Tours of Geneva Viking ship offered Sept. 18
Saturday, Sept. 18, is the seventh of nine 2021 opportunities for the public to tour the Viking ship in Geneva, an artifact from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
The public is invited. The ship is located at Good Templar Park, 528 East Side Drive in Geneva. Parking is free.
Self-guided or docent-guided tours start at 1 p.m. Docents lead tours every 15 minutes until 3:30 p.m. Group tours are available by appointment.
Tours will also be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16-17, during Cottages in the Woods festival.
Through tours, visitors can learn about the ship's construction, crew, voyage from Norway to Chicago, local history and significance.
Admission is $7 for adults and free for children 17 and younger. Tickets are required and available at 1893vikingship.us/tours-of-viking/.
COVID-19-related social distancing and mask wearing are enforced.
Built in 1892, the ship was modeled after a vessel called the Gokstad that was estimated to have been built around 890. Made of black oak, the 78-ft-long ship set sail from Norway in April 1893, making stops in Newfoundland and New York, then passing through the Erie Canal and across the Great Lakes before arriving in Chicago in mid-July to be put on display at the World's Fair.
The ship is maintained by Friends of the Viking Ship, a St. Charles-based nonprofit that works for the preservation, public display and permanent home for the ship.
Call (630) 302-7338, e-mail viking1893@Gmail.com or visit vikingship.us for more information.