Learn

The learning activities of the museum take a trans-European viewpoint that explores the historical memories, diverse experiences and common ground of the peoples of Europe.

Book your visit

Plan a school visit

Guided visits

Guided visits for school groups focus on certain aspects of the permanent or temporary exhibition. Alternatively, a thematic guided tour entitled “The Pursuit of Democracy” is available, which is based on “active participation”, and delves deeper into the concept of democracy in Europe. Expect a tour that stimulates reflection and fosters exchanges between students about objects and related concepts. A group starts by looking closely at objects presented in the permanent exhibition, introducing and exploring ideas as a group, digging deeper into those ideas and synthesising them for the future.

Please note that guided visits and workshops can be offered in French, English, Dutch or German. The minimum time to book in advance is four weeks for a guided visit. Guided groups at the House of European History may have no more than thirty students, depending on availability, with one chaperone required for every fifteen students. For further advice, please read the document "Practical information for groups".

Self-guided visits

Students learn best when they find something out for themselves. The learning team of the House of European History developed two different activity kits based on a questioning approach. They pose questions that allow students to explore the stories and content of the museum in-depth.

Our activity sheets are designed for students from 12 to 18 years and are available in French, Dutch, English or German. They are available free of charge at the entrance of the museum. Mention the number of copies and the language you need when you make your reservation.

“Find, Analyse & Discuss” and "Learn about the EU in 12 steps" are designed for tours of the permanent exhibition of 90 minutes.

Self-guided visits of the House of European History may be done individually; each student will get a tablet to discover the content of the museum in one of 24 languages. The tablet includes a full tour of the permanent exhibition, plus three thematic tours on the Shoah, the History of Democracy, and the 19th century. Self-guided groups may have no more than thirty students, depending on availability, with one chaperone required for every fifteen students.

  • “Find, Analyse & Discuss”: this activity kit for the permanent exhibition actively encourage students to search, interrogate, and analyse history in an independent manner in small groups.  Accompanying guidance for teachers is available on the tablet.
  • “Learn about the EU in 12 steps”: Why do we need to learn about the European Union (EU)? For the students’ generation, what does the EU stand for? How would they like the EU to continue developing to be a better place? These questions are at the core of this trail, which uses historical documents and objects displayed in the various milestones of EU history.
  • To make the most of your visit, please read the document "Practical information for groups".

Teachers

The House of European History is a place for you and your students. It informs, challenges, reflects, but most of all allows the questioning and learning of history. A key element is an exploration and assessment of the influential role that history plays in our modern world. We organise teacher’s info sessions about the learning offer of the House of European History for groups of five or more.

"Our group of teacher trainees had a great time at the House of European History. The guided tour was appreciated by all our teacher trainees because we got a good overview of the didactic approach and of course the exhibition. Many fellows said that they consider coming back with school students when they eventually have graduated.”

Seminar Director, Germany

FAQs for teachers

Universities

Since 2017, the House of European History has organised a series of university programmes on design thinking, public history and social purposefulness on themes such as Memory, Colonialism and EU integration. The museum has also collaborated on community-led co-curation, with universities, of displays and exhibitions, and has co-designed programs of events and workshops.

For more information about our universities offer, get in touch via email:

Great and unique possibility to have these discussions in the museum in the European capital... You really analyse, work with materials and learn how to apply these critical theoretical concepts and translate them to direct reflections on what is actually happening in the field

Graduate Research Master Student, Historical Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen Madelief Feenstra

It was an extraordinary opportunity for our international group of students - who had not yet met before apart from online cooperation - to work together with you and your curators and educational experts during three highly intensive and inspiring days

Prof. Dr. Franziska Metzger, about the 3-day International Blended Learning Seminar for MA students from universities in NL, GE, PL, CH, FR

Families

Educational outreach

Are you a project, museum, organisation, association or educational network that wants to collaborate? Contact the Learning and Outreach Team of the House of European History via email.

The team specialises in projects and online link-ups with collaborating institutions and communities across Europe and focused outreach work with diverse groups in the museum’s immediate neighbourhood and region. Since the start in 2017, the team has collaborated with various groups, including youth organisations, educational networks and universities from all over Europe.

Museums can bring people together by promoting awareness and understanding of our shared and dividing memories. Outreach initiatives engage audiences and communities, increase visitor participation, and create meaningful experiences. Join the team in building a better future by connecting people with history!

Educational Outreach Program

Through the dedicated Educational Outreach Program, the Learning and Outreach Team strives to foster interest in the multiplicity of perspectives on European History and inspire the next generation of critical thinkers. Our team of educators is experienced in delivering interactive educational experiences, which utilise the museum’s content to create dynamic programmes for you and your educational network that align with educational standards.

The Educational Outreach Program is designed to extend the reach of our museum beyond its physical walls and create a forum for learning, reflection, and debate that is open to audiences from all generations and backgrounds.

We invite community organisations active in formal learning to explore our offerings and contact us today to learn more and schedule an enriching experience for your students or community.

Since 2017, we have partnered with international teachers’ networks such as EuroClio, eTwinning and the pedagogical team of the European Schools. We have developed teachers’ workshops for the European Parliament Ambassador School Programme, Your Europe, Your Say (the annual youth event of the European Economic and Social Committee), Together.eu and Europe Direct. In 2022, we joined The Special Committee on Remembrance Education (Bijzonder Comité voor Herinneringseducatie), and the advisory board of the Histolab.

We furthermore have educational partnerships with International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the USC Shoah Foundation to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education in Europe.

Tours 'outside the museum walls'

Our tours 'outside the museum walls' series provides free, thematic guided tours, uncovering hidden histories and significant places with a European dimension. Using mobile devices, citizens can follow in the footsteps of their predecessors on harrowing and uplifting journeys, combining the real-world plaques, doors and buildings of today with testimonial video clips, historical images and audio interviews.