Stavanger Museum facts for kids
The Stavanger Museum is a cool place in the city of Stavanger, Norway. It opened way back in 1877. This museum teaches you all about nature and history. It has different parts, like one for animals (zoology) and another for cultural history. It even looks after a special old house called Ledaal, which is used by the royal family!
The museum is actually made up of several smaller museums. These include the Stavanger Museum of Natural History, the Stavanger Maritime Museum, the Norwegian Children's Museum, the Norwegian Printing Museum, the Stavanger School Museum, the Stavanger Art Museum, and the Norwegian Canning Museum.
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History of the Museum
Stavanger Museum started in 1877 in a small wooden house in Gamle Stavanger, which means Old Stavanger. It got its very own building in 1893. This building was designed by an architect named Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff. Over the years, the building was made bigger in 1930 and again in 1964. It was also updated in 1995 to make it modern and safe.
The museum bought Ledaal in 1936. This beautiful summer house was built around 1800 by the Kielland family. It opened as a royal residence in 1949. Another amazing old house, Breidablikk villa, was built in 1881-1882 for a rich merchant and ship owner named Lars Berentsen. This villa was designed by architect Henrik Nissen and is located in Eiganes, Stavanger. It is very well-preserved.
Over time, different parts of the museum became separate or joined up. For example, the archaeology part became its own museum in 1975. The Maritime Museum joined in 1979. The Graphical Museum, which is now the Norwegian Printing Museum, started in 1991 and became part of Stavanger Museum in 2006. The Children's Museum opened in 2000 and joined the museum in 2007. The school museum, which started in 1925, became part of Stavanger Museum in 2008.
Stavanger Museum of Natural History
This part of the museum used to be called the Department of Zoology. It was a very important part of the museum when it first started in 1877. Its job was to collect animals from the local area. It also collected "exotic" animals like mammals and birds that sailors and travelers brought back. Since 1918, this museum has focused on studying birds.
The museum also runs the Revtangen Ornithological Station. This station is in an area famous for its many different kinds of birds. Here, scientists tag or "ring" migratory birds every year. This helps them learn about bird movements. The bird ringing station started in 1937 and is still run by the museum today.
Stavanger Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum started in 1926. It became a part of Stavanger Museum in 1979. Until 1984, its exhibits were in the main museum building. Then, in 1985, they moved to historic buildings right by the port of Stavanger. These buildings are very old, from the 1770s to the 1840s.
The museum shows how shipping and fishing have changed over the last 200 years. It even owns and operates two old sailboats. One is called Anna af Sand from 1848, and the other is Wyvern from 1896.
Norwegian Children's Museum
The Norwegian Children's Museum, or Norsk Barnemuseum, started as its own group. It opened its doors to the public on November 24, 2001. You can find this fun museum in the Stavanger Cultural Centre.
Norwegian Printing Museum
The Norwegian Printing Museum, or Norsk Grafisk Museum, was created in 1991. Stavanger has always been a big center for printing in Norway. The museum is located in Bjergsted, Stavanger. It is housed in an old building that used to store canned goods, built in 1913. This building has been beautifully fixed up to look like it did originally. The museum officially opened on October 23, 1993.
Stavanger School Museum
The Stavanger School Museum, or Stavanger skolemuseum, used to be called the Vestlandske Skolemuseum. This museum is located in an old schoolhouse from the 1920s in Hillevåg. It opened in 1925. The museum tells the story of schools in the Rogaland area. Kids can even take part in role-playing and dress up in old school clothes to experience history!
Stavanger Art Museum
The Stavanger Art Museum, or Stavanger kunstmuseum, was once known as the Rogaland Museum of Fine Arts. This museum is located on the west side of a lake in Tjensvoll, Stavanger. It opened in 1991. The museum has a huge collection of over two thousand artworks. These include Norwegian and international art from the 1800s up to today.
A very important part of the collection is the work of Lars Hertervig. There are more than 70 of his watercolors and oil paintings. Other famous Norwegian artists from the 1800s and 1900s are also shown. These include Kitty Kielland, Edvard Munch, Christian Krogh, Eilif Petersen, Knut Baade, Olaf Lange, Carl Sundt-Hansen, and Harriet Backer.
Norwegian Canning Museum
The Norwegian Canning Museum, or Norsk Hermetikkmuseum, started in 1975. It is located in a preserved cannery in Gamle Stavanger, at Øvre Strandgate 88 and 90. The oldest parts of this building are from 1841. Canning production happened here from 1916 until the mid-1950s. The museum shows off the machines, tools, photos, labels, and old advertisements from the canning industry.
