Secondary School Tours

The ‘Footprints in Coal’ experience takes approximately 1 hour. We generally take a full class of up to 30 students each time but additional groups can start at 20 minute intervals so larger groups can be easily accommodated.

A visit to the ‘Footprints in Coal’ experience can be used as an educational aid as it touches on many of the topics covered in both Junior cert and Leaving cert geography, biology and history. Worksheets linked to the exhibition can be provided for an extra charge. Topics include:

Junior Cert Science Links

• Ecology - adaptation, competition, interdependence producers, decomposers and consumers
• Living Things – classifying living organisms, animals, plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, characteristics of living things
• Air, oxygen and carbon dioxide – composition of the air, plants and carbon dioxide
• Energy – Fossil fuels and greenhouse effect

Leaving Cert Biology Links

• Ecology – ecosystems, climatic factors, niches, competition and predation, adaptations of plants and animals
• The Organism – the plant kingdom and evolution of early land plants, the animal kingdom and evolution of animals

Junior Cert Geography Links

• Rock Types – origin of Irish sedimentary rocks
• Plate tectonics
• Human interaction with the natural environment


• Primary Economic Activities – mining
• Climate zones – past climate change in Ireland

Leaving Cert Geography Links

• The Rock Cycle – examples of Irish sedimentary rocks
• Plate Tectonics – Ireland’s changing position over time
• Human interaction with the rock cycle - mining
• Landform development
  History

History

For history students, the second half of the exhibition deals with the coal mining history of the area, touching on such topics as the relationship between landlords and tenants from the 17th to the 20th Century; improvements in mining methods and increased industrialisation and the importance of trade unions in the mines.

Other Groups

We also cater for LCVP groups wishing to visit a Community Enterprise for their link module. A visit usually comprises a trip to the ‘Footprints in Coal’ experience and a talk on the management and day-to day running of the Visitor Centre with a question and answer session for students.

For Transition Year students we also offer outdoor trails, which encourage the students to explore the woodlands. Specialist worksheets or programmes can also be arranged on request.

To book a tour contact the Discovery Park at 056 4440707.

In the future we hope to develop specialist secondary school programmes with additional activities and worksheets to complement the exhibition and tie in with the Leaving Cert and Junior Cert Biology and Geography syllabuses. We also hope to develop Biology field courses in the Demesne itself.

In order to develop our secondary schools programmes, we would like to hear from you the teachers as to what you would like to get from a visit to the Castlecomer Discovery Park.
Please fill out the attached questionnaire to give us your comments and suggestions.

Please complete our Questionnaires

For more information on Secondary School Groups contact Castlecomer Discovery Park