Teach your pupils how to build a giant nest, create a butterfly garden or make their own family tree!
The resources provided here have been submitted by Heritage Experts, teachers or prepared by other educational organisations. The resources are both fun and educational and are designed to inspire and develop an appreciation and curiosity about Ireland’s wonderful natural and cultural heritage.
Resources can be searched for under the following categories:
This policy document deals with the recognition, reporting and management of child safety concerns and will assist anyone working on behalf of the Heritage Council in having due regard for the rights and interests of children.
Lots of fun and colourful activity sheets relating to healthy eating.
The Arts Council have published a useful document in relation to taking and using photographs of children.
Fun for younger age groups with simple, step-by-step instructions for growing the first letter of a child's name using corn seed!
Simple and straightforward directions for growing your own tree from a seed!
A symposium with leading international and national experts in place-based education took place in August 2012 in Kinvara, Co. Galway. This unique event brought together thinkers and practitioners who specialise in the theme of place-based learning, which encourages the use of the local environment as a learning resource. Feedback from organisers, speakers and attendees is available to listen to on Sound Cloud.
A great genealogy website with games, ideas and resources, suitable for a range of age groups. Activities include a family history scavenger hunt and creating a time capsule.
Comedy and science collide as host, Neil Delamere puts team captains, PJ Gallagher and Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin and their teams of comedians and science personalities through their paces, in this original science-comedy quiz.
Read moreRead lessEach show sees host Neil Delamere risk life and limb to celebrate the greatest ‘Eureka Moments’ of our time – he channels 4 million volts of electricity and shoots lightning out of his fingertips (and a couple of other places while he’s at it), he creates an earthquake in Westmeath, undergoes astronaut training in a human centrifuge and goes freediving in a freezing quarry – all in the name of science.
Eureka! The Big Bang Query was made with the support of Science Foundation Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
This BBC resource has lots of interesting facts and information about flowers and fun ideas for related activities, including how to dissect a flower!
A quick activity that can offer delightful characters to use in building stories, having adventures or unfolding the life of an old building.
This is a good technique for collecting ideas and experiences gradually, perhaps over the course of a workshop or several workshops. It is ideal for collating a series of activities, each one generating a different page and it's easy to add more pages later and let books continue to grow.
Our Heritage in Schools Expert, Geoff Hunt has prepared a great worksheet on creating your own butterfly garden at your school.
Get the children to recognise what they are eating and were it comes from. Explaining the difference between root and leaf vegetables and the importance of eating their five a day.
Read moreRead lessThings To do
1. Grow Celtic Cress (this will take about 4-5 days).
What you will need:
1. Cress seeds, paper towels and a flat plate.
What to do:
1. Download the Celtic Cress worksheet below and cut out the first initial of the student’s name.
2. Wet some towels until they are soaking.
3. Lay the letter shape onto the towels.
4. Sprinkle lots of cress seeds in the letter shape. Make sure you cover the whole of the letter shape. Press the seeds down gently.
5. Lift the letter shape, leaving the seed shapes. Place the plate in a warm sunny spot.
6. Use a spoon to water around the letter shapes every day. Don’t put water on the seeds.
7. Watch them grow (around 4-5 days). When the cress is as long as your finger, cut it off and eat it!
Not just a pretty face. Flowers can change the world, learn how plants reproduce, and many insects would die without this vital source of nutrients. A flower is the part of the plant that makes the seeds. The main parts of a flower are the carpals and stamens. These parts are often found in the centre of the flower. There are egg cells in the carpel and pollen cells in the stamen. All flowers have four basic parts: sepals, petals, carpals and stamen. Different flowers have different numbers and shapes of these parts.
Read moreRead lessThings To do
1. Download the Flower Parts worksheet below and name the parts of a flower.
2. Grow a plant from seed (this will take about 2 - 3 weeks).
What you will need:
1. A clean glass jar, paper napkins
What to do:
1. Rinse the jar in cold water. Empty it out - but do not dry it.
2. Fold a paper napkin in half, curl it into a circle and slip it inside the jar.
3. Press the napkin against the side of the jar (let it soak up the remaining water residue).
4. Peel back part of the napkin and push three seeds (broad bean seeds are good for this) evenly spaced around the inside of the glass jar.
5. Wet the napkins with lots of water.
6. Put the jar in a bright warm place (the windowsill is perfect!).
7. Add water often to keep the napkins wet.
8. The roots will start to grown first and then the shoots.
Explore buildings of interest and different architectural style around the local neighbourhood, town or village.
Read moreRead lessThings To do
1. Download the Famous Buildings worksheet below and ask the children to name the buildings in the pictures.
2. If possible, take pictures of local landmarks and do a mini 'show-and-tell' about the buildings.
3. Ask the children to draw a picture of a local landmark and do a mini 'show-and-tell'.
This website documents a project in which six County Sligo schools explored and documented the heritage sites of the county. It has lots of resources that can be used by other schools in Sligo.
Coillte, Ireland’s leading forestry company, welcomes you to the huge range of recreation opportunities they provide at many of their sites across the country. You can access miles of walking, hiking, multi access, and long distance trails, enjoy the thrill of cycling new world class bike trails, fish, picnic, watch wildlife, launch your canoe on the rivers, visit megalithic sites or just sit and enjoy the outdoors. The choice is yours.
Read moreRead lessThings to do
1. Visit a local forest - you can find a list of forests and trails in your area here.
2. Here you can download information and worksheets about trees. These worksheets are suitable for primary school children and are a fun way for children to learn about trees and the environment. Learn more about trees here.
The Coilte website provides a full list of recreational Coilte sites that you can visit with your pupils, plus helpful tips for enjoying and respecting the natural environment.
This website has lots of interesting information on the history and heritage of Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin for older age groups.
Use this app to identify Irish Butterflies and report their sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre if you wish.
An animated parody of the Da Vinci Code (suitable for younger age groups) which links to an interactive site with lots of information on global warming issues (suitable for older ages).
You’ll find lots of interesting information on bats for older age groups on the Bat Conservation Ireland website. Find out where bats roost, how many different species of bat live in Ireland, how echolocation works and much more.
Help your students learn all about trees through a range of hands-on and enjoyable activities, including useful notes for teachers and children’s activity sheets.
Geoff Hunt, one of our very own Heritage Experts, has some great tips for attracting garden birds to your school grounds. This project has been very successful in other schools and encourages pupils to become familiar with a wide variety of garden birds!
