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National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC; through August 13.
"Raiding and trading was the story of the day," sums up Elisabeth Ward, exhibit coordinator of Vikings-The North Atlantic Saga, in discussing life during the Viking era, which spans from 793 AD (the date of the first recorded Viking raid) to the 1200s.
Vikings are enjoying a renaissance because of the 1,000-year anniversary of their arrival in North America. People are ready to take old Viking myths and find new information and put meat on the bones," says Ward. The exhibit's goal, she declares, is to "show that this was a time of movement and change. There were trans- atlantic trips that were very dangerous."
The true story of the Vikings comes alive in this informative blockbuster show, which details Leif Eriksson's journey to North America almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus ventured to the New World. Vikings features replicas of the famous Viking ships and a trove of artifacts (many on public view for the first time) discovered in New foundland and offering evidence of a Vikings presence in the area Leif Eriksson called "Vinland." The exhibit, which cost some $4 million and is sponsored by the Nordic Council, Volvo, and the White House Millennium Council, includes a "Saga Theater" where visitors can watch a multimedia production that traces Leif Eriksson's journey to North America.
"'Leif landed first' is a button I have on my desk," says Ward. "Leif Eriksson has been disregarded by history since the Vikings did not set up permanent settlements in North America."
"This exhibit is important," she explains, "because it gives Americans a longer perspective of history, Scandinavians were not isolated. The Vikings opened up the North American world to Europeans. They were curious people who loved exploration and innovation."
The exhibition focuses on the transitional point in history that was the Viking world at the beginning of the last millennium. "The year...