Family Birch Bark Baskets
Sat, Jul 26
|Nordic Northwest
Create a birch bark basket and explore the rich Nordic tradition behind this ancient, versatile material. All supplies included!
Time & Location
Jul 26, 2025, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Nordic Northwest, 8800 SW Oleson Rd, Portland, OR 97223, USA
About
Cost
Nordic Northwest Members: $25
General Admission: $30
Youth (12 & under): $15
Please note, all sales are final
Come explore the treasured folkcraft of Nordic birch bark weaving, create your own birch bark basket, and learn about the amazing birch tree!
Nordic cultures have woven with birch bark for thousands of years, along with many other cultures across the globe. Use of birch bark for basketry, building, tar, and oils goes back to prehistoric times, and birch bark objects have been found in Viking burial sites.
Birch bark is fantastically strong and flexible, and is naturally water repellant, antifungal, and repellant to insects! No wonder it’s been such a popular material for millennia to make everything from food containers, to canoes, to even shoes!
Do you know why the birch tree is so important in the video game Minecraft? Join us as we talk about this and other interesting facts about birch in Nordic culture, look at examples, and then weave our very own small basket!
All materials will be provided, along with step by step instruction. Students will leave with a completed birch bark basket, and a new appreciation for one of the world’s most amazing trees!
This is a multi-generational activity! An adult guardian is required for children under the age of 18. Adult guardians do not have to purchase a ticket if they only plan to assist their children in the craft. Adults who plan to make their own craft are required to purchase a ticket.