Museum’s history
The Educational Museum is one of the oldest institutions of that kind in Serbia. It was founded in 1896, at the initiative of The Association of Serbian Teachers, and with the aim to collect and preserve teaching means and all other materials of historical value for primary schools and teachers. During more than one century of existence, several tens of thousands of textbooks, teaching aids, photographs and documents have been collected to testify about the work of Serbian schools from the beginning of 19th century up to the present time. In this period, the Museum changed its premises several times, and from 1969, it has been settled in the building of Belgrade modern school (Real school), built around 1840, a former house of Cvetko Rajović, the town governеr.
Dimitrije J. Putnikovic (1859-1910) teacher, textbook writer was the first manager of Museum. The ceremony of opening was held in the Elementary school building near the Orthodox Cathedral on 24 November 1896 (old Julius calendar) on the day of Jovan Gavrilovic`s births. At the beginning of the 20th century, they collected important materials for the history of Serbian schooling and education. Unfortunately, during the World War I the Museum was destroyed.
After the War, Museum was reconstructed in 1925. In the building of the Teacher’s Home, in three large rooms, they opened exhibition with objects, which were classified according to the topic. Its visitors, the pupils and the teachers could see the insect’s collections, zoological preparations, paintings, drawings, letters, and apparatus for science teaching, slide rules, pupils’ works and relief maps.
In World War II, the Museum was destroyed again. After War, in 1947, the Museum was reconstructed and was located within the Elementary School St. Sava. The Belgrade Town Assembly gave the many for its work, and today they still make possible its being.
The new concept of work and organization of the Museum is begun to exert after 1960, when The School Museum changes its name into The Educational Museum. Its works is divided in several sectors and the collections of Museum become richer. The Museum established relations with similar institutions in Zagreb and Ljubljana and together they publish the Collection for the History of Schooling and Education. The Museum was moved in building named Realka (Real school) and was opened permanent exhibition named Ten centuries of Serbian school, in 1975. The working conditions become much better and Museum started to become modem cultural institution.
Presently, the Museum collects the objects and documents, which are connected with the history of schooling, education and pedagogy in Serbia. We present the result of our research in permanent and occasional exhibitions as well as in catalogues and publications. In addition, we organize the lectures, the seminars, the workshops and other forms of cultural and educational events. In the first place, on the Permanent exhibition visitors can see original objects and documents, photographs and books, which related with the history of schools in Serbia from the nineteenth to the end of the 20 century.
The Educational Museum takes care of more than 50000 objects – books, photographs, teacher aids, documents and other material, which represents a treasury of information about the development of schooling and education in Serbia. Those materials are classified into the few collections: Collection of textbooks and pedagogic literature, Collection of school equipment and teaching aids, Collection of school documentation and media center and Collection of archive materials and documentations. The publishing activity of the Museum should also be mentioned. The edition includes publications dealing with development of the schooling in Serbia over a period of as long as ten centuries.