Was it too good to be true? An enormous continent, open for settlement, with countless opportunities to get rich quick. A new world full of possibilities for a better life, where the family’s future could be secured.

It has been 200 years since the "first" emigration to America took place — a boat called Restauration carried 52 people from Stavanger to New York.

The year 1825 is therefore considered the modest beginning of emigration from Norway to America. Up until 1930, nearly 900,000 Norwegians followed the dream of a better life in America.

Many Norwegian settlers dreamed of owning land, of freedom, wealth — or even adventure. What kind of life did the immigrants from Norway imagine they would have in the U.S.? What did they actually encounter? And who bore the cost of their American dream?

These are some of the questions explored in the exhibition Gone West. Dreaming of a Better Life in America.