The National Museum of Ireland is delighted to launch its latest programme of guided tours, workshops and resources for primary and post primary schools for the autumn/winter 2024 term.
Available from September 2024, the programme offers students an opportunity to explore priceless treasures, Ireland's military past, traditional rural life, natural history and more through guided tours, workshops and classroom resources.
All of the activities are designed to complement the primary and post primary curricula and are offered free of charge to schools.
Schools can visit three Museum sites in Dublin and Co Mayo this year. Click on a location below to see what is on offer at each Museum.
The NMI - Natural History, 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.
- Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks, Dublin 7
- Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo
- Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
- Natural History, Merrion Street, Dublin 2
Some highlights from the programme at primary level include:
GUIDED TOUR: Prehistoric Ireland - Stone Age and Bronze Age peoples
(Archaeology - 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. Pupils will engage with artefacts from Mesolithic fish traps to Bronze Age swords and shields, using key objects from the Museum’s handling collection for a hands-on learning experience. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: The Vikings in Ireland
(Archaeology – 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
GUIDED TOUR BUNDLE: Continuity and Change over the Centuries
(Decorative Arts & History – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
NEW IN 2024 - This new tour bundle offer is specially designed for larger classes. On this interactive tour, students explore how fashions in clothing and food have developed over time, revealing the fascinating insights that objects can teach us about everyday life and culture in 18th and 19th century Irish society. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Stories from Soldiers and Chiefs: The Irish at War 1798-1916
(Decorative Arts & History – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
NEW IN 2024 - 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. Students have the opportunity to learn about the daily lives of soldiers at home and abroad and every day heroes confronted with conflict. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Highlights of the National Folklife Collection
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
See how people lived in Ireland in times gone. Learn about traditional lifestyles including trades, customs, life in the home, clothing, farming and fishing. An experienced Museum guide will bring the National Folklife Collection to life through 10 key objects in the museum. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: Bumbly Wings and Crawly Things
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Discover the magic of Ireland’s bees in The Murmur of Bees exhibition and then get creative with artist Cas McCarthy. Students will have the opportunity to create their own insect artworks, which will become part of a wonderful community art installation with all creatures great and small, due to open Spring 2025. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: Calendar Customs - Making Halloween Masks
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Discover how many of the Halloween celebrations we enjoy today owe their origins to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Find out about the history, customs and traditions of Samhain and make your own traditional mask with artist Carmel Balfe in this creative workshops for 4th to 6th class students. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: If Things Could Talk
(Decorative Arts & History - Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
Explore the power of objects to tell stories about Ireland’s rich history. In this workshop, students will work in small groups to develop their historical enquiry and communication skills through hands-on, object-based learning. Let your class take on the role of historians and curators to explore the different meanings that we invest in objects. FIND OUT MORE
VIRTUAL SESSION: Tales of the Dead Zoo
(Online session with Natural History - Merrion Street, Dublin 2)
What fossil bones were discovered in an Irish cave over 100 years ago? What secrets of the past and present are held in the collections and why are they important for the future? Discover tales of the Dead Zoo during a live virtual session, led by a Museum Educator and streamed straight to your classroom. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: Meet the Bear Family
(Online resources from Natural History - Merrion Street, Dublin 2)
Meet the bears at the Museum from the comfort of your own classroom! Discover eight different species of bear on display at the Museum, including a brown bear, polar bear, American black bear, Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, spectacled bear, sun bear and the giant panda! Topics such as diet, habitat, animal adaptations and fossils will be explored throughout. Pupils can also make and decorate their very own bear masks using printable templates and get creative with a colouring sheet. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: Discover the National Folklife Collection
(Video resource from Country Life – Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo)
Join Museum staff in the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life to discover our National Folklife Collection, through objects, film and story. This set of resources, each with a mixed duration of five to eight minutes, consists of videos and suggested activities for primary level students to use when learning about life in Ireland from the 1850s. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: The Stone Age
(Downloadable resource delivered from Archaeology - Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Use a series of curriculum-linked activity sheets to learn more about the Stone Age in Ireland. Find out how people in the Stone Age in Ireland decorated passage tombs with Megalithic art. Discover the different patterns and decorations they used, create your own Megalithic stone and more! FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: The Bronze Age
(Downloadable resource from Archaeology - Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Explore what life was like during the Bronze Age in Ireland using these curriculum-linked activity sheets in the classroom. Use the 'Summer Sun Discs' activity sheet to find out about gold objects made during the Bronze Age and decorate your own in the classroom. Then see if you can find all the words in the Bronze Age wordsearch! FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: Shapeshifter Challenge
(Video resource from Decorative Arts & History - Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
Redesign a famous Museum artefact dating from 1300AD, while learning about the interesting history of this piece. The Fonthill Vase was transformed into a jug by adding a fancy spout and handle. What else could it be? Use your imagination to transform it into something completely different! FIND OUT MORE
Some highlights from the programme at post primary level include:
Transition Year Programme 2025
(All National Museum sites)
