Nordic Heritage Museum
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 12:29PM 
We visited the Nordic Heritage Museum the other day, and we had a great time. It's in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, which has traditionally been home to a large Nordic population. Much of my ancestry can be traced back to Norway and Denmark, so I was eager to visit and learn more.
The museum is located in a charming, old, converted elementary school. It was much larger than I expected and there were a lot of hands on exhibits that kept my son interested. Much of the museum was like walking through parts of Nordic American history, with reproductions of various settings such as an ocean liner, Ellis Island, the tenement slums of NYC, and various homes, community buildings, and places of work- such as the fishing boats and logging camps that were typically found in Ballard around 100 years ago. On the top floor of the museum, each Nordic country had it's own section, so that people could learn about each of them individually.
My son was most impressed with the Lego exhibit, which I didn't get a good picture of, due to the glare on the glass. Lego is from Denmark, a fact that made Trent most proud, with him having a smidgen of Danish in him and all. He used to want to visit Legoland in San Diego. That was, until he found out that the original Legoland is in Denmark. Now he wants to go there instead, and he wants to work for them when he grows up. The picture below is the Lego town that he worked on yesterday. He currently takes a Lego engineering class after school once a week. This kid is serious about Legos. It's so fun as a parent to be able to watch and encourage the different passions and gifts our kids develop.
Reader Comments (4)
There are so many awesome cultural opportunities in the city -- how cool to have one nearby that is focused on your heritage.
Thank you Tara. Yes, the museum was fun. I've been on a bit of a bit of a rabbit trail lately, with wanting to learn more about the Nordic countries. It was a t.v. show that ignited the interest......Lillehammer. ; )
Wow, that's one freaking huge Dala horse! I love that best, of course, along with the boat. A big boat inside is sort of creepy and magic all at once. What a fascinating place.
Kristen- I knew you'd like that Dala horse. ; ) It looks like something you'd make. Your beautiful felt creations are reminiscent of the designs that commonly occur in Nordic art.