Experience history up close! Our guided tours bring the past to life – from the imperial era to progressive education and the GDR classroom. Whether you are a group of children, a school class or adults, we offer age-appropriate concepts that encourage participation and convey knowledge in a vivid way.
Please note: Regardless of the language selection on our website, the guided tours are conducted exclusively in German or English.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: This tour is designed for pre-school children, but can also be used in Year 1.
We travel on an imaginary train through the eras of 20th century school history. The focus is on trying out various exhibits typical of the respective era. For example, in the imperial era classroom, the children try out slate boards, while in the GDR classroom, they share a record player and unpack their school bags. The exhibition room dedicated to the Nazi era is mentioned in a child-friendly manner, but is not part of the tour for preschoolers.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: This tour is designed for first-year pupils.
Using exhibits, we engage in dialogue with the children and compare today’s traditions for starting school with those of the past. We compare school bags, talk about their design and contents today and in the past, and discuss the change in the time of year when children start school (from Easter to the end of summer). School supplies also offer a good point of comparison and are explained.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: This tour is designed for fourth-grade pupils.
In our classroom from around 1900, the teacher holds a school lesson with everything that goes with it: sitting upright, praying together and speaking in complete sentences. The pupils have the opportunity to try their hand at using a stylus and slate, and particular emphasis is placed on writing beautifully in German cursive. After our joint lesson, we look at punishments such as caning and demonstrate them symbolically, as they were part of everyday school life at that time.
Info:
This guided tour is fully booked until April 2026.
Secure your tour date from May 2026 onwards now.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: This tour is designed for pupils from Year 8 onwards and can be adapted for all higher year groups, including adults.
In our classroom from around 1900, the teacher holds a school lesson with everything that goes with it: sitting upright, praying together and speaking in complete sentences. The pupils have the opportunity to try their hand at using a stylus and slate, and special emphasis is placed on beautiful writing in German cursive. After our joint lesson, we look at punishments such as caning and demonstrate them symbolically, as they were part of everyday school life at that time.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: This tour is designed for pupils from Year 3 onwards and can be adapted for all higher year groups, including adults.
We will write letters in German cursive (Sütterlin or similar) using historical styluses and quills. In the process, we will learn about different quills from different eras. At the end, the pupils will be able to write their own first names in this old script.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: The ‘Adam Ries’ maths lesson is aimed at pupils from Year 3 onwards and can be adapted for all higher grades – right up to adults.
In the Middle Ages – 500 years ago – there were no calculators. The master mathematician Adam Ries calculated using abacus beads ‘on the lines’. We can see this in his famous arithmetic books. In an exciting arithmetic lesson, we immerse ourselves in the Middle Ages and playfully calculate simple tasks with an abacus and counting beads. The abacus — one of the oldest known calculating aids — is the best tool for calculating.
Duration: 1.5 hours (90 minutes)
Content: The overview tour is aimed at pupils from the fifth grade onwards and can be adapted for all higher grades — right up to adults.
We take you on a journey through time — through the history of schooling from the beginning of the German Empire to the reunification of Germany. A special focus is placed on developments in Dresden, which our building has witnessed as a silent witness to history. Not only will you gain insight into the historical classrooms, but you can also choose other thematic focuses, e.g. a sequence from imperial-era lessons. Please mention this when registering.
