A Sustainable Museum
Sustainability is a natural part of our work at The Viking Museum and we constantly strive to make eco-friendly choices throughout the entire operation.
Materials
Most of our exhibition is built from scratch by our exhibition producer and artist, Stefan Alexis, and it is mostly made from recycled, natural materials and painted with eco-friendly paint. He has, among other things, used sawed-off branches and logs from the Royal Djurgården Administration and repurposed them throughout the exhibition. The exhibition parts about archeology and Constantinople are created from materials found in nature on Djurgården and, above all, in our backyard.
We work with environmentally certified wood and instead of actual fires, we are using artificial fireplaces that run on water vapour and LED lights.
Our guides sew, mend, crochet and weave their own fabrics and clothes, which is not only a nice element to the visitor’s experience, but also ensures that the clothes are historically accurate and can be used for many years.
And of course, all electronics in the museum are powered by fossil-free electricity.
The Restaurant
Our restaurant Eld prioritizes organic and local produce, and always composes the menus according to season. We buy our beverages from local manufacturers and use the same delivery services as the other establishments on Djurgården, in order to minimize transportation.
The restaurant also aims to reduce food waste. At our Christmas dinners we served at the table instead of having a buffet, which reduced food waste by 75 %.
Instead of selling bottled water, we only serve water on tap – both still and sparkling.
Restaurant Eld is also in the process of developing a series of environmentally certified water bottles and reusable containers for takeaway. We are also going to remove our display fridges and install fridges with doors, in order to save electricity.
The Shop
The museum shop has from the start actively worked on finding items from artisanal producers, who focus on organic, locally produced, eco-friendly and responsibly manufactured products. For instance, one of our suppliers, Grävling, boils their own tar when making their soap and candles. Another, Alter Hedens, is based in the north of Sweden and makes homemade jam from hand-picked berries.
Several of our products are carefully chosen in order to support sustainable producers, who take social responsibility by delivering items that are manufactured with the aim of counteracting poverty and exclusion in developing countries. For instance, or felted toys and wool products are all made by hand using only soap, water and love. The company follows fair trade regulations and supports women in Nepal.
Our wooden toys are made from durable wood and completely without chemicals. They are not painted, instead the color is achieved by carefully using fire.
Social Sustainability
We continuously work on being inclusive and accessible to all kinds of groups. The museum collaborates with organizations such as SFI (Swedish For Immigrants), Kompis Sverige and Barn till Ensamma Mammor (Children of Single Moms). Refugees also have free admission at the museum.
The Viking Museum and Restaurant Eld arrange charity events where we invite our suppliers to contribute with food and giveaways. We have for instance collaborated with House of Ukraine Stockholm in organizing an evening for Ukrainian mothers and their children. We always encourage our staff to volunteer at these events.
History meets Future
In order to find balance in our interaction with nature, we must both preserve old ways of living and thinking, as well as being forward-thinking and renewing.
At The Viking Museum we believe in a future where old traditions, materials and knowledge are combined with innovative thinking and modern technology in order to meet society’s needs for long-term sustainability.
We always strive to be more sustainable and have several plans for making the museum even more eco-friendly in the future.
