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Secondary School

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Rolling pin spreading ink of metal plate
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Secondary School Tours

The National Print Museum offers an educational and interactive guided tour specifically tailored to suit Secondary School students.

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Tour Structure and Learning Outcomes

The Museum’s permanent exhibition is laid out in the same style as an old print shop with a composing, printing, and finishing areas. The tour guide leads students through the different stages of printing, from the inventions of Johannes Gutenberg to the Industrial Revolution and the changes brought on by modern technology.

Students get an insight into the role of printing during the 1916 Rising and hear the fascinating story of the composing and printing of the 1916 Proclamation, an original copy of which is on display at the Museum. All students get to try their hand at traditional hand-composing and printing and experience how many of the printing machines in the Museum’s collection operate through tactile presentation.

student