2_9_ScanMag_74_March_2015_Text_Q9_Scan Magazine 1 09/03/2015 23:12 Page 43
Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Culture in Sweden
based on the facts, characteristics and lifestyles we’ve been able to determine through research and discoveries. It makes for a great and entertaining learning experience.” Another thing that makes The Swedish History Museum a special all-round experience is the thought process a visit provokes and the reflections it awakens. “It is quite easy to make the connection between modern life and the stories that we present to our visitors, for instance through existential issues and recognition,” Nyman explains. An important part of the experience is the discussions between visitors after a tour. The Museum’s restaurant and café are always buzzing with people debating and talking about what they’ve experienced and learned. People are stunned by the likeness in societies and life-controlling elements, like money and governance, there is between how prehistoric people went about their lives, and how we live today. “They are pretty awesome realisations for anyone who is open to them,” Nyman adds.
RIGHT:The Stockholm exhibition prides itself on displaying over 4,000 different objects.
ous languages is available. During the summer months, Viking-themed family activities are held in one of the museum’s courtyards. Visitors are here offered to try out things such as archery, bread-making, rune stone fortune telling and much, much more.
something magical about the objects in the exhibition,” Nyman concludes. “The exclusive and original discoveries in combination with the research, presentation and dedication of the staff, makes Vikings and our other exhibitions something people will never forget.”
A success saga tours the world In 2012 Vikings started touring the world with a version of the Stockholm success saga. Now the touring exhibition has got a twin, and together they have attracted over 600,000 visitors worldwide. “The international interest in Vikings stems from the myths surrounding them,” says Nyman. “The permanent exhibition in Stockholm is the biggest Viking exhibition in the world, with over 4,000 objects on display, but the touring ones are not small either.” Covering around 1,000 square metres each, the touring Viking exhibitions – right now visiting Chicago, USA and Schallaburg, Austria – are displaying roughly 500 original items in both locations. But the touring exhibitions aren’t the only ones attracting an international crowd. Roughly 55 per cent of the Viking visitors in Stockholm are international. The exhibition therefore caters to the needs of non-Swedish speakers. Everything down to the smallest of signs is translated into English, and equipment for tours in vari-
There really is no reason not to spend a day in the Viking’s footsteps at the Swedish History Museum. “There is
For more information, please visit: www.historiska.se/home
Children dressed as Vikings during the popular Viking Summers, offering exciting experiences and activities for young and old. Photo: Jonas Berggren
Issue 74 | March 2015 | 43