Dear Teacher,
Bring learning to life with the National Museum of Ireland’s exciting new school’s programme. Across our sites in Dublin and Mayo, we offer a rich mix of hands-on workshops, immersive guided tours, and engaging classroom activities designed to spark curiosity and support curriculum learning.
From prehistoric artefacts to social history and biodiversity tours, our sessions connect directly with the Primary and Post Primary Curriculum and provide unforgettable experiences for pupils. With popular new options like the Dead Zoo Lab now open, early booking is advised to secure your preferred dates!
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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
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: Butter making
10:00 to 11:20, November to February - dates available on request
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join museum educator Fiona Deacy as she discusses the origins of butter making in Ireland and explores the science, history, and cultural significance of dairy production.
Seasonal Nature Tours at Turlough Park
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Find out about nature and biodiversity on a seasonal woodland walk. Discover what trees are on site and how to identify them at different times of the year and then figure out what animals and plants are here and what we can do to protect them.
TOP 10 TOUR: Highlights of the National Folklife Collection
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays
(National Museum of Ireland, 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.
GUIDED TOUR: Game, Set, Match: The History of Sports in Irish Society
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(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 societal and sporting past. This tour will explore the development of a variety of sports in Ireland, including Gaelic games, soccer, rugby, cricket and horse racing. It will also place the evolution of these sports in a wider societal context, such as the concept of domestic and garrison games, social class, nationalism and independence, and gender.
GUIDED TOUR: A Taste of the Past - The History of Food and Drink
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
This interactive tour will give students a flavour of the wealth of artefacts on display in the Museum that show the continuity and change of food preparation over time and the fascinating insights dining can give us into life, society and culture in Ireland. Students will discover the many different ways people used dining to express themselves and the hidden stories and values attributed to everyday domestic objects.
VIRTUAL TOUR: Proclaiming a Republic. The 1916 Rising
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Join Museum Guides, Educators and Curators for an engaging, informative and thought-provoking look at a significant period in Irish history, through the Museum’s recent ‘Proclaiming a Republic’ exhibition. In this virtual tour, the speakers will focus on personal stories, in particular those of the lesser-known participants and civilians who were involved in Easter Week, as well as examining why the rebellion happened, and the immediate aftermath.
GUIDED TOUR: Prehistoric Ireland - Stone Age and Bronze Age peoples
Tuesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, 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 – Kildare Street.
GUIDED TOUR: The Vikings in Ireland
Tuesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
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.
VIRTUAL SESSION: The Vikings in Ireland
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
Discover the amazing history of the Vikings in Ireland in this live virtual session!
MEET & GREET: Dead Zoo Lab Explorers
(The Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Start your Dead Zoo Lab Exploration with a Meet & Greet! Be the first to visit the newly opened Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks.
SELF-GUIDED VISIT: Resources at the Dead Zoo Lab
(The Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Let the Museum and its collections capture the imagination of your pupils with a self-guided visit to the Dead Zoo Lab. Activity sheets are a great way to learn, explore and enjoy the objects and themes of the collections. Describe your favourite animal and become a wild life champion with a curriculum-linked activity sheet.
GNÍOMHAÍOCHTAÍ SEOMRA RANGA: Éire san Oighearaois – Iontaisí Iontacha
Sa ghníomhaíocht Músaeim seo, déanfaimid iniúchadh ar Oighearaois na hÉireann, foghlaimeoimid faoi iontaisí i mbailiúchán an Mhúsaeim agus faoi na cineálacha éagsúla ainmhithe a bhí ina gcónaí anseo san am a chuaigh thart. FAIGH TUILLEADH EOLAIS
Some highlights for POST PRIMARY LEVEL include:
WORKSHOP: Butter making
10:00 to 11:20, November to February - dates available on request
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Join museum educator Fiona Deacy as she discusses the origins of butter making in Ireland and explores the science, history, and cultural significance of dairy production.
Seasonal Nature Tours at Turlough Park
Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays
(National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo)
Find out about nature and biodiversity on a seasonal woodland walk. Discover what trees are on site and how to identify them at different times of the year and then figure out what animals and plants are here and what we can do to protect them.
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.
GUIDED TOUR: From Revolution to Repeal: An Introduction to Changing Ireland
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
This tour takes students through the new Changing Ireland galleries, focusing on objects which demonstrate to us how Ireland has changed in the past 120 years. We will explore objects from the political and social backdrop of Ireland at the beginning of the century, which led towards rebellion and revolution, the partitioning of Ireland and Irish independence. We will follow the establishment of the new Irish state through the 20th century. We will explore the beginning of ‘The Troubles’ – the violent conflict that engulfed Northern Ireland in the late 20th century. Finally, we encounter Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century, and social movements towards a more open and accepting society.
GUIDED TOUR: Sliotars, Sashes and Symbols: Shaping Irish Identity
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
On this tour we look at how the meaning of ‘being Irish’ has evolved since 1900 through the new Changing Ireland galleries. We examine how Irish governments, organisations and ordinary people have attempted to shape national identity through language, culture, sports, and religion. Looking at how Ireland presented itself as an independent nation on the world stage, we explore how Irish identity was seen abroad. We address how issues of identity and belonging have had serious implications at home, focusing on the conflict in Northern Ireland in the second half of the 20th century. Finally, we look at what it means to be Irish today, in all its complexity.
VIRTUAL TOUR: Bonnets, Bandoliers and Ballot Papers
(National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Join Museum Guide Sheila Robinson for an engaging, informative and thought-provoking examination of the changing roles of women at the beginning of the 20th Century. In this tour, Sheila will talk to Museum curators, educators and historians about political protest in Ireland, as well as campaigns for social changes within society. The tour also examines campaigns and protests of women through domestic life, war and rebellion. Students will explore key artefacts from the Museum’s collection, which tells the story of women during this period, including ‘On War Service’ badges, an ‘Irish Womens Franchise League’ banner and examples of Celtic Revival clothing.
GUIDED TOUR: Leaving Certificate History of Art
Tuesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare 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.
VIRTUAL SESSION: Leaving Certificate Art History
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2)
You and your Leaving Cert Art Students can join Museum educators for a live online virtual session broadcast direct to your classroom.
GUIDED TOUR: The Work of the Archaeologist
Tuesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Wednesday 10am, 11am and 12pm, Thursday 10am, 11am and 12pm.
(National Museum of Ireland, Kildare 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.
SELF GUIDED VISIT: Dead Zoo Lab
Tuesday and Wednesday Mornings at 10am, 11am and 12 noon.
(Dead Zoo Lab, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Discover the Dead Zoo Lab at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks with your students in a self-guided visit. Self-guided visits are a great way for students to engage with the Museum's Natural History collections. As part of Science Week 2025 and in partnership with the Midlands Science Festival, we welcomed Transition Year students from St Mary’s Secondary School, Edenderry, to work with us and develop a new resource for exploring the Dead Zoo Lab. With the Museum's science educators and graphic designers they tested and workshopped with us on the creation of this new journal for students to use when exploring the natural history collections.
Resource: My Nature Journal Coming Soon
(Dead Zoo Lab, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7)
Coming soon in 2026! We’re excited to announce My Nature Journal – a new self-guided resource for post-primary students visiting the Dead Zoo Lab at Collins Barracks.
RESOURCE: What are Natural History Scientific Collections
(Natural History online)
Discover the scientific collections of the National Museum of Ireland at Merrion Street and go behind the scenes of the Museum with talks from our Tales from the Decant Series.
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