The ‘Footprints in Coal’ Experience and coal mining museum comprises a 45 minute tour through Castlecomer’s past. One of Ireland’s and more specifically Kilkenny’s most intriguing exhibitions, it is an interactive multi-media display that takes the visitor on a journey through time. Starting with the formation of the coal 300 million years ago, it then skips forward and travels through more than 300 years of coal mining history to the closure of the mines in 1969. First through the use of life-sized reconstructions of prehistoric animals and plants, video clips, fossils, rock specimens and information panels, prehistoric life in the coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period is brought to life. Then life sized and scale models of the mines, displays of mining artifacts, information panels and video interviews with ex-miners and the families of those associated with the mines bring to life more than 300 years of coal mining history.
A visit to the ‘Footprints in Coal’ Experience involves a self-guided tour through eight individual rooms each with its own theme.
Room 1. 1864 Mine scene
Room 2. Scientific Background
Room 3. Ancient Environments and Rock Formation
Room 4. Carboniferous Swamp Scene
Room 5. Fossil Room
Room 6. Mining Audio-Visual
Room 7. Interactive Mining Exhibition
Room 8. Mine Tunnel
