What to do with an 8 hour layover in Oslo airport

In similar circumstances (but with less time to pass) we chose to visit Frogner Park to see the Vigeland sculptures:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/norway/articles/vigeland-humanity-in-the-world-s-largest-sculpture-park/

The park has a cafe and other things to see as well as the sculptures, and is a nice place to pass some time. We caught a cab from the stand at the airport and asked the driver to return to pick us up at a specified time. He did, of course (this is Norway).

but with 8 hours you probably have time to visit the ships museums, three all concentrated on one island, which may provide more to see (but indoors).

Thank you Lola for your recommendation. I apologize that I didn't think to mention that we had seen the park during a trip through Oslo back in the 70's. Probably because I'm older that I want to admit! :)

It was a super place to see - hard to believe one man did all the sculptures.

Thank you again. I was surprised to see such a quick response - you must have been just sitting there waiting for my question. I'll check out the ship museums you mentioned.
Bob

The Flytoget express train between OSL and Oslo S is a good alternative to a taxi at 180 NOK each way. A bit more expensive than a NSB train but faster given your layover schedule. The Flytoget runs every 10 minutes and takes about 20 minutes Oslo S to OSL.

A new (to me) feature is the travel guarantee: http://www.flytoget.no/flytoget_eng/Travel-information/Travel-guarantee

If the Airport Express Train arrives at Oslo Airport more than 30
minutes later than scheduled and if, as a consequence, you miss your
flight, we will cover the additional cost of booking onto the next
available flight.

That train is new since my last visit to Norway but looks like a good option for getting into Oslo. I cannot say what the overall travel time would be to the ship museums, but hopefully someone will know.

Of the three, our favorite was Fram, followed by the Viking ships ( actually a very close second, and only because we haveseen Viking ships at Roskilde in Denmark). The Thor Heyerdahl one was least interesting, although I loved reading his books as a child.

Here is a link to info on the Bygdøy ship museums:

http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/boroughs/bygdoy/

Bus 30 runs between Oslo S station and Bygdoy museums including the Fram (one of my favorites). Alternative way back is the ferry that runs between the dock near the Fram and City Hall/Aker Brugge complex. You could have a snack/meal at one of the many Aker Brugge restaurants/cafes before getting a tram back to Oslo S.

Another outdoor alternative to the Vigeand/Frogner Park is to take the T1 Metro up to Holmenkollen (scenic once you get above ground), visit the Ski Museum (and it ski jump tower view of the city), take a walk/hike in the woods surrounding the ski jump complex, have a snack at the Holmenkollen Restaurant just uphill of the T1 platform.

Lola & Edgar - thank you so much for your time and information. I really appreciate it. Now I have more things to figure out - but that's part of the fun of traveling. Bob