The Centre for Danish Educational History is a digital museum and a centre of knowledge, where everyone can learn more about the cultural heritage of schools in Denmark. The teacher can find inspiration for lesson plans in the teaching materials for primary and secondary school. The researcher can dig into the largest collection of digitized wall charts in Europe. The curious can explore the digital exhibitions. And everybody can freely explore our digital universe – as Danish Educational History is for everyone.
The Centre for Danish Educational History conveys research-based knowledge about the cultural heritage of education to a broad audience, preserves the material heritage and makes it digitally accessible. The collections consist of digitized and photographed objects and archival records from the former Danish School Museum and from the collections at AU library, Emdrup.
In 2008, The Danish School Museum was closed and the collection stored away in containers. The owner of the collection, The Ministry of Education, requested that the DPU and the Danish Pedagogical Library (now AU library, Emdrup) take responsibility for the collection. The collection had originally been part of the library, but was separated in 1995. The library took responsibility for the collection and tried to find a solution in collaboration with DPU.
The solution came in 2016. With generous funding from the A.P. Møller Foundation, an examination of the collection could begin. The National Museum of Denmark was in charge of the project and as the work progressed, objects from the collection were distributed to interested museums all over the country. This examination was begun and completed in 2016, ending in September of that year.
Some of the objects were handed-over to DPU and AU Library, Emdrup – including a large collection of wall charts. To keep the new collection alive, Skolehistorie.au.dk was established in 2017 – a digital platform for the dissemination of the history of schools and education.
The project group consists of four employees who handle the digitization, conservation and dissemination of the collection. They are in charge of the ongoing development and maintenance of databases, websites, collaborations and new initiatives, while ensuring the quality of the knowledge and research that is being conveyed to the outside world.
The project has emerged out of a collaboration between AU Library, Emdrup, DPU and the Ministry of Education, and is supported by the A. P. Møller Foundation.