersive experiences for visitors.

Among the most popular of the new exhibits is Deep Ocean Explorer, an interactive simulator that lets visitors virtually dive into the depths of the Gulf of Mexico using joysticks and monitors to see dolphins, turtles and other sea life. A new 3D theater shows films about earth and space, and the Hurricane Prediction Lab allows visitors to try their hand at measuring atmospheric conditions and monitoring hurricanes in a digital environment. New outdoor features include a butterfly garden and a boardwalk through forests and wetlands.

The funding for the museum overhaul was provided by BP as part of its continuing efforts to help the Gulf Coast tourism community recover from the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

WWW.VISITINFINITY.COM