Are you a teacher getting ready for the new school year?
Urban and the Classes du Patrimoine (Heritage Classes) offer you original resources to make your pupils aware of their environment.
The Heritage Classes are an Urban initiative through the non-profit organisation Palais de Charles Quint, and have been offering free, fun, interactive and civic activities to schools in the Brussels Capital Region for over twenty years. Activities, workshops, themed walks and teaching resources offer teachers several ways to help their pupils discover our architectural, landscape and cultural heritage.
“La façade raconte”, a colourful and practical kit
What was life like for people living in Brussels in the previous century? What do the façades of our streets tell us about how lifestyles have changed?
The educational kit “La façade raconte” (The story behind the façade) encourages pupils to observe their everyday surroundings to make them understand how living in Brussels has evolved, by combining fieldwork, hands-on activities and reflection. This kit is completely free, and schools can borrow it for several weeks. It is an excellent starting point for exploring a neighbourhood’s heritage.
“Bienvenue au cimetière!”, teaching guide to decipher this little-known heritage
Cemeteries truly are open-air history books. However, youngsters often know little about them.
The teaching guide “Bienvenue au cimetière!” (Welcome to the cemetery!) provides teachers with everything they need to explore these places with their pupils. The teaching guide covers many aspects of cemeteries, and examines among other things their layout, vegetation, funerary monuments, symbols, materials and various religious traditions.
The guide also contains practical information sheets and observation exercises, so as to discover this Brussels heritage in a different way.
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Further resources to enhance your activities
The Heritage Classes also offer a wide range of other kits, visual guides and handbooks, as well as discovery trails for exploring Brussels’ various neighbourhoods and architectural styles at your own pace.
Urban’s publications for youngsters
Among its many publications, Urban publishes several issues designed to introduce young children to heritage. Among them are the “Cahiers pédagogiques du patrimoine” (Heritage teaching guides), as well as “Brussels, Short Stories, Great History”, a book brimming with anecdotes, which invites young readers to explore Brussels in a fun way.
Urban Zoom Schools
For nearly thirty years, the “Urban Zoom Schools” photography competition has been encouraging secondary school pupils to take a fresh look at their city.
Discover with your pupils the 20 selected photos from the 2026 edition, which are shown in Urban’s display windows at Mont des Arts. This is also an opportunity for them to discover the exhibition “Palette”, which can be seen in the display windows of the Urban Lab, and which highlights how the city receives its supplies.
Discover Urban’s cultural programme