Folk Schools are places for adult education that do not grant any academic degrees but rather teach the student specific skills. Although they used to be more commonly found in Nordic countries like Germany or Switzerland, they have become increasingly popular in America. The concept originated from the Danish writer, poet, philosopher, and pastor N. F. S. Grundtvig (1783–1872).

Some 150 years later and folk schools across the United States and around the world are flourishing. On any given day you can find classes for adults on many different subjects such as herbalism, pottery, bucket making, blacksmithing, bead making, painting, bread making, tea making, fermenting, coppersmithing, broom making, folk dancing, and sled making. And it doesn’t end there, as many topics as you can think of, there are classes available somewhere.

At Palmer Folk School we hope to bring the art of Creative Adult Learning back to south-central Alaska with in-person classes in the art of blacksmithing, coppersmithing, cooking, baking, felting, and more. We also plan to offer free online classes on our facebook page. These will be as varied as our interests run, one week may be how to make homemade kites, and the next might be a teacher from the community sharing their technique for the best biscuit recipe. Please look at our classes page for the upcoming scheduled live or online courses.