Musée de l'Ecole (School Museum), Carcassonne

In 1980 Francis Loubes was able to materialize his passion for the French primary school system. He collected materials, he restored furniture and objects from the grand old days of elementary education for children aged six to sixteen. The objects piled up. Eventually he needed a museum.

Helped by the city of Carcassonne, he set up in the old city community school. There he created The Association of the School Museum. The museum exhibits are housed in five halls located on Plo Street.

The time of the Third and Fourth Republics in France was a rich era for primary education. Teaching aids used from 1880 to 1960 may be seen in the five rooms of the museum. There are interactive classes for adults and children where one can experiment with old quill pens or the famous Gallic stick pen called the "sergeant major."

There are mannequins of students in period clothing using the classrooms. One may be seen wearing a cloth hat labeled "Ane" ("ass"). No old time school is without a "Dunce" hat. When using the old pens and purple ink, don't wear white.

Topics covered in these schools would include Morals and Civics, Reading and Writing, Geography, especially French, and History, especially French again. Science studies taught were Physics and Math, Agriculture, Hygiene, and Industrial Arts. Classes in Drawing, sculpting and music were available. And of course there was Physical Ed.