Norstead: A Viking Living History Attraction

We visited Norstead after we visited L'anse aux Meadows on a cold, blustery day. The weather was very much a factor in shaping how we felt about our experience there, so bear that in mind. Play this video to join in the nor'easter:

Likely due to the weather, there wasn't much "living" history going on other than a few ladies in the long house talking with visitors and knitting (oh, and a goat in a pen and hen and chick in a cage). Other than the goat and chickens, there were three major things at the site that were different from L'anse aux Meadows.

The first was that Norstead has a reconstructed Viking ship on site, a knarr, christened the Snorri. It was built in Maine and successfully sailed across the Atlantic in the path of Leif Eriksson in 1998. Unfortunately, the building it was in was mostly closed up and it was hard to see in the dark space. (The weather having made a turn for the worse, I left the Nikon camera in the car and just had my smartphone which does not take decent pictures inside dark buildings.) The story of the Snorri the Viking knarr, it's construction and voyage are available in print form. Building a Viking Ship in Maine and An Illustrated Viking Voyage: Retracing Leif Erikssons Journey in an Authentic Viking Knarr are both available through Amazon.



The second noticeable difference was that Norstead represents more of a complete village and as such had a church building on site among other things.

Chapel Exterior

Chapel Interior

Lastly, the fire in the longhouse was wood burning and, therefore, more realistic than L'anse aux Meadows where their fires were converted to propane a few years ago for safety reasons. Ironically, Norstead is where I learned that Norse women only lived up to age 35 due to respiratory issues associated with being indoors with woodsmoke for most of their daily chores. So, propane works for me! The woodsmoke apparently caused issues for the men as well, because both men and women sat upon benches and leaned against the wall to sleep.

So if your time is limited, I say go to L'anse aux Meadows. But if you are able to make a day of it as we did, visit one in the morning, have lunch at the Norseman Restaurant nearby, and then visit the second. That was our itinerary and it makes for a perfectly enthralling Viking adventure for a family.

Related articles

• I Want to Learn about Vikings (shannamama.blogspot.com)
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• A Viking Life at L'anse aux Meadows (shannamama.blogspot.com)

A Viking Life at L'anse aux Meadows

Viking longhouse taken on cold, blustery day

Earlier this year, we took some time to learn about Vikings and the explorations of Leif Ericson. It was during this time that I found out about L'anse aux Meadows and, off-handedly said, "Wouldn't it be neat to actually go there." From that moment on the idea grew into a tentative plan and, with the sale of our home, a plan that was put into action.

Since it was this place that inspired our long voyage north, last week we went to the very tip of the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland to visit L'anse aux Meadows and ended up visiting two days in a row. The first time was in the middle of a nor'easter which made the day very cold, windy and rainy. That being said, it somewhat added to the experience as we were able to fully appreciate the construction techniques of the long, low, sod and timber long house where folks in character-dress huddled around fires.

Character in authentic dress, knitting and surrounded by authentic items

The visitor center at L'anse aux Meadows was very informative and includes a 15-minute video that summaries the site well. From evidence found at the site, specialists have determined that L'anse aux Meadows served as a elaborate encampment - a base, from which further exploration into modern day New Brunswick took place.

Site of actual long house with visitor center in background

The site was also used by the indigenous populations long before and after thethat dotted the site  Vikings came and went. The Vikings would have been aware of this by the fire pits they found there among other things. During the film, an insightful theme was put forth: when the Vikings and the native peoples first met, probably on these shores, it was a reuniting of peoples that had long been separate. As the first humans migrated north from Africa, some set off west and some set off east, and at this place, the circle was made complete. A sculpture on site represents this theme: the meeting of two peoples completing a circle of migration.

An eagle and a dragon boat meet (visitor center in background)

Parks Canada has recreated authentic Viking buildings and outfitting them with numerous authentic reproductions such as weapons, clothing, food, looms, etc. Everything is interactive; there are no signs saying don't touch and the character staff will engage you in their activities.

Happy Vikings!

Serious Vikings!

A Norse loom

The long-house in the sunshine

The second day we visited, we were able to see how Vikings shaped bog iron into a nail. Jonah was conscripted as an apprentice for the task.

We also visited Norstead, a private establishment across the road. I'll post a bit about that later. If you have to choose between the two - L'anse aux Meadows is a must. We all enjoyed the archaeological, historical, and interpretive aspects of the park as well as it's natural beauty - there is a hiking trail on site that shouldn't be missed.

On the trail with reconstructed settlement in background

This place is awesome!

The significant of L'anse aux Meadows

Related articles

• Vikings came before Columbus (europeanmediacentre.wordpress.com)
• I Want to Learn about Vikings (shannamama.blogspot.com)
• Norstead: A Viking Living History Attraction (shannamama.blogspot.com)

I Want to Learn about Vikings

That's one thing about homeschooling I really like is hearing them tell me "I want to learn." We didn't have a trip to the library planned yesterday so I had to make due with what things I could find online.

I found several printables for them to color including a "Viking Princess" for Elisabeth (well, that's what I called it to keep her interested).

I found several boat making activities. My guys still don't handle scissors so well so mommy ends up doing most of the cutting. I printed off some things for them to color while I cut out and put together this Viking Longship Project that I found on the Navan Education Center's website in Ireland. After stapling the cardboard pieces together and adding a mast, I brought out the acrylic paint for the kids to paint. We added the sail and the dragons head and voila!

Jonah was very interested in learning more about how the Vikings discovered America. So at lunch, we watched a documentary called Vikings: Voyage to America about a modern day guy tracing the route of Eric the Red and his son Leif Ericson across the north Atlantic. This is where the geography lesson came in. We have a small globe and a good children's atlas so they can refer to them when we are learning about historical events.

There are lots of Viking related resources out there especially for older kids.  For Kindergarten you kind of have to sift through and find what suits your kid's skills and interests.

NOVA has a quite a bit of information out there as well as this neat interactive where you can see what your name would look like in Runes.

The BBC has a great interactive website on Vikings.


Related articles

• Cardboard and Duct Tape Viking Helmet (instructables.com)
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