Swedish American Museum

5211 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60640

Museums

You don?t have to be Swedish to visit Chicago?s Swedish-American Museum! The Museum has something for everyone?an art gallery, immigration exhibit, children?s museum, genealogy center, and a gift shop featuring a beautiful selection of handcrafted Scandinavian gifts. Established in 1976, the Swedish American Museum is a bustling center of Swedish art, history, and culture. A full program of exhibits, programs, and events keeps the building humming with activity seven days a week. The Museum is located in Andersonville, Chicago?s historically Swedish neighborhood, which is now a mosaic of multiethnic shops and restaurants. The Museum?s main exhibit, The Dream of America: Swedish Immigration to Chicago, displays hundreds of artifacts, pictures, and descriptions of the mass immigration of Swedes to the Chicago area beginning in the late 1800s. Visitors learn about the struggles of these early immigrants and see how they forged new lives in their new land. Youngsters will love the Brunk Children?s Museum of Immigration, a hands-on, interactive journey through history for ages 3 to 12. Donning costumes, children churn butter, milk a cow, and gather eggs on the 19th century Swedish farm. Then they pack an immigrant?s trunk and board a steamer for the New World. On arriving in America, they move into a pioneer log cabin home and begin their life in the new country. At the Nordic Family Genealogy Center, visitors can trace their roots and research their Swedish ancestry with the assistance of trained volunteers. The Museum?s first-floor gallery features special exhibits of folk art, paintings, sculpture, textiles, and glassware created by contemporary Swedish and Swedish-American artists and craftsmen. Before leaving the Museum, visitors will want to stop in the Kerstin Andersson Museum Store where they?ll find linens, jewelry, kitchen utensils, glassware, and a wide selection of fiction, biographies, cookbooks, and children?s books and toys.

Visit Website

Phone: (773) 728-8111
Address: 5211 N. Clark St.,
Chicago, IL 60640
Get directions
Email Address: museum@samac.org

Images

How to find us?

Back to Listings

What's happening nearby...

Chicago Air and Water Show

Aug 16 – Aug 17

The Chicago Air and Water Show presented by the City of Chicago is the largest free show of its kind in the United States. The show…

Chicago Jazz Festival

Millennium Park • Aug 28 – Aug 31

Known for its artistic creativity, the Chicago Jazz Festival promotes awareness and appreciation for all forms of jazz through free, quality live musical performance.

Taste of Chicago - Grant Park

Grant Park • Sep 05 – Sep 07 @ 11AM

Taste of Chicago has been a summer staple for more than 40 years. This year, the annual foodie extravaganza will bring both neighborhood pop-up events and…

You might also be interested...

Under the Picasso

Chicago

A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum

Chicago

A fascinating complement to the Pullman National Monument, this Chicago museum celebrates the inspiring history of Black labor in the United States, highlighting the contributions of…

DuSable Museum of African American History

Chicago

DuSable Museum of African American History celebrates Black culture, history, and achievements through engaging exhibits, educational programs, and community events in Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood.

Search the middle of everything...

Helpful Links

About Enjoy Illinois

Enjoy Illinois Inspiration Guide

Things To Do

Places To Go in Illinois

Plan Your Trip

Accessibility in Illinois

Swedish American Museum

Images

How to find us?