In the project Engaging Skåne's Past: A Prototype for Innovative Cultural Heritage Education, two pilot tracks will be used to explore and understand how the data that DarkLabs is already available can be used for learning and teaching about cultural heritage and archaeology. What DarkLab has developed are digital platforms with data and digitized objects from excavations and museums.  

From this, material is drawn for two different educational narratives. One track is based on the medieval church ruin Drotten and will reflect medieval living conditions, what it was like to live with a disability in the Middle Ages, and make comparisons between then and now. Material from Uppåkra will provide storytelling about discoveries, the site's transformation over time, and archaeological methods.

The project will develop and test a new interdisciplinary pedagogical model for education where archaeological findings, storytelling, and perspectives on inclusion are integrated into concrete learning modules. The project will also leverage the ongoing collaboration Future by Lund has with local museums such as the Historical Museum and Kulturen.

- The method makes accessible research data more understandable for a broader and non-specialized public and creates bridges between research, cultural institutions, and education, says project manager Paola Derudas, DarkLab and Future by Lund. We will demonstrate that teaching and engagement in cultural heritage can be improved by making open research data more comprehensible.

The project aims to create a model that will produce prototype material for use in schools, museum education, and adult education. Background material and pilot ideas already exist before the project's start, and with the project funding, the method will be developed, tested, and evaluated in practice. Prototype material will be developed in collaboration with various groups to evaluate the learning experience and create documentation for a scalable version.

- We hope the outcome will be a model for how we can enable the use of open research data and that we can develop access models and pedagogically packaged learning modules that strengthen general knowledge, historical understanding, and ethical reflection on past and present – especially with regard to participation and disability, Paola Derudas continues.

In the interdisciplinary work, it will be important to see how humanities, creative practice, and accessibility design can be effectively connected in various educational formats. Because even though there is already a wealth of research material consisting of data, a model for non-research-related use of the same data is missing. It is interesting to create a connection for how the material can be used for learning.

The project hopes that its model and material will be used by pupils and students at various levels. The idea is that the results will be developed for practical use in Skåne and contribute to regional general knowledge, accessibility, and demonstrate the importance of cultural heritage for children, young people, and adults.

Future by Lund has received project funding from the Sten K Johnsson Foundation to carry out the project. A starting point is also Sweden's investment of 65 million SEK in digital infrastructure for archaeology and cultural heritage.

Engaging Skåne's Past: A Prototype for Innovative Cultural Heritage Education

Partners: Lund University/DarkLab, Future by Lund

Project Manager: Paola Derudas

Project Period: 2026-08-01 to 2027-01-31

Funder: Sten K Johnsson Foundation

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