Siamese Twins Museum: Ready for the spotlight

A crowd of guests assembled in downtown Mount Airy on Monday morning for the grand opening of the Siamese Twins Museum dedicated to two of Mount Airy’s most famous residents Eng and Chang Bunker.

Surry Arts Council Executive Director Tanya Jones, a Bunker descendant herself, welcomed local elected and civic leaders, including North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, to take a tour with her of the new museum featuring a bronze of the twins, authentic items owned by the family, and several interactive touchscreen stations so people can learn the history of the twins.

Jones said not every commonly held notion is correct. “Just because something was in print over and over does not make it fact.”

After years of effort and collaboration with scholars, the Thai government, and the Bunker descendants the Siamese Twins Museum is ready to receive guests. After the dignitaries left, Jones sauntered over and said hello to Isaiah and Bill Senter who were the first two paying customers of the new museum.

Jones is happy the museum is open and said the exhibits will be forever “evolving” as they seek out even more artifacts.

The Bunker family is having its reunion soon and she said they are anticipating having a few new items to put on display at that time.

Find more information on the grand opening of the Siamese Twins Museum in Wednesday’s print edition of The Mount Airy News.