We offer free educational tours in both Danish and English for primary and upper secondary school classes, higher preparatory school classes, as well as for institutions of higher education.
The tours take place Tuesday-Friday at 10AM and 1PM.
On this site, you will find all practical information about our educational tours, but please don’t hesitate to contact us, if you have any questions.
Select the tour, you are interested in and send a request on the date and time that suits you through our booking system.
When you arrive at the museum, report your arrival at the reception. Your teacher from the museum is meeting you in the cloakroom.
From the cloakroom, you continue to the museum's 2nd floor, where you are introduced to The David Collection and to the chosen theme. Classes/groups of more than 15 people are divided into two groups - each with a teacher from the museum. The tour takes place in the Islamic Collection on the 3rd and 4th floor and will take approx. 1.5 hours.
If you need help or have questions during your visit, please ask the museum guards, whom you’ll find at the entrance and in the museum's exhibitions. We look forward to welcoming you at the museum!
This tour gives you an exciting introduction to the impressive history of Islamic art, from the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the 19th century.
You’ll learn about the religious “prohibition against images” and the classical forms of decoration used in art. And you’ll see works of art in the countries from Spain to India where Islam dominated throughout the ages.
Teaching on all tours is conducted at the level of the pupils. Questions relevant to the area of focus of the classes/groups are most welcome, before, during, and after the visit.
This fascinating tour focuses on the Five Pillars of Islam, the importance of the Koran, and the “prohibition against images.” Parallels are drawn between Islam and Christianity. Other special themes will be included in this tour. The current theme is the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Teaching on all tours is conducted at the level of the pupils. Questions relevant to the area of focus of the classes/groups are most welcome, before, during, and after the visit.
Hear about the lively, narrative universe of Islamic miniature painting, filled with magical pictures. This tour focuses on the museum’s collection of miniature paintings – the largest on display anywhere in the world. You’ll hear about the artists, and about the stories their paintings tell.
Teaching on all tours is conducted at the level of the pupils. Questions relevant to the area of focus of the classes/groups are most welcome, before, during, and after the visit.
See the Arabic script’s many wonderful forms – found on everything from the earliest Korans to monumental wall decorations.This tour presents different types of art decorated with calligraphy and tells about the Arabic script, the artists who used it, and the history of the works of art.
Teaching on all tours is conducted at the level of the pupils. Questions relevant to the area of focus of the classes/groups are most welcome, before, during, and after the visit.
Hear about the dragon, the sphinx, the simurgh, and other fabulous creatures in the world of Islamic art. Countless mythical animals made their way into art that often had few images of living creatures. Hear stories about them and help find their hiding places on this treasure hunt.
Teaching on all tours is conducted at the level of the pupils. Questions relevant to the area of focus of the classes/groups are most welcome, before, during, and after the visit.
“The Magical Spinel” is a cartoon about the young art-history student Sigurd who works as a night watchman at the David Collection. One night, as he falls down the main staircase, something strange happens. He discovers that in a mysterious way, he is able to travel back in time to periods and places from which the museum’s works of art derive. This marks the beginning of a journey to find purpose, knowledge, and love. “The idea is to bring to life the works of art’s historical surroundings and at the same time make the adventure real and reality adventurous,” says the author, museum curator Peter Wandel.
The book can be bought at the museum store or our webshop and is highly recommended for educational purposes.
Read more about The Magical Spinel in the text from the exhibition about the graphic novel in 2020 here:
Some of the nice words schools and higher education have said about our educational tours:
Borupgaard Gymnasium: “Impressive wealth.” “I took my parents there afterwards.” “I had no idea that there was a place like the David Collection.”
Rygaards Skole: “We 8th graders just can’t stop talking about our trip to the David Collection.”
Langelinjeskolen: “Bilingual pupils were delighted that the guide could speak Arabic.” “Pupils in 6th grade found it different and very exciting, among other things because it is not like an ordinary museum.”
Bernadotteskolen: “Thank you so much for a very fine guided tour for 6.a. You were able to make history come alive and keep the children interested.”
Den Classenske Legatskole: “Our students say that you were good at talking to them and not above their level.”
University College UCC: “The students from Zahle were quite impressed. They clearly benefitted both academically and didactically.”
Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen: “Our students spoke very highly of the guided tour and the discussions we had.”
Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen: “Thank you so much for the visit and a very inspiring introduction, which both we teachers and students have talked a lot about ever since.”
French High School in Morocco: “I deeply wanted to send this message to thank the guides. We will without any doubt come back to the museum with pleasure.”
Islamology, Lund University: “Thank you very much for the fine guided tour yesterday. Our students had a very good experience and I also gained some new information that was valuable.”