Exploring Irish Marine Life

The wonders of Irish marine life will be investigated at Cork's Lifetime Lab with the launch of a fortnight of school workshops in collaboration with the “Explorers” Primary Marine Outreach and Education Programme.

The "Explorers" Education Programme brings the excitement of the sea into the classroom and has already been successfully rolled out to some 40 primary schools in the West of Ireland from Mayo to Clare, and in six schools in the greater Dublin area. The Cork project is a collaborative effort between the Marine Institute, Forfas Discover Primary Science, University College Cork and Lifetime Lab.  

The Explorers Education programme aims to integrate marine themes as closely as possible with lessons already taught in national schools through the Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) curriculum and other cross curricular subjects and hopes to reach 500 primary school pupils in Cork. 

Workshops will run from March 28^th to April 8^th ,are available to primary schools free of charge, and  may be booked by contacting Lifetime Lab at 021 4941500 or lifetimelab@corkcity.ie

Mervyn Horgan Manager of Lifetime Lab said “We are delighted to be involved in the pilot series of workshops, we are always looking for new and innovative ways of engaging in science education and raising the awareness of marine science in Cork classrooms can only bring long term benefits”   He further added “We perceive Lifetime Lab as an extra classroom for every school in the city and county, a science nursery for institutions whose high level graduates ensure that Cork has a well educated and highly skilled workforce long into the future”.   

“The Explorers Programme focuses on Ireland’s two greatest natural resources – our vast undersea territory and our young people,” said Dr. Peter Heffernan, CEO of the Marine Institute. “If Ireland is to develop a thriving marine sector in tomorrow’s world, then it will be the young people of today who will make it happen.” 

Pupils will engage in activities based around animals and plants that live in Irish waters, the power of the sea, the real map of Ireland and will also make their own submarine and periscopes.Classes participating in Discover Primary Science can use an explorers workshop visit to fulfill Step 2 of the steps required to achieve a DPS Award of Science and Math’s Excellence.