The Nordic Heritage Museum

I have been wanting to visit The Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle for ages. Although I personally have no Nordic heritage, I think their history is fascinating. (I may or may not also be in love with the idea of Vikings...) I dragged my roommate out of bed this morning, fueled her with coffee and a breakfast sandwich from a great little place called Neptune Coffee, and we were on our way.

The museum is located in a beautiful, old brick school building in the middle of the Ballard neighborhood. Naturally, the museum focuses on Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish immigrants, with a focus on those who ended up in Seattle.

The first think you see when you walk into the exhibit is this little guy. I have no idea what he is or why he is, but he has the Space Needle painted on him, so . . .

The museum starts off with Dream of America, an exhibit that takes you back to 19th-century Scandinavia which shows you what life was like in these countries. It includes life-like displayed, artifacts, and, my favorite, lots of informational plaques. It continued into an incredible exhibit of what the voyage was like, depending on your status in society. I decided rather quickly that I would have been rich had I been an immigrant. ;)  

The blue line is the amount of water given to a 3rd class passenger for the day, about three gallons. This was it for all of their drinking, bathing, and cooking needs. One thing I loved about this museum is the sassy comments, for instance, this little reminder:

We continued through the Ellis Island section where we squinted at copies of the ledgers they kept, revealing all sorts of personal details about each person who came through it's doors. Shortly after, we stepped into the "Urban Center", the politically correct way of saying "the slums". Not our thing, my roommate found a rat. 

This was a sobering part of our museum journey - so many of these people were leaving a life in search of a better one, "streets of gold" and all of that. What many ended up with was a life of grime and poverty. However, it wasn't like that for everyone. 

We then traveled to the prairies and the life that came from journeying across the county. There was a great map showing all of the trails, major Indian tribes (with a note of how dangerous they were), and a myriad of other not-quite politically correct stereotypes. I was thrilled to see a little black start marking home.

We then learned all about the logging and fishing industries, cool props and the sweet smell of freshly cut wood included. We were thrilled that the 4D experience didn't continue into the fishing exhibit. 

Once you hit the top of the building, there are mini exhibits for each of the five countries of origin, showcasing different aspects of their culture like clothing, hobbies, and lots of religious roles. They feature roles they had in society, the things they were known for then, and the current associations we have now. 

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they had viking legos and Kirsten (one awkward glass reflection is included in your admission to the museum).

 

The museum was really pretty cool, it featured the things that people care about. The social implications of immigrating to a new country, the unique hobbies and cultural priorities that made up each of these five people groups, and the implications of these people, in the US as a whole, but more specifically in Seattle. 

It's a quick little stop, but definitely was worth it. Museum 1/5 complete. :)