Burlingame: Museum of Pez Memorabilia – Pezheads Unite!

If you’re a Pezhead or just have a penchant for candy, you’ll want to visit the Museum of Pez Memorabilia, the only place in the world where you can see every Pez dispenser ever made – over 500 of them. Located in Burlingame, just 5 minutes south of the San Francisco Airport, the Pez Museum is filled with an amazing assortment of the imaginative dispensers that pump out little bricks of candy. It’s not an extravagant place, just a small, two-room gift shop/museum with trove of treasures relating to Pez.

Rare Elvis Presley Pez dispensers at the Pez Museum of Memorabilia

Eduard Haas, an Austrian inventor, first began making Pez in 1927. The original candy bricks were peppermint and marketed to adults as a breath mint and alternative to smoking. Pez, from the German word for peppermint (Pfefferminz), was sold in small tins at the time. It wasn’t until 1952, when the candy maker started marketing the product to children in the United States, that the familiar character heads were added to the tops of the dispenser. Fruit flavors were created to appeal to children’s tastes and the company had a winning product on its hands. Today, over 3 billion Pez candies are consumed each year in the USA alone. Current trends dictate which new character dispensers are introduced. Along with past favorites such as Snow White, Batman, Hello Kitty, and Pink Panther, collecting them has become a hobby for many. Pez dispensers have even appeared in movies such as Stand By Me and The Client and the TV comedy hit, Seinfeld.

World's biggest Pez dispensing machine

In addition to the miscellaneous Pez memorabilia, Pez dispensers and current and classic toys for purchase at the museum shop, you’ll find the world’s biggest Pez dispensing machine. Standing at 7’10”, it weighs 85 pounds and is over 20 times the size of a normal Pez dispenser. It actually works, with the flip of its head, pumping out a clear plastic capsule that can hold 6,480 Pez candies or a standard size Pez dispenser. 

Each Thursday, admission to the Museum of Pez Memorabilia and the neighboring Classic Toy Museum is free.

More Information: Museum of Pez Memorabilia

214 California Drive, Burlingame, CA, 94010

Phone: 650-347-2301

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10am-6pm (closed Sun, Mon & major holidays)

Admission: Adults: $3.00 Children 4-12: $1.00 Seniors: $1.00

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