The Danish School Museum has a history going back to 1876, closely connected to the modernization of the Danish society and to the professionalization of the school system with trained teachers and the use of textbooks and a still growing range of different kind of teaching material related to new subjects and new didactics focusing on the students individual learning.

With the purpose of making teachers familiar with these new development in Denmark as well as aboard a study collection was created in 1876 by 3 committed teachers, connected to the new Teachers Union. They travelled the country with books and items in suitcases met with pastors and teachers – and participated in international and national conferences.

Over the years, the collection grew, while its importance dwindled. Publishers found new ways of reaching out to teachers, educational consultants became mandatory in every county from 1933 onwards – and fewer and fewer teachers found time to visit the vast collections of Danish and international (especially German) educational literature. The collection became more and more historical, and in 1995 the educational studycenter was renamed at The Danish School Museum and relocated in a 5 story building in downtown Copenhagen. This arrangement did only last until 2008, when the main sponsor – The Danish Teachers Union and its insurance company pulled out – and the financial crisis ruled out state financial import.

For the next 8 years, the collection was packed down in ten containers with no public access. Thanks to a generous donation from a private foundation an opening and sorting and distribution of the many items became possible in 2016. Half a year later, the process was over. Regrettably few items – around 3000 out of 20.000 ended up at small and bigger museums, while the big collection of about 10.000 wall charts and two collections of maps and photos were integrated in the Royal Library. A new digital museum, based on these collections saw the light of day at the address skolehistorie.au.dk

In my paper I will discuss the issue about creating the cultural heritage of the Danish school system. What should be preserved, what should be collected, which stories should be told – what is the use and how to communicate with teachers and students – and a wider audience? And what could/or should be the connection between the research into history of education and the many small or bigger historical collections and school museums.

My paper will also have a practical dimension, since we are just about to publish a teaching material, divided by grades and ‘learning goals’ and we are in the planning of a digital exhibition of a selection of the many wall charts. I will relate our experiences to the use of digital tools at other (school) museums outside of Denmark. This part of the paper is based on conversations during an upcoming 18^th International Symposium for School Museums and Collections to be held in Copenhagen in July 2019.

History of education is not only texts - it is also cultural heritage. The Danish School museum existed between 1876 and 2008 and has now been replaced by a digital museum skolehistorie.au.dk The paper descripes the history of the museum with a focus on the past ten years and the digitalization of the collections. It is related to research into cultural heritage and to studies of museums in an age of digitalization. It raises the issue of defining and collecting the schools cultural heritage The paper also has a comparative component, based on the conversations at the 18th International symposium for School Museums and Collection

a) the collection policies varies between countries b) that digital exhibitions challenges complexity - but also facilitate communication with a wide audience c) that there is a need for an upgrading of the exhibitions at the many small school museums/collection - and that digital exhibitions can be a relatively easy way of reaching out to them

Ning de Coninck-Smith og Jens Bennedsen: Dansk Skolemuseum 2009 – 2017 - delvist genoplevet i erindringen, Uddannelseshistorie 2017, 130-138 skolehistorie.au.dk