Medieval Archives - The Hunt Museum

Clay Through the Ages

Clay Through the Ages

Suitability: 3rd- 6th Class

Duration : 2.15 hours ( including break)

Cost: €5 per pupil, Teachers Go Free

Step into the world of clay and explore its journey through history in this engaging, hands-on workshop! Participants will uncover how ceramics have evolved, from Bronze Age artifacts to modern-day creations, examining pieces from the Hunt Museum’s collection. Through this exploration, students will gain a deeper understanding of how clay has shaped cultures, reflected human creativity, and served both artistic and practical purposes across time.

Workshop Highlights:

  • Discover the properties of clay and its many uses in daily life.
  • Learn how different civilizations developed clay technology for trade, domestic use, and rituals.
  • Create a food vessel using traditional hand-building techniques like pinch pots, coiling, and slab-building.

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to connect with the past while exploring the continuing evolution of clay as an essential material in both art and function.

Science : Materials; Properties and characteristics of materials Materials and change

Environmental Awareness & Care ; Environmental Awareness

Visual Arts ;Clay

History: Early People and Ancient Societies; Bronze Age People, Ancient Greeks; Continuity and Change Over Time

Maths; Shape and Space: 2-D shapes3-D shapes; Symmetry Lines and Angles

 

Five children smiling and sitting in the Hunt Museum, holding various pottery and decorated tiles, conveying excitement and curiosity about ancient artifacts.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

Children focusing intently on clay modelling at a table. A girl in a pink shirt works closely, while others in vibrant attire engage nearby. Creative, focused atmosphere.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

A group of children gathered around a table engaging in a pottery class with an instructor. They appear focused and attentive, working with clay.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

Three smiling children sit in the Hunt Museum near a glass display of ancient pottery. More children sit in the background, creating a lively and curious atmosphere.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

A young girl gazes thoughtfully at ornate, colourful pottery displayed in the Hunt Museum, reflecting interest and curiosity. A woman and child are nearby.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

A guide explains ancient pottery to attentive children through a glass display in the Hunt Museum. The scene feels educational and engaging.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

A woman stands by a display of ornate pottery in the Hunt Museum, engaging a group of seated children. The setting conveys curiosity and learning.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

A group of children and a woman look at The Hunt Museum artifacts behind glass, including a ceramic animal and decorative plates, with a curious, engaged atmosphere.

26-03-2025 Hunt Museum Clay Workshop. Picture: Keith Wiseman

Making Ink – ARMA

ARMA – Making Ink: Suitable for 4th – 6th Class

Primary School Arma Educational Resources

Medieval Manuscripts provide scholars and historians with insights into society and culture during the Middle Ages. They are also of interest to scientists, as they provide evidence of how different coloured inks and dyes were created using materials found in nature. Under this theme, primary school pupils will have the opportunity to experiment with pigments from natural materials inspired by those used in Medieval Manuscripts. The first video will introduce pupils to ink making in the Medieval period, recipes to achieve different colours, and the level of creativity and ingenuity required to make such inks. The second video provides tutorials on how to make ink from foraged and natural materials found in your nearby area.

Click here for ARMA Reading Aloud resource.

Click here for ARMA Calligraphy programme.

With Thanks to

Making Medieval Manuscripts – ARMA

Medieval illuminated manuscripts are hand-written books with pages made from animal skins,adorned with hand painted designs and precious metals. They are some of the most beautiful artifacts that remain from the period. The process of their creation tells us about scribal and artistic practices of the Medieval period. In this programme, post primary students will explore this process through a variety of resources created as part of the Art of Reading in the Middle Ages project for Europeana, including video-based resources, blogs, galleries and workbooks.

Click here for ARMA Reading in the Middle Ages.

Click here for ARMA Graphic Design Education Programme.

 

With Thanks to

Graphic Design – ARMA

Illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages can be viewed as objects of innovative graphic design featuring decorative fonts and images to engage readers. The term ‘design’ was not used in the same way during the Middle Ages. However, it speaks to the craftsmanship and ingenuity of the manuscripts in the Middle Ages. They were more than just books for writing in. The illuminators created elaborate fonts and artworks consisting of diverse shapes and sizes and examining these can inspire contemporary design. In this programme, post primary students will use medieval manuscripts, including fonts and imagery, as inspiration for their own graphic design projects.

Click here for ARMA Reading in the Middle Ages.

Click here for ARMA Making Medieval Manuscripts.

With Thanks to

Reading Aloud – ARMA

This programme will introduce primary school pupils to the practice of reading in the Middle Ages and how it was different from reading today. Pupils will begin by playing the interactive Reading Aloud Game, which will encourage them to think about what reading is and how it changed over time. The lesson plan that follows outlines a series of performance-based activities inspired by the research of Eleanor Giraud on Melodic Lection Marks, and how they aided with reading aloud. Following this programme, pupils will have a greater understanding of the practice of reading aloud in Medieval times, the shift towards silent reading, and how this changed our relationship with the written word.

Click here for ARMA Making Ink resource.

Click here for ARMA Calligraphy programme.

Play ARMA`S interactive Reading Aloud Game

With Thanks to

Reading in the Middle Ages – ARMA

The history of the practice of reading can tell us a lot about the nature and history of the society as a whole. During the Middle Ages, reading was mostly practiced aloud. Much of society was illiterate and texts could only be accessed through public readings. Today the opposite is true — the practice reading silently, and written information is widely available online and through printed text.

During this programme, post primary school students will be introduced to the history and function of reading, and explore reading as a means of understanding Medieval society. The programme draws on a variety of resources created as part of the Art of Reading in the Middle Ages project for Europeana, including an interactive game, video-based resources, blogs, galleries and workbooks.

Click here for ARMA Reading in the Middle Ages.

Click here for ARMA Graphic Design Education Programme.

Play Arma`s Reading Aloud interactive game

With Thanks to

Collection & Exhibition Tours

The Hunt Museum offers discounted, engaging guided gallery visits of the permanent collection and special exhibitions for further education colleges and university students.

These seminar-style discussions are led by Museum staff and volunteers and can be specifically designed to enhance professors’ curricula. Through close observation and guided discussion, students explore art, history, world cultures or museology.

Opportunities are also available to develop collaborative projects culminating in online and gallery-based exhibitions and installations.

800 Years of Fashion

800 Years of Fashion 

Duration: 60mins
€3.50 euro per student. Teachers go free!

During this workshop, students will learn about clothing from the past, covering eight periods between 1200 and 1920, and the societies that wore them. Resources, and objects in the Permanent Collection, will be used as historical evidence to gain a greater understanding of the evolution of fashion and how this relates to changes in society. This is a playful and fun workshop where students will get the opportunity to try on costumes as they learn about the fashion styles and cultures of the past.

 

History

  • Strand 1: The Nature of History
  • Strand 2: The history of Ireland
  • Strand 3: The history of Europe and the wider world

Costume Design for Junior Cycle

This  virtual tour of the Best Costume Goes To… exhibition will take you on a journey through time, exploring clothing from the Viking, Tudor, and Georgian periods. With the help of the Hunt Museum’s resources, you’ll learn about the techniques and processes used to create realistic costumes for film and TV. And the best part? You’ll get to design your own accessory for a historical production with our fun activity pack.

The video below will get you started in the process of researching and designing an accessory for a costume inspired by the Best Costume Goes To… exhibition.

Download Costume Design fo Junior Cycle

Visual Art:

  • Design Strand

History

  • Strand 1: Working with evidence
  • Strand 2: Exploring people, cultures, and ideas

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