There's so much to take in at Ballard's new Nordic Museum, it's hard to know where to begin. Housed on the corner of 28th Avenue NW and NW Market Street, it's apparent this is going to be a much different experience than the former museum housed in an old elementary school.
"Everything's changing. We want to change with it, but we want to continue to tell stories," said Nordic Museum Deputy Director of External Affairs Jan Woldseth Colbrese. "Our story in the old museum was from about 1880 to 1920, mainly the immigration story. But here the story goes all the way back in time, starting when the ice recedes in the Nordic country."
And to tell those older and newer stories, they needed more space, more materials, and more money. So the museum branched out hoping to add to the 80,000 artifacts on hand. Working with Washington state and other museums in all five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), they began building a bond, sharing the story of Ballard's rich history.
In order to secure long-term loans of native artifacts, the museum itself needed an upgrade; temperature controlled rooms and more security. The fjord fee of contemporary Nordic architecture is nothing short of spectacular.
"Our exhibition space is to Smithsonian standard so we can bring, as a gift to the community, objects that we couldn't have in that old school house," said Colbrese.
Founded in 1980 as the Nordic Heritage Museum, the goal was preserving the rich culture of the fishermen and woodsmen who helped to build Ballard into what it is today. And with much of that fishing village feel making way for more modern housing, the museum's job is more important than ever.
"This is critical to preserve that history of Ballard," she said.
But this goes beyond preserving. This is about storytelling. The museum takes you back to the stone age, walks you through medieval times with contents of a 10th century Viking grave, and sails into the new world fighting through two world wars and into the present day.
There's an interpretive center, bridges to carry you from Norway to North America, and a massive video monitor of the Nordic landscape that will seduce you. It's sure to have you checking your family tree just to feel a part of it.
"This is an international attraction," said Colbrese.
