The New Sweden Centre's activities are all education oriented and has two primary components. The first is Experience New Sweden and its living history program with top-caliber reenactors illustrating New Sweden Colony colonists from 1638, through the period of the American Revolution. The NSC outreach programs that have reached thousands of school children and others. We have also taken hands-on colonial games to various historical and cultural events and for school field trips.

Founded in 1987 as the Kalmar Nyckel Museum Institute, we were incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 1991. Initially we were first located at 823 East Seventh Street and in 1995 moved to Trinity Lutheran Church at 500 Concord Avenue. More recently, we were headquartered at The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation shipyard in Wilmington, before changing to our Museum Without Walls format.

The Board of Directors approved the name change to New Sweden Centre in 1998 to reflect the broadened scope of the collections, reflecting all of the Delaware Valley's colonial history and to avoid confusion with the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation. While the New Sweden Centre cooperates and work closely with the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, each is a separate organization.

In 1999, we launched our living history program with authentically dressed re-enactors portraying New Sweden citizens from all walks of life, including the Royal Governor Johan Printz, who for many years was portrayed by the late David Lewis.

During the summer of 2000, we were offered a row house opposite Holy Trinity "Old Swedes" Church, which had been the rectory, but had fallen into disrepair and needed a lot of restoration. Following countless volunteer hours, the New Sweden Centre had its opening reception on September 12, 2000. While it was nice to have our own building, unfortunately the row house layout of rooms made it difficult to guide group tours through the narrow structure.

In 2004, in cooperation with the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, we launched another living history unit, our Båtsmanskompani. Dressed in authentic reproductions of 17 th Swedish sailors, they crew the Little Key, an 18 foot shallop built years ago to promote the building of the Kalmar Nyckel. In 2006 we created still another unit, The Swedish Governor's Guards, a ceremonial unit.

No history of our organization would be complete without referencing our founder Malcolm L. Mackenzie, whose vision for the New Sweden Centre brought about its creation and continues to guide the current leadership.