Storytime in the Prairie
2025-07-18 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-08 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Detroit) | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Stories will be read by the Elk Horn Public Librarian. There will be snacks and activities to match each monthly theme. Held in collaboration with the Elk Horn Public Library.

Theme TBD.

Ceramics Camp
2025-07-19 09:00 - 15:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Unleash Your Inner Potter: A Danish Ceramics Inspired Camp!

Immerse yourself in the art of ceramics and the elegance of Danish design in our exciting Ceramics Camp! This hands-on experience offers a unique blend of cultural exploration and creative expression, perfect for budding artists – Grades 4th – 8th

What awaits you:

A Journey Through Danish Ceramics: Begin your artistic adventure with a Curator Led tour of our Danish Ceramics Exhibition (Danish Ceramics – Beyond Blue and White). Campers will experience the elegance of Royal Copenhagen’s blue lace and learn about other influential Danish ceramic artists and their techniques, sparking a creative vision for the campers.

Master the Wheel: Get your hands muddy with dedicated Pottery Wheel Practice Our instructors will guide campers through the fundamental techniques of centering, opening, pulling walls, and shaping clay on the potter’s wheel.

The Magic of the Kiln: Witness the transformative power of fire! You’ll learn about the Kiln Firing process as the camper’s creations are carefully fired to achieve durability and permanence. Understand the different stages of firing and the exciting changes that occur within the kiln.

Air Dry Clay & Danish Design: Explore your creativity further with Air Dry Clay. You’ll learn various hand-building techniques to create a variety of fun and decorative pieces. The focus will be on developing painting designs directly influenced by the aesthetics of Danish Ceramics.

Expert Guidance: Our passionate and knowledgeable instructors will provide personalized guidance and support throughout the camp, ensuring a fun and enriching learning environment.

All Materials Included: We provide all the necessary clay, tools, glazes (for fired pieces), paints, and firing services. Just bring your enthusiasm and creativity! Lunch Provided.

Members receive a discounted rate. Click here to become a member.

Register Here

This camp is sponsored by “The Shelby County Community Foundation.” To learn more about sponsorship click here.

Contact – Anna Thomas M.A.Youth and Community Educatoranna.thomas@danishmuseum.org712.764.7001

Throwback Thorsday Progressive Dinner
2025-07-24 16:30 - 19:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Join us for three Danish courses in three Elk Horn locations!

1st course: Mini smørrebrød and beverages at the Museum of Danish America from 4:30-6pm.

2nd course: Frikadeller, rødkål, whipped potatoes, and agurkesalat at the Norse Horse from 5-7pm.

3rd course: Kringle Man Danish layer cake cups at the Danish windmill from 5:30-7pm.

Call MoDA at 712.764.7001 or the Norse Horse at 712.764.6646 to reserve. Reservations are required by July 21. Pay $20 to the Norse Horse on July 21.

The Kringle Man will be open from 7am-7pm on July 24.

Lay of(f) the Land Closes
2025-07-31 08:00 - 17:00 | IA
The final day to see Lay of(f) the Land: Nordic Narratives before the pieces return to Scandinavia!

Cancelled - Yoga in the Prairie
2025-08-09 10:00 - 11:00 | Jens Jensen Prairie Landscape Park, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, Iowa, 51531, United States
Due to the weather, yoga in the prairie is cancelled. View other yoga classes offered by Katie Sandquist here.

SPARK! Birds of America
2025-08-12 10:00 - 11:30 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
In this month’s SPARK! program, we’ll draw inspiration from John James Audubon’s Birds of America and create our own abstract bird artworks!

SPARK! is cultural programming that fosters connection & encourages lifelong learning. Programs feature interactive exhibit experiences, and all programs begin with a coffee social and snacks.

This program is sponsored by The Andersen and Andersen-Lopez families of New York and Connecticut.

The Art of the Danish Book Opens
2025-08-16 08:00 - 17:00 | IA
See the new exhibition, The Art of the Danish Book, in the Main Floor Gallery at MoDA!

Kaffe og Kringle - Thoughts on Living Danishly with former MoDA Intern Mads Madsen Henriksen
2025-08-19 15:00 - 16:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Join us for a Kaffe og Kringle with former MoDA intern Mads Madsen Henriksen on August 19 at 3 pm. Mads will discuss Denmark’s economic, environmental, political, and educational landscape, highlighting what makes the country unique. Mads also will share his thoughts on what it’s like to live Danishly as a young person.

Brown Bag Lunch
2025-08-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
The Brown Bag Lunch Series is a free monthly speaker series sponsored by Dennis Andersen.

