Site Visit. Vesterheim. Cultural museums and what they mean.

Every time I visit a new historical site or museum, I struggle with how to evaluate it for this blog. What criteria should be used to measure what it does? If I am evaluating it for interpretive merit, is it trying to be an interpretive site or simply a place to learn or showcase? If it is a place to learn and showcase, is it fair to evaluate its interpretive merits? This month I visited Vesterheim; The National Norwegian-American Museum and Heritage center in Decorah, Iowa, with my little family. Norwegian blood does not flow through my veins, so far as I know, but they do through my wife and it was her suggestion to visit. It was important to her because it was about her heritage; I was the outsider. So I thought this would be an excellent opportunity not only for a blog post but also to evaluate a cultural museum as someone who is outside of that culture.

Decorah has a reputation as a "Norwegian" town in Iowa; the way the Pella is associated with the

Activity: prop and environmental interaction inside of the

"Old World" Norwegian exhibit

Dutch and the Amana colonies with the Germans. It included several building examples of old Norway as well as of Norwegian-Americans, including homes and businesses like mills. While interesting, we did not visit these sites. We came at the end of several exhibits that were just finishing up so this evaluation will be a dated one, but I think will still hold true for general observations of the static displays. The museum building was probably a warehouse of sorts before being put to its present use as there were several heavy doors that sat in tracks. We examined the gallery of textiles from an exhibit before going into the museum's static displays. Photos were welcome but needed to have the flash off (I used the low light feature on my camera to take some of the photos and it looks like the quality of the photo decreased with it).

Activity: making "Rømmegrøt Tvare" and "Lefse" with 

children. Zero calories, no mess.

First was a display on Norwegian food as it was in olden days to more modern times and into the modern contemporary age of today. Along with food were the materials used to prepare, use, and store food and how these things have changed. There was a nearby trunk that had costumes that resembled characters from Disney's "Frozen" animated film. The intention was to wear the costumes and take photos with the life sized cardboard cut-outs placed randomly through the museum. Vesterheim was one of the resources that apparently Disney Studios used to find and create props for the film. Soon came traditional dress and how it was different from region to region. There was also a house that could be explored that gave an example of what life was like in the times right before immigration to America. Viking presence here was expressed in the arts and motifs used to harken unto the olden days in terms of style and cultural identity but the museum seemed to have a very definite time period from where Norway began immigrating to the New World. Exploring the creaking house gave a sense of "Old World-ness" that the immigrants left. The next large room described the crossing. In it was the TradeWind, the actual 25 ft long ship that carried two amateur sailor brothers to America in 1933. Along the way, there were several things for children to do and interact with the museum. For example, there were bunks and mattresses in replica sizes that they could climb in to understand how much room each family had to sleep on such long oceanic voyages to America. 

The TradeWind is the smallest known sailboat to have crossed the Atlantic without assistance. It was sailed by two brothers, Harald and Hans Hamran.

Climbing up the stairs brought the visitor to what life was like in America. A cabin of a Norwegian

An example of a Mangletre board - a decretive
ironing tool often given as a wedding or
engagement gift. The handle is usually a horse
(upper portion of the board in the picture).

family that eventually settled in Decorah was on display and was supposed to give a contrast to the home downstairs. One of the highlights of the Norwegian culture is its craftiness in regards to woodworking, silver, and textiles. Beyond the Life in America segment were rooms showcasing wood crafts, particularly furniture, and a room on silver crafting beyond that. Descriptions do not truly do the workmanship involved in making these items and there are only so many photos that can be put on this blog. Therefore, it would be best to see it for yourself. Downstairs in the basement described Norwegian newspapers and cultural impact on American culture. This included church art from Norway and in America. A rather inventive idea for simultaneously displaying large items and items that are also in storage and are too big or odd to go in any one kind of exhibit is also in the downstairs and had examples of benches, desks, chairs, and a high-chair potty combo that my wife and I appreciated if only for the novelty. There was an exhibit on US military service during the American Civil War and the Second World War that described the efforts of Norwegian Americans. Overall, it was a great visit.

Gear used by the 99th Infantry Battalion

(Seperate) for use in field operations in Norway

in support of sabotage and liberation efforts

in WWII. 

Did the Vesterheim museum "explore the diversity of American immigration through the lens of the Norwegian-American  experience and highlight the best in Norwegian folk and fine arts"? I believe so. It had a simple immigration story (Life in the Old World, the Crossing, and Life in America) and meanwhile provided examples of Norwegian and Norwegian-American folk and fine arts. As an outsider (non-Norwegian American, but married to one) was this something that I could enjoy and appreciate? Yes, it was and worth my time. Would the kids like it? My son is too young to participate in the activities that were placed around the museum in the exhibits but my wife and I tried a few of them and I think that children would be interested in the provided activities. What were the interpretive opportunities? This is a museum that has a fairly involved schedule of folk classes and events and get a lot of support from the community. That means to me that Vesterheim has meaning to the community in that it helps give meaning to Norwegian American community. In the exhibits, especially for the activity centers for children, the question was generally asked,"What would YOU have done?" and "What if YOU were in this situation, what would you think/do/feel?" There was no guided tour but probably could have used one. However, some of the interactive exhibits like the houses were small and a large group would be difficult to maneuver around them.

I decided to not wear an Olaf costume.

Maybe next time.

The Vesterheim museum engages both the young and adults through activities related to the exhibitions and by tapping into the larger American culture (such as 'Frozen') to help make the connections between old and new and what they already know. The primary focus of the museum seems to be on adults through craftsmanship and the immigrant's narrative. Teens might have a hard time with this museum as a result. The Vesterheim museum nevertheless is an excellent visit and worthwhile for people, even if they are not Norwegian in their heritage, because it speaks to the visitor as an immigrant rather than exclusively a "Norwegian-only" cultural heritage museum that can be similar to other immigrant stories throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. If you are Norwegian in heritage, than this museum should be especially meaningful to you.