Országos Pedagógiai Könyvtár és Múzeum

About the museum

The predecessor of the institution was the Országos Tanszermúzeum (National Teaching Aids Museum), founded in 1877 on the initiative of Gönczy Pál to equip elementary schools with teaching aids. Its collection consisted of material from the 1873 Vienna World Exhibition and of donations, and included teaching aids from abroad as well as from Hungary. In 1906 a pedagogical library opened alongside it, but the dual institution ceased to exist in 1922 and then again in 1933. The library was relaunched in 1958 as the Országos Pedagógiai Könyvtár (National Pedagogical Library), and in 1968 a museum department was created within it; since then it has operated as the Országos Pedagógiai Könyvtár és Múzeum.

Today the museum, which operates as an institution of the Oktatási Hivatal (Education Office), is a pedagogical museum with a nationwide collecting remit: it stages school-history exhibitions and temporary displays, and organises museum education sessions and city walks. The building housing it was designed by Kőrössy Albert for the Tisztviselőtelepi Főgimnázium (grammar school of the Tisztviselőtelep district); the school moved in in 1911, and its two-storey, H-plan building with its crenellated parapets has been a listed monument since 1977. The permanent exhibition “Orbis Pictus – Szemléltetés az iskolákban” (Illustration in Schools) traces the history of visual teaching aids, from the physical apparatus of the 18th-century University of Nagyszombat to multimedia presentations at the end of the 20th century.

Highlights

• Orbis Pictus – the history of visual teaching from the 18th to the late 20th century
• Optical devices: laterna magica, zoetrope, kaleidoscope, Edison phonograph and Bell telephone
• The listed “Tündérkastély” (Fairy Castle) building designed by Kőrössy Albert
• Museum education sessions and walks through the Tisztviselőtelep district
• National pedagogical specialist library in the building

Permanent exhibition

• Orbis Pictus – Szemléltetés az iskolákban – The exhibition on the history of school visual aids, from the physical apparatus of the 18th-century University of Nagyszombat to late 20th-century multimedia presentations, with optical devices, a phonograph, a telephone and experiments visitors can try.

Operated by

Oktatási Hivatal

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On the first Saturday of every month, those under 26 and children under 18 accompanied by two close relatives may visit the permanent exhibition free of charge.

Children under 6, people aged 70 and over, people with disabilities with one companion, teachers, holders of an ICOM card and journalists with valid identification may visit the permanent exhibition free of charge (under the rules applying to Hungarian and EEA citizens). The Budapest Card gives a 20% discount (HUF 560 for adults, HUF 280 for under-18s). Registered readers of the museum receive a 50% discount.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Museum education sessions for school groups, for example “A szamárfültől a szamárpadig” (From the Donkey’s Ear to the Donkey Bench), “Fénytanoncok” (Light Apprentices), “A Pál utcai fiúk” (The Boys of Pál Street) and “Vackor iskolába készül” (Vackor Goes to School); city walks through the Tisztviselőtelep district.

Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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Plan your visit