SPARK! Back to School
2025-09-09 10:00 - 11:30 | IA
For this month’s SPARK! program, we will page through local yearbooks while reminiscing about our favorite school memories. We’ll capture these moments by taking some “Yearbook” photos with a Polaroid camera.

SPARK! is cultural programming that fosters connection & encourages lifelong learning. Programs feature interactive exhibit experiences, and all programs begin with a coffee social and snacks.

This program is sponsored by The Andersen and Andersen-Lopez families of New York and Connecticut.

Nordia House Meet-Up with MoDA
2025-09-11 17:00 - 19:30 | Nordia House, 8800 SW Oleson Rd, Portland, Oregon, 97223, United States
The Museum of Danish America cordially invites Nordia House members, area Danes, and friends of Danish culture to a delightful Danish meet-up! Enjoy drinks and appetizers with MoDA board members at Nordia House on Thursday, September 11 from 5 – 7:30 pm!

Schedule:– 5 pm: Drinks and appetizers hosted by MoDA board members/room hosted by Nordia House member, Nils Jensen– 6 pm: Tova Brandt, MoDA Executive Director, will give a brief talk about the museum– 6:30 – 7:30 pm: Enjoy connecting with area Danes in celebration of our shared history

We are looking forward to a wonderful evening of camaraderie and celebration of our shared heritage. Thank you for your support and collaboration!

Space is limited; please register to attend.

Register

This event is made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Nils Jensen, Erik Andersen, Philip Lund, and Tonya Knudsen-Robson.

Songs from the Kingdom of Denmark: Anita Lerche featuring Claire Pendleton
2025-09-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Luther Memorial Church, 1201 Grandview Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50316, United States
Experience the rich musical heritage of Denmark in an enchanting evening with internationally renowned soprano Anita Lerche and pianist and composer Claire Pendleton. This special performance will take place at Luther Memorial Church, 1201 Grandview Ave, Des Moines, IA 50316, on Saturday, September 13 at 6 pm.

The concert will feature beloved Danish folk songs and classic works by poets such as Grundtvig, Ingemann, Blicher, and H.C. Andersen, offering a heartfelt tribute to the spirit of Denmark through music, language, and emotion.

Admission is free, and a free-will offering will be collected during the concert. A reception will follow in the Lykke Center, offering time to connect and celebrate.

Let the melodies transport you to the heart of Denmark. If you can’t attend in person, you can stream and watch concert highlights from Songs from the Kingdom of Denmark on YouTube.

Due to limited capacity, please register for free HERE and include the number of attendees in your group.

This event is sponsored by Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Denmark, Lynette Skow Rasmussen and Mr. Kurt Rasmussen, Danish Brotherhood Lodge #15, Danish Sisterhood Lodge #102, and the Museum of Danish America.

MoDA @ The Library
2025-09-15 01:00 - 16:00 | Elk Horn Public Library, 2027 Washington St, Elk Horn, iowa, 51531, United States
This program is a collaboration between the Elk Horn Public Library and the Museum of Danish America. Join our Youth and Community Educator in a presentation of our Danish Immigration Experience – Traveling Trunk Program.

Brown Bag Lunch - "The Danish Windmill's Danish History, 1846–1975,” with Shaun Sayres.
2025-09-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Many know the windmill’s story in Elk Horn, Iowa—but what about its earlier history?

Bring your lunch to the museum on Thursday, September 18, at 12 pm for a special program, “The Danish Windmill’s Danish History, 1846–1975,” with the Danish Windmill’s Manager, Shaun Sayres.

The Brown Bag Lunch Series is a free monthly speaker series sponsored by Dennis Andersen

SPARK! Álfablót
2025-10-14 10:00 - 11:30 | IA
Álfablót is an ancient Nordic celebration in which one honors their ancestors. For this month’s SPARK! program, we’ll explore the history of this celebration and similar traditions from around the world, decorate pumpkins, and drink apple cider.

SPARK! is cultural programming that fosters connection & encourages lifelong learning. Programs feature interactive exhibit experiences, and all programs begin with a coffee social and snacks.

This program is sponsored by The Andersen and Andersen-Lopez families of New York and Connecticut.

Museum Board of Directors Meeting | Elk Horn, IA
2025-10-16 08:00 - 2025-10-18 17:00 | IA

Brown Bag Lunch - "Beyond the Veil: Victorian Funeral Practices" Presented by Anna Thomas
2025-10-16 12:00 - 13:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Step back in time with our Youth and Community Educator, Anna Thomas, to the Victorian Era (1820-1914). In this presentation, you will learn about the shift in attitudes toward death and mourning with popular topics such as post-mortem death photography, the rural cemetery movement, tombstone symbolism, grave robbers, Victorian mourning clothing, and much more.

