Work is underway on a new outdoor campus for Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum.

Work has begun to transform Vesterheim's "Open Air Division" into "Vesterheim Heritage Park," an educational, interpretative, and public outdoor space.

Plans for the outdoor space include open spaces for outdoor dining, arts education, performances and exhibitions.  The area also will feature permeable pavement, soil quality restoration, a bio-retention area and native prairie plantings.  The pathways will be ADA-accessible and the landscape will incorporate many environmentally sensitive elements.

The primary contractor for the project is 2nd Nature Landscaping of Bloomington, Minnesota, with help from subcontractors which include Skyline Construction, Inc., Wicks Construction, Perry Novak Electric,and Stevenson Tree Care, all of Decorah.

This project has been made possible by a grant from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.

A virtual ground-breaking celebration for Vesterheim Heritage Park is planned for 1:00 p.m. Friday, May 29th.

Work on Heritage Park will continue through this summer and will be completed in the fall. Vesterheim is currently closed as a response to COVID-19.