I denna studie har den zoologiska skolsamlingen från f.d. Visby läroverk undersökts. Syftet var att utreda hur den har förvaltats genom historien och vad den har för pedagogisk betydelse idag. Detta för att belysa de undervisningsideal i skolan och naturvetenskapsundervisningen som har påverkat och fortfarande påverkar samlingen. Undersökningen har utförts genom en litteraturstudie, en intervju och platsbesök till magasinet och museet där samlingen nu förvaltas.  Undersökningen har visat att samlingen som startades år 1829 vid Visby läroverk idag i majoritet förvaltas av Gotlands Museum. Sedan 1985 har den omhändertagits av naturantikvarier, men innan detta förvaltades den av framförallt lärare och adjunkter. Det sista dokumenterade förvärvet som hittats var under 1950-talet. Under denna tid tycks samlingsförvaltningen ha blivit bristfällig. Stora mängder utländskt material donerades under 1800-talet, medan accessioner under 1900-talet framför allt bestod av lokala arter. Samlingen är idag ett pedagogiskt verktyg för att förmedla kunskap inom skol-och-undervisningshistoria. Den är ett dokument över Gotlands natur och kultur. Idag används den i utställningar för att sprida information om såväl naturvetenskap som kulturhistoria och etnologi. / In this study the zoological school collection from the former Visby läroverk has been analyzed. The purpose is to examine how it has been managed historical and what pedagogic significance it has today. This is done  to illustrate the pedagogic ideals in schools and natural science teaching that have affected and continues to affect the collection. This has been studied through a literature study, an interview and a visit to the museum storage building and the museum where the collection now is managed. The study has shown that the collection that started in 1829 at Visby läroverk is today in majority cared for by Gotland’s Museum. Since 1985 it has been managed by nature conservators, but before this it has been cared for by mostly teachers and assistant professors. The last documented acquisition was during the 1950s. During this time the care of the collection seems to have been insufficient. A lot of foreign material was donated during the 1800s, but acquisitions during the 1900s was primarily of local breeds. Today the collection is a pedagogical tool for imparting knowledge in school and teaching history. It is a document of the nature and culture of Gotland. Today it is used in exhibitions to spread information about natural science, cultural history and ethnology.

Over the past century the phenomenon of thanatourism, or dark tourism, has become increasingly popular, with tourists now able to encounter death at a wide range of sites across the world. While much scholarship has focused on tourism at sites of disaster and atrocity, less research has taken place into thanatourism in a museum context. This thesis investigates how Gotlands Museum is offering its visitors a dark tourism experience by adopting thanatourism theming in its exhibitions and programmes. It explores the ways the museum presents Gotland’s dark history, asks how and why the museum has adopted thanatourism as a thematisation strategy, and considers whether this strategy is helping the institution achieve future sustainability. This study is based on in-depth interviews with current staff members at the museum, who have been involved with creating exhibitions and presenting programmes related to Gotland’s dark history. Detailed observation of the exhibitions Medieval Gotland and 1361 – The Battle for Gotland, as well as the guided city tour The Bloody Summer, also provide additional data. The study finds that Gotlands Museum has harnessed the ‘purposeful Otherness’ of death through implementing thanatourism theming in both its permanent exhibitions and public programming in order to reach new and wider audiences. It also finds that this is an example of the museum embracing new museology and adopting the customer-centric focus of the tourism industry by presenting thrilling exhibitions and programmes to attract more visitors. The study suggests that by implementing popular thanatourism-themed exhibitions and programmes, Gotlands Museum has been able to be economically, socially and culturally sustainable by attracting visitors, educating diverse groups, telling diverse stories and preserving Gotland’s history for future generations.