Welcome back to school! As the new academic year begins, the National Museum of Ireland is delighted to invite primary and post-primary schools to explore our exciting Autumn 2025 programme.
From hands-on workshops to immersive tours, our events are designed to spark curiosity, support classroom learning, and bring history, culture, and creativity to life. With limited spaces available, we encourage early booking to ensure your students don’t miss out on these enriching experiences.
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What's on for Primary Schools at the National Museum of Ireland
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What's on for Post Primary Schools at the National Museum of Ireland
Transition Year Programme 2025/2026:
The National Museum of Ireland located at Merrion Street, also known as the 'Dead Zoo', closed on 2 September 2024, so a school visit is not possible at this location. However, teachers can still book a virtual session for your school and explore the fascinating Natural History Collections through a range of classroom activities and resources.
BOOKINGS & ENQUIRIES:
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To book a visit to one of our Dublin Museums, submit a Schools Enquiry Form and our Bookings Office will get back to you regarding availability for your chosen session. You can also email bookings@museum.ie or call (01) 648 6453.
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Enquiries regarding Bookings for Turlough Park can be directed to BookingsCountryLife@museum.ie or (094) 90 31751.
See the full schools programme for the NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND at:
Some highlights for PRIMARY LEVEL include:
WORKSHOP: Bumbly Wings and Crawly Things
Wednesday 24 & Thursday 25 September
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Fun, Biodiversity and Art themed workshop in response to the Murmur of Bees exhibition. Enjoy a short introduction to the exhibition and then get creative with artist Cas McCarthy by assembling and painting your own cardboard insect in the Courtyard Education Room. FIND OUT MORE
MUSIC SESSION: Deep Blue Sea Sounds
Thursday 2 & Friday 3 October
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Explore the objects in our fishing collection and then recreate the sounds of the sea through rhythm and percussion instruments with Whistle Blast Quartet member Mary Curran. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Top 10 Tour: Highlights of the National Folklife Collection
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join an experienced Museum guide who will bring the National Folklife Collection to life through 10 key objects in the museum. Learn about traditional lifestyles including trades, customs, life in the home, clothing, farming and fishing. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Game, Set, Match: The History of Sports in Irish Society
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
From hair hurling balls dating from the 1500s to ladies camogie dresses from the 1960s, join Museum Guides on an engaging and interactive tour focuses on the development and evolution of Ireland's sociatal and sporting past. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: If Things Could Talk
Tuesdays from 10am - 11am and 12pm - 1pm
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Explore the power of objects to tell stories about Ireland’s rich history. Working in small groups, students will develop their historical enquiry and communication skills, through hands-on, object based learning. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Stories from Soldiers and Chiefs: The Irish at War 1798-1916
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
This new interactive tour uses games, objects and engaging questions to explore the stories of the ordinary men and women told through the exhibition Soldiers and Chiefs - The Irish at War at Home and Abroad from 1550 to the present day. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: The Vikings in Ireland
Tuesday 10am and 11:30am, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
The Vikings in Ireland, session explores the three main activities of the Vikings in Ireland Raiding, Trading and Settling, using the Museum’s unique collection of artefacts. Pupils will explore how these artefacts can tell us about Viking burial customs and beliefs, their society and politics, and the new inventions and materials that they brought to Ireland through travel and trade across Europe and the Middle East. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: The Vikings
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Explore our specially designed activity sheets in the classroom to learn more about the Vikings. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Prehistoric Ireland - Stone Age and Bronze Age peoples
Tuesday 10am and 11:30am, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
The Prehistoric Ireland guided tour explores the jobs of the archaeologist and historian, and the role of the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology. Strongly linked to the National Curriculum this tour focuses on Stone Age and Bronze Age peoples. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: The Stone Age
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Use these curriculum-linked activity sheets to learn more about the Stone Age in Ireland. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: Meet the Bear Family
(Natural History online)
How many different types of bears can be found in the world? Where do the live, what do they eat and who does big green poos! Discover this and more during a short online session, led by a Museum Educator and streamed straight to your classroom! FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: What does 'Extinct Mean?'
(Natural History online)
Using a series of short curriculum-linked videos, your class will be introduced to the topic of extinction and meet some of the most special museum specimens, which have one thing in common – they are extinct! FIND OUT MORE
Some highlights for POST PRIMARY LEVEL include:
GUIDED TOUR: Highlights of the National Folklife Collection
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Learn and develop an understanding about traditional lifestyles including trades, customs, life in the home, clothing, farming and fishing. Gain a fresh perspective on society, economy, culture and politics in Ireland from 1850 to 1950 by examining the various objects on display in the National Museum of Ireland at Turlough Park. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: Creative Writing: Bee Inspired!
Wednesday 8 October
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join poet and author Terry McDonagh on this creative writing workshop. Students will explore the temporary exhibition Murmur of Bees and will be encouraged to be creative and imaginative in creating their own written piece of work based on the themes explored in the exhibition. FIND OUT MORE
STORYTELLING: Spooky Hallowe'en Tales
Tuesday 21 & Wednesday 22 October
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Step into the shadows this Hallowe'en and prepare to be spellbound! Join master storyteller Niall de Búrca for a thrilling hour of ghostly tales, folklore, and spine-tingling adventures. FIND OUT MORE
Guided Tour: An Introduction to Collins Barracks featuring Harry Clarke
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
This interactive tour focuses on the story of Royal Barracks (now Collins Barracks) and the lives of soldiers who lived here between 1706 until 1993. Students will have the opportunity to learn about their daily activities, living conditions, drilling and marching practices and experiences going to war. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Revolutionary Women: Exploring Women's Roles in Conflict in Ireland
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
This tour explores the roles of women in Ireland's military history, with a particular focus on the revolutionary period of 1913 - 1923. Students will be introduced to some of the women involved in conflicts in Ireland, including the 1803 rebellion, 1916 Rebellion, the War of Independence and Irish Civil War, and will explore how these events affected both those who fought and also the civilians who lived through them. FIND OUT MORE
Teacher Feedback:
The tour was so well planned. Our guide was very informative and had a great knowledge of the subject. This tour was so engaging, all the students loved it. You could see the guide was very passionate about history.
WORKSHOP: If Things Could Talk
Tuesdays 10am to 11am and 12pm to 1pm
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Students are encouraged to think and work as historians and curators, through hands-on, object-based learning. FIND OUT MORE
Student Manuscript Project
(National Museum of Ireland, Kidare Street, Dublin 2)
Students and teachers are invited to discover the Student Manuscript Project, a creative collaboration between Irish and Swiss students inspired by medieval manuscripts. Now featured in the National Museum of Ireland’s exhibition Words on the Wave, the project blends art, history, and science through beautiful student-created pages using traditional techniques. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Leaving Certificate History of Art
Tuesday 10am and 11:30am, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kidare Street, Dublin 2)
Take a closer look at how passage tombs were constructed and decorated in the Stone Age and how some of Ireland’s gold objects were made and used in the Bronze Age right up to the creation and design of Early Christian treasures, including the ‘Tara’ Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: The Work of the Archaeologist
Tuesday 10am and 11:30am, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kidare Street, Dublin 2)
This tour, for Junior Cycle and Transition Year History, will focus on the work of the archaeologist and the discipline of archaeology, through the lens of the Vikings in Ireland. This tour will support students in acquiring historical skills, conceptual understanding, and historical consciousness, as part of their curriculum requirements. FIND OUT MORE
RESOURCE: The Irish Coast Climate Change Virtual Visit
(Natural History online)
Discover the effects of climate change in Ireland using a 3D walkthrough of the museum from the comfort of the classroom. FIND OUT MORE
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