Chalkboards and Chores

What was daily life like for a child living in rural Ireland during Victorian times? This immersive learning experience provides your pupils with an opportunity to find out how they would have lived, worked and played in the past. After taking care of all their farmyard chores, they will roll up their sleeves to help out with the weekly washday. They can also take part in an authentic school lesson and discover who knows how to ‘toe the line’, and what learning by rote entailed. Following their lesson, the class can enjoy some traditional schoolyard games before returning to the schoolroom to share their thoughts.

This interactive learning session provides multiple opportunities for young people to engage directly with our museum collections and develop an empathy and understanding of the life of a child in the past. They will investigate how people and places have changed over time, gathering evidence and sharing their observations.