The Brown Bag Lunch Series is a free monthly speaker series sponsored by Dennis Andersen

MoDA @ The Library
2025-11-10 13:00 - 16:00 | Elk Horn Public Library, 2027 Washington St, Elk Horn, iowa, 51531, United States
This program is a collaboration between the Elk Horn Public Library and the Museum of Danish America. Join our Youth and Community Educator lead a lesson on the “Art of Writing Letters.” Kids will have the opportunity to write letters to a loved one or a Veteran.

SPARK! Honoring Our Military
2025-11-11 10:00 - 11:30 | IA
This month’s SPARK! program will explore periods of war in both America and Denmark. MoDA’s Registrar, David Anderson, will showcase items from our collection related to military service as we discuss their historical significance.

SPARK! is cultural programming that fosters connection & encourages lifelong learning. Programs feature interactive exhibit experiences, and all programs begin with a coffee social and snacks.

This program is sponsored by The Andersen and Andersen-Lopez families of New York and Connecticut.

Brown Bag Lunch - Danish Author Pernille Ipsen, Book Discussion "My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement"
2025-11-20 12:00 - 13:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
Please join MoDA in welcoming Danish author Pernille Ipsen as we discuss her newly translated book “My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women’s Movement”. This event will be a discussion with the author about her book led by author Anna Redsand. There will also be time for Q & A from the audience.

Seven women raise a child together while redefining their place in society at the beginning of the Women’s Movement in Denmark in the 1970sOn New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen in 1972, seven women had a child together: one gave birth and six others attended. They had met a year earlier at a feminist women’s camp on a small island and now, with about twenty other women’s liberationists, they occupied three dilapidated apartment buildings in the center of Copenhagen. One became the country’s first Women’s House, the nerve center of the Women’s Movement in Denmark, and the other two were women-only communal living spaces that were Pernille Ipsen’s first home. In this intimate portrait of life during the exhilarating early days of women’s liberation in Scandinavia and dramatic social change around the globe, she tells the stories of these seven women, her seven mothers.

Recounting her mothers’ history—from the passions and beliefs they shared to the political divisions over sexual identity that ultimately split them apart—Ipsen captures the individuality of each of her mothers as well as the common experiences that drew them together. As she deftly reflects the practical and emotional realities of her mothers’ women-centered life, Ipsen presents an engrossing picture of intersecting lives that, half a century ago, raised questions we still grapple with today: What is a family? Who is a woman? And who gets to decide?

A chronicle of gender, sexuality, and feminism as it was constructed, contested, and lived, My Seven Mothers is an eye-opening account of the challenges and possibilities connected with liberation and radical social change during the 1970s. In this time of fierce struggles over family, sexuality, and child-rearing, it reminds us that new worlds are always possible.

Can’t make it to this event? We will have a second opportunity also on the 20th, at 6:00 pm in Des Moines at Barnes & Noble on University Ave.

The Brown Bag Lunch Series is a free monthly speaker series sponsored by Dennis Andersen

Des Moines Book Discussion with Danish Author Pernille Ipsen, "My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women's Movement"
2025-11-20 18:00 - 20:00 | Barnes & Noble, 4550 University Avenue, West Des Moines, IA, 50266, United States
Please join MoDA in welcoming Danish author Pernille Ipsen as we discuss her newly translated book My Seven Mothers: Making a Family in the Danish Women’s Movement. This event will be a discussion with the author about her book led by author Anna Redsand. There will also be time for Q & A from the audience.

Seven women raise a child together while redefining their place in society at the beginning of the Women’s Movement in Denmark in the 1970sOn New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen in 1972, seven women had a child together: one gave birth and six others attended. They had met a year earlier at a feminist women’s camp on a small island and now, with about twenty other women’s liberationists, they occupied three dilapidated apartment buildings in the center of Copenhagen. One became the country’s first Women’s House, the nerve center of the Women’s Movement in Denmark, and the other two were women-only communal living spaces that were Pernille Ipsen’s first home. In this intimate portrait of life during the exhilarating early days of women’s liberation in Scandinavia and dramatic social change around the globe, she tells the stories of these seven women, her seven mothers.

Recounting her mothers’ history—from the passions and beliefs they shared to the political divisions over sexual identity that ultimately split them apart—Ipsen captures the individuality of each of her mothers as well as the common experiences that drew them together. As she deftly reflects the practical and emotional realities of her mothers’ women-centered life, Ipsen presents an engrossing picture of intersecting lives that, half a century ago, raised questions we still grapple with today: What is a family? Who is a woman? And who gets to decide?

A chronicle of gender, sexuality, and feminism as it was constructed, contested, and lived, My Seven Mothers is an eye-opening account of the challenges and possibilities connected with liberation and radical social change during the 1970s. In this time of fierce struggles over family, sexuality, and child-rearing, it reminds us that new worlds are always possible.

There is no requirement to RSVP for this free event, but you will help us know how many people to expect by registering here.

Julefest 2025
2025-11-28 - 2025-11-29 | IA
Julefest is an annual celebration held in the Danish Villages of Elk Horn & Kimballton on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving. Both communities will be festively decorated for Christmas, and many local businesses and organizations offer activities.

At the museum, we invite you to enjoy the current exhibitions, live piano music, cookies, crafts, seasonal drinks, and festive decorations in the museum’s “hyggelig julestue” on Friday and Saturday. Visit our Design Store, stocked with gifts for the entire family: beautiful jewelry, décor, Danish spreads and treats, and of course, the Annual Keepsake Ornament and Christmas Cards.

The museum’s Genealogy & Education Center on Main Street will be open from 10 am – 4 pm on Friday & Saturday.

Visit Bedstemor’s House on Friday or Saturday afternoon from 1 – 4 pm.

Admission during Julefest is FREE!View the 2025 Julefest schedule here!

MoDA @ The Library
2025-12-08 01:00 - 16:00 | Elk Horn Public Library, 2027 Washington St, Elk Horn, iowa, 51531, United States
This program is a collaboration between the Elk Horn Public Library and the Museum of Danish America. Join our Youth and Community Educator as we watch a holiday movie and partake in Holiday Hygge crafts.

SPARK! Holiday Hygge
2025-12-09 10:00 - 11:30 | IA
For December’s SPARK! Program, we will make no-sew scarves and sip hot cocoa.

SPARK! is cultural programming that fosters connection & encourages lifelong learning. Programs feature interactive exhibit experiences, and all programs begin with a coffee social and snacks.

This program is sponsored by The Andersen and Andersen-Lopez families of New York and Connecticut.

Brown Bag Lunch - Holiday Hygge
2025-12-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
The Brown Bag Lunch Series is a free monthly speaker series sponsored by Dennis Andersen

MoDA @ the Library
2026-01-12 13:00 - 16:00 | Elk Horn Public Library, 2027 Washington St, Elk Horn, iowa, 51531, United States
Introduce young readers to the beloved world of author and illustrator Jan Brett, known for her richly detailed artwork and classic stories inspired by Nordic folklore and traditions. Participants will explore one of Brett’s children’s books through guided reading and discussion, then take part in a hands-on craft by creating their own no-sew scarf—a cozy keepsake inspired by the stories.

This family-friendly activity encourages creativity, literacy, and imaginative play, making it a perfect experience for children and caregivers to enjoy together.

This program is a collaboration between the Elk Horn Public Library and the Museum of Danish America.

Nordic Vikings: Myth vs Reality
2026-01-21 18:30 - 20:00 | German-American Society, 3717 S. 120th St., Omaha, Nebraska, 68144, United States
Vikings are everywhere in the Nordic countries—and not just in museums behind glass. You’ll spot them in street names, café décor, local legends, and especially in Nordic countries like Iceland, Denmark, and Norway, where the medieval past still feels weirdly… present.

Adam Bierstedt, Albert Ravenholt Curator of Danish-American Culture, will be joining the Travel & Culture Group in Omaha to provide a lively history of the Vikings and the sagas that tell their stories. Interwoven with this event will be stories from Adam’s time living in Iceland and Denmark, accompanied by a couple objects from his and MoDA’s collections.

This talk is a lively, story-filled look at how Viking history shows up in modern Scandinavia—and why the Vikings remain ridiculously fascinating: bold explorers, master shipbuilders, traders, storytellers, and yes… occasional problem-solvers via axe.

Organized by the Travel and Culture Group in Omaha.

MoDA after Dark
2026-01-22 16:00 - 20:00, 2026-01-29 16:00 - 20:00 | Museum of Danish America, 2212 Washington Street, Elk Horn, IA, 51531, United States
MoDA will extend its hours to be open until 8 pm every Thursday night. Look forward to evening programs, events, and relaxed opportunities to explore the museum. See you after dark!
