Stone Age 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

Pre- Christian Ireland; Stone Age – Bronze Age

Suitability : Senior Cycle
Duration: 90 minutes 

Cost: €3.50 per student, Teachers go Free

 

Discover what life was like for people in Pre-Christian Ireland through interactive group activities, a tour of our Collection, handling of replica objects and new innovative digital interactives.

Focusing on the Stone Age and Bronze Age, students will build their visual literacy as they learn about the materials, production methods and decoration techniques used  to make everyday tools and objects in  prehistoric times.

During this workshop, students will use visual thinking strategies to examine and compare settlements from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age to determine how lifestyles improved in conjunction to the development of new materials and technologies. They will  use digital interactives to investigate archeological objects from our Collection and participate in group art activities.

This workshop will support students to complete written questions in content area 2; Ireland and it`s place in the wider world; Pre-Christian section of the Leaving Certificate Examinations.

Ancient Ireland- Life in the Stone and Bronze Ages 

 

For 3rd and 4th Classes
Cost: 3.50 per pupil, teachers go free!
Duration: 2 hours including 15 minute break

This workshop takes learners on a journey through the Stone Age and Bronze Age. Through the handling of replica objects and analyzing archaeology in the Collection, they will learn how people lived, their beliefs and practices and what technologies emerged and evolved during these prehistoric periods. Visual thinking strategies will be used in conjunction with our beautifully illustrated Life in the Bronze Age exhibition, deepening learner knowledge.

 

 

 

 

History

  • Working as a historian
  • Early People and Ancient Societies
  • Community and change over time
  • Local studies

Science

  • Materials

Geography

  • Human Environments