Calling all Transition Year students interested in finding out about museum careers! This weeklong immersive Transition Year work experience course takes place from 10 to 14 February 2025. Students learn about the important work of preserving and presenting cultural heritage, engaging with communities and creating meaningful learning experiences, through a combination of talks and workshops with Museum staff, and hands-on activities. Designed for students thinking about pursuing a career in the museum and cultural heritage sector and also suitable for students with an interest in the role of museums in modern society. Please apply via www.museum.ie from 30 September to 25 October 2024. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: The work of the Archaeologist
(Archaeology – Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
This tour for Junior Cycle and Transition Year History focuses 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
GUIDED TOUR: Leaving Certificate History of Art
(Archaeology – Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Trace the development of art in Ireland from the Neolithic Period to the 12th century. 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. Guided tours can be tailored to focus on Pre-Christian (c. 4,000BCE - 500 CE) or Insular Art (c.500 - 1100s). FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Highlights of the National Museum
(Archaeology – Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Join Museum educators for an onsite guided tour of key objects from the Museum's Collection. This tour for Transition Year students explores 10,000 years of Irish history, from the Stone Age to Early Medieval Ireland, and explores some of Ireland's most iconic treasures. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Revolutionary Women - Exploring Women's Roles in Conflict in Ireland
(Decorative Arts & History – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
NEW IN 2024 - 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 the civilians who lived through these conflicts. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: 1913 - 1923, A Decade of Military Conflict
(Decorative Arts & History – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
Suitable for Junior, Senior and Transition Year history students, this tour brings to life the experiences of ordinary Irishmen and women involved in World War I, the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and Civil War, and how these events affected combatants and civilians alike. The tour can also be tailored to focus on the interpretation of primary sources, by referring to the objects, photographs and written documents on display. FIND OUT MORE
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GUIDED TOUR: Symbols of Ireland in the National Museum’s Collection
(Decorative Arts & History – Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
The harp is one of the most common symbols of Ireland, which we see on everyday objects such as coins. The shamrock is synonymous with St Patrick’s Day. But did you know that there are lots of other symbols that designers and artists have used over the centuries to express Irish culture and history? This tour will allow students to explore a range of fascinating Irish symbols through artefacts on display in the Museum. FIND OUT MORE
GUIDED TOUR: Highlights of the National Folklife Collection
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
See how people lived in Ireland in times gone. Learn about traditional lifestyles including trades, customs, life in the home, clothing, farming and fishing. An experienced Museum guide will bring the National Folklife Collection to life through 10 key objects in the museum. The NMI - Country Life is located in the historic setting of Turlough Park so there is also a Victorian Gothic house and 30 acres of biodiverse grounds and gardens to discover. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: Design in Everyday Life
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join architect Stephen Gilmartin for a workshop looking at architecture of the past to design for the future. Good design in everyday life and the future quality and sustainability of our built environment will require young people today. Learn about architectural drawing, design and model making in this hands-on workshop. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: Creative Writing – Bee Inspired
(Country Life - Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join poet and author Terry McDonagh on this creative writing workshop. Students will explore the temporary exhibition The Murmur of Bees and will be encouraged to be creative and imaginative in developing their own written piece of work based on the themes explored in the exhibition. FIND OUT MORE
WORKSHOP: If Things Could Talk
(Decorative Arts & History - Collins Barracks, Dublin 7)
This interactive hands-on workshop suitable for Junior, Senior and Transition Year history students focuses on how, working as historians and curators, we can decode museum objects for evidence. Students work in small groups, developing their historical enquiry, critical thinking and communication skills through hands-on, object-based learning. FIND OUT MORE
CLASSROOM RESOURCE: Extinction Stories (with ISL)
(Video resource from Natural History - Merrion Street, Dublin 2)
Discover stories of extinction in the collections of the Museum from the comfort of the classroom. Watch curriculum-linked videos that include Irish Sign Language (ISL), and discover how animals like the giant deer, dodo and thylacine disappeared from this world. Download Teacher Notes to explore accompanying classroom activities to complement the learning outcomes. FIND OUT MORE
RESOURCE: The Irish Coast and Climate Change Virtual Visit
(Online resource from Natural History - Merrion Street, Dublin 2)
Discover the effects of climate change in Ireland using a 3D viewer of the Museum. Students can explore the effects of climate change on Irish coastal ecosystems during their own virtual visit. Detailed teacher’s notes on featured animal species and associated impacts of climate change are provided, with suggested follow-up classroom activities. FIND OUT MORE
RESOURCE: What are Natural History Scientific Collections?
(Video resource from Natural History - Merrion Street, Dublin 2)
Discover the Natural History scientific collections and go behind the scenes with talks from our ‘Tales from the Decant’ series. In 2020, the NMI - Natural History embarked on a decant project which involved the removal and storage of thousands of bones, fossils, stuffed animals, dried insects, and wet collections (animals that have been stored in chemicals to prevent decay). Hear insights from curators on their roles and research of the natural history scientific collections. FIND OUT MORE
RESOURCE: Climate Change and Archaeology Lecture Series
(Video resource from Archaeology – Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
The content within these lectures allows for a unique and stimulating approach to the wider overarching study of climate change. As part of the Transition Year programme, the series provides an exciting opportunity to study the impacts of climate change on the historic environment with input from leading authorities giving a unique perspective on local and global environmental issues. FIND OUT MORE