October has been a landmark month of progress on the new Nordic Museum! The streetscape work is in progress, and zinc siding on the Museum's exterior is almost complete.

We'd like to take some time in this newsletter to highlight the ways in which the new Museum is Nordic. It's more than just design; we've also made a concerted effort to make sure the Museum's interior and exterior feature Nordic products. The white siding on the exterior of the Museum is Cembonit, manufactured in Denmark; the insulation is by Roxul and the pumps come from Grundfos, both Danish companies; the two elevators come from KONE, a Finnish company; and the interior of the building features light fixtures by Danish lighting manufacturer Louis Poulson.

The building is also the product of the community. We're lucky to have a number of local suppliers and organizations helping us with the construction and move process. Read on to find out more about our important community supporters, and learn about ways you can contribute to the mission.

As we've transitioned into fall, work on the new Museum has progressed substantially. The exterior windows and zinc siding are nearing completion, and the sidewalk and streetscape work is now . We have added a number of brand-new drone videos of the work to our YouTube channel, which I urge you to watch!

In terms of the Capital Campaign, I'm pleased to report that we will be ordering the first round of plaques early in the new year! Our sincerest thanks to everyone who has supported the Museum with a plaque so far, and if you haven't, don't worry—there's still plenty of time to make a donation.

In other Campaign news, I'd like to express our appreciation for the generous estate gift left to us by the late Chris Siddons. She and her husband, Will, were longtime Museum supporters and volunteers. You can find out more about Chris, and our plaque program, in this post's Campaign Update section.

The last month's progress on the new Museum has been truly transformational. The contractors have been making substantial headway on the building, and I'm delighted to report that the project is still on schedule, on budget, and on track to be sealed before the rain comes.

The new Museum's official ribbon cutting is just eight months away, on May 5, 2018. I've spent a large portion of the past month planning it and the Museum's other Grand Opening celebrations, which will take place onsite and throughout the city. We've been working hard with the five Nordic embassies and the Nordic Council of Ministers to ensure the opening will be a noteworthy occasion—so stay tuned for more news on that front.

On the campaign side, we have excellent news! We've received some exciting major commitments and gifts from Synnøve Fielding and Robert LeRoy; Egon and Laina Molbak; Martha Kongsgaard and Peter Goldman; Floyd Jones; and Jane Isakson Lea. Our sincerest thanks go out to them—and to all our donors, without whom this project would not be possible.

It's hard to imagine, but it's been one year since we broke ground on the new Nordic Museum. The building's development over the past year has been inspiring to watch. We've reached some impressive construction milestones and have started planning for our May 2018 Grand Opening. I'd like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the supporters, who have invested their time, effort, and capital into this project.

To honor your commitment to the new Museum, we decided to launch this series. It will include important, regular updates about the new building's construction and campaign progress. From up-to-date construction footage to behind-the-scenes looks into our exhibit installations to the plans for the Grand Opening — when it comes to the New Nordic, you'll be the first to know.

While the Museum celebrates Norwegian Constitution Day at home in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, I'm fortunate enough to be observing the holiday in Oslo.