Schools present unique heritage project
AS part of Heritage Week at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough, on Friday, August 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. teachers and pupils at Mayo Abbey and Parke National Schools will be presenting their work on the Heritage Council-funded Schools Archaeological Remote Sensing’ (SARS) project.
It will include hands-on demonstrations of Kite Aerial Photography (KAP), 3-D photography of historical objects, earth resistance survey and an exhibition of posters and artwork created by the pupils.
At 2.30 p.m. there will be a one-hour illustrated presentation on what you need to start your own community archaeological remote sensing project. Find out about available datasets, equipment and open source or low cost software as well as the do’s and don’ts of accessing your local heritage sites. Booking is required for this event and details can be found at http://www.heritageweek.ie/whats-on/event-details?EventID=825.
The project, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, is being led by archaeological geophysicist Kevin Barton (Claremorris) and community archaeologist Christy Lawless (Turlough).
The aim is to raise local awareness of the rich archaeology and history at Mayo Abbey and Parke/Turlough using accessible technology. From a teaching perspective the project combines cross-curriculum topics including archaeology, history, geography, art, design and computing.
The Heritage Council community grant awarded will enable the purchase of kites and cameras for the two schools and the setting up of a library of imagery and resources that can be used for future work in the schools and local community.
A novel element of the project has been the creation and exchange of a ‘Loans Box’ by each school whereby the pupils contributed items which they believe represent the heritage of their area. There has been interest in exchanging boxes from national schools in counties Meath and Wexford and this will be followed up this autumn.
The Mayo Abbey and Parke Loans Boxes will form part of the exhibition on display at Turlough.