Book a sauna at the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — On the morning after Christmas, Christine Bucher and Dave Joachim made one last holiday outing before dropping their 22-year-old son and all of his presents back to the city.

The Lehigh Valley family stripped down to their swimsuits and walked in to the near-freezing temperatures outside of the American Swedish Historical Museum in FDR Park. There, they found three wooden barrel-shaped saunas, part of the musuem’s new pop-up sauna exhibit.

Bucher didn’t know what to expect; but Joachim, a sauna enthusiast, was ready for the 45-minute sweat.

“I always found (saunas) beneficial — just sweating out whatever is built up,” said Joachim.

Ebba Sparre Sauna Collective is a pop-up sauna experience in partnership with the museum and Scout, the company behind the Bok building. The electric saunas, supplied and installed by BSaunas USA, officially opened for sweat sessions after Christmas and will run hot until March 29.

Folks can reserve one or all three for 30- to 90-minute sessions for parties of four to 12 adults. (Sorry kids, you must be at least 18 years old to schvitz.) Prices range from $100 to $600, depending on the number of barrels, the length of sessions and the day of booking. Inside the sauna barrels, electrically heated coals, set by the pop-up attendants, raise the temperatures up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Guests receive towels and water once they enter their sauna. A set of outdoor chairs sit next to each barrel, which are sanitized after every use, along with a shared lounge nearby.

When Lindsey Scannapieco, cofounder and managing partner at Scout, heard the museum’s newest exhibit was all about sauna culture, she jumped at the chance to collaborate on an experiential component.

The exhibit “Sauna is Life: Sauna Culture in Finland” explores the Finnish sauna tradition with objects, photos and videos. And the pop-up offers an opportunity for visitors to experience it firsthand, said curator Brett Peters.

“We were able to get a nonworking sauna on loan from Baltic Leisure, (a sauna store) in Oxford, Pennsylvania, for the exhibit,” he said. “But we really wanted there to be working saunas on site. We worked together (with Scout) to put three outside — it really gives people (a look at) why (saunas are) so important.”

Scout focuses on bringing activity to underutilized spaces, so the sauna project was a natural fit.

“We love historic narratives,” Scannapieco said. “And so this project, although it’s not development in the traditional sense, really does touch on a lot — like bringing people to the park in the middle of the winter.”

The pop-up’s name is inspired by Queen Christina of Sweden’s rumored lover Ebba Sqarre. Queen Village, in South Philadelphia, and Swedesboro, in New Jersey. are references to the queen, according to the pop-up’s website.

The pop-up is also a way for people to explore the museum, Scannapieco said. A sauna booking includes free admission to the exhibit inside.

“So many people are first-time visitors to the museum,” she said. “And then, afterward once you’re all warmed up, there’s some great pho and hot pot restaurants around here. You can make a little day of it.”

That’s exactly how Bucher persuaded Joachim and her son to venture out for a post-Christmas Day visit.

“As soon as (Joachim) saw the pop-up on the website, he’s was like, ‘yes, let’s do it,’” she said. “He loves the sauna.”

As someone who doesn’t like hot weather, she said the sauna experience took a while to warm up to. “It was a little bit like being in the subway in August.

“Getting out and going back in was the best part with the temperature change — maybe if it was colder outside, it might be more fun,” Bucher said on a 37-degree day.

Logistically, the experience was seamless, she said. An attendant escorts sauna guests through the process, from the designated changing room inside the museum to the barrels outside.

Scannapieco recommends stepping outside every 15 minutes to cool off and to stay hydrated throughout the session. There’s also an outdoor shower for folks to get the cold plunge experience.

But “there’s no right way to sauna — it’s all about your level of comfort,” she said.

“You think you’re never going to be able to stand outside in your bathing suit, but it’s actually really reinvigorating and energizing and just feels fantastic.”