On April 24 - 26 The American-Scandinavian Foundation will host a tribute to the Norwegian sailor and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl at Scandinavia House in New York. The tribute includes a premiere screening of "Hunt for Odin" and the 5-film "Kon-Tiki Man" series as well as a symposium with Heyerdahl's son, Thor Heyerdahl, Jr., and members of Heyerdahl's famous ocean expeditions.

The American-Scandinavian Foundation celebrates the career of the great Norwegian
anthropologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002). In 1947 Heyerdahl's
daring 4,300-mile voyage across the Pacific in the balsa wood raft "Kon-Tiki" proved
that the earliest inhabitants of Polynesia could have come from South America and
made him an international hero. He continued to challenge accepted academic
theories throughout his life, sailing across the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean in
reed boats. A best-sell

Symposium: Frontiers of History: Thor Heyerdahl, 20th-Century Explorer
Friday, April 25
$16 per person per session ($12 American-Scandinavian Foundation members)
Reservations and pre-payment required; call (212) 847-9724.

Session I (9:30 - 11:45): On Board the Expeditions

Thor Heyerdahl, Jr., Board Member, The Thor Heyerdahl Research Center
"In and Out of My Father's Footsteps"

Dr. J. Bj?rnar Storfjell, Chief Executive and Archaeologist, The Thor Heyerdahl
Research Centre, and participant in the 2001 Odin exhibition "From the Footsteps of
Adam to the Footsteps of Odin: A Walk with Thor Heyerdahl"

Norman Baker, Navigator, Radioman, Second-in-Command on the voyagers of the Ra, Ra II, and Tigris expeditions

Lunch Break (11:45 - 1:00)

Session II (1:00 - 3:30): Thor Heyerdahl's Legacy

Maja Bauge, Director, The Kon-Tiki Museum
"Heyerdahl: The Literary Record"

Daniel Sandweiss, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Quaternary & Climate
Studies and Associate Director, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine
"Explorations with Thor: Tucume, Cuba, and FERCO"

Panel discussion with all participants

Thor Heyerdahl Film Festival
Thursday, April 24 and Saturday, April 26

Thursday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.
The Hunt for Odean (Premiere!)
6:30 p.m., introduced by Thor Heyerdahl, Jr. and J. Bj?rnar Storfjell, who accompanied
Heyerdahl on his last great expedition! Followed by a reception.
$25 ($20 American-Scandinavian Foundation members)

Could the Norse god Odin have been a real historical figure? In 2001, Thor Heyerdahl set off for southern Russia-an expedition that was to be his last- to discover the historical truths behind centuries of myth and legend. This documentary tells the compelling story of a dynamic and determined explorer proving once again that we must look beyond accepted theories to find the truth.

Saturday, April 26, 1:30 - 7:30 p.m.
The Kon-Tikiman Series (5 films, 55 minutes each)
$8 (entire day); $6 American-Scandinavian Foundation members

These five films chronicle the remarkable odyssey of Thor Heyerdahl, the 20th
century's greatest adventurer, as he crosses three oceans on primitive rafts in an
attempt to discover the truth about the earliest human migrations across the oceans. Filmed on location in some of the most remote and mysterious places on earth, the
five episodes include original footage from all of Heyerdahl's expeditions, from his
harrowing voyage aboard the raft "Kon-Tiki" in 1947 to his trip to Tucume, Peru
decades later.

A Ticket to Paradise, 1:30 pm
Heyerdahl's early life and quest to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the
Pacific: how the Polynesian Islands were first populated.

The Enchanted Islands, 2:30 p.m.
The Easter Island expeditions and excavation of its vast stone statues.

Reeds in the Wind, 4:00 p.m.
The building of "Ra" and "Ra II" and subsequent sailing from Morocco under the flag of
the United Nations.

The Cradle of Culture, 5:00 p.m.
Heyerdahl's investigation of the ancient civilizations along the Nile, Tigris, and
Indus Rivers.

Before the Beginning, 6:00 p.m.
Continuing his search for a better understanding of human history, Heyerdahl explores
the early navigation of the Indian Ocean.

Call (212) 879-9779 or visit www.scandinaviahouse.org for program information.