This month’s Third Thursday Virtual Program explores the origins of modern Scandinavia. While many people draw a straight line from the Viking Age to the present, this perspective oversimplifies a much more complex history.
Please join us on Saturday, June 20th at 4 pm to hoist the maypole, dance in celebration, and eat smörgåstårta!
Admission to the event includes traditional folk music by the Last Chance duo, family activities, and full access to the Museum. Food and flower crowns will be available for purchase.
Tickets available in advance or at the gate:
Nonmember - $12
Member - $8
Children 5-12 - $5
Children Under 5 - Free
Pre-registration is closed. Tickets are still available at the door.
There are so many ways we can get from place to place! Explore different kinds of transportation as we learn about vehicles that go on land, in the air, and in the water through fun games, activities, and crafts.
June is a time of celebration in Sweden – and at this month’s Toddler Time! Join us as we read a story about Midsommar and learn some maypole dances. We’ll also celebrate Swedish National Day with some Swedish flag activities and a craft.
Join Fairmount Park Conservancy, the American Swedish Historical Museum, and local historian Thomas Keels, author of Sesqui! Greed, Graft, and the Forgotten World's Fair of 1926, for a lecture and walk focused on the history of South Philadelphia’s beloved FDR Park.
Straw craft has a long history in Sweden, Scandinavia, and northern Europe. Rooted in folk belief and the importance of the grain harvest in pre-industrial societies, the craft was in danger of being lost with the advent of industrialization. Thankfully, it has survived and continues to be rediscovered by new generations of practitioners.
Summer means spending time in nature, getting together with friends and family, and of course, putting on funny hats and bibs to eat crayfish! What, you have never tasted a crayfish or decorated your outdoor space with red crustaceans, paper lanterns, and sung a drinking song at the top of your lungs? Well, the Swedes would say you are missing out on one of the most enjoyable traditions of summer!
Please join us on the Museum’s stunning terrace overlooking FDR Park for a crayfish dinner on Friday, August 21st to experience our take on the Swedish crayfish tradition!
For this month's Third Thursday Virtual Program, go behind the scenes of our upcoming exhibit, From Taste to Tech: 100 Years of Nordic Innovation & Impact, and experience the story of Nordic influence in America through the eyes of ASHM's Curator, Brett Peters!
In honor of Philadelphia Histories Month, don’t miss guided tours of the American Swedish Historical Museum on this Free Second Sunday! The tours will highlight Swedish connections to the Philadelphia area from the New Sweden Colony (1638-1655) to naturalist Pehr Kalm’s expedition in the Delaware Valley (1748-1751) to feminist, author, and abolitionist Fredrika Bremer’s travels in the city (1849-51).
Tours will begin in the Museum Grand Hall at 11am and 1:30pm and will last approximately one hour.
What better place to celebrate Swedish National Day than the American Swedish Historical Museum!
Learn about the Museum's history through special guided tours of our A Century in the Making: 100 Years of ASHM exhibit at 11 am and 1pm, and enjoy a special Swedish summer cake throughout the day.
Tours and refreshments are included with regular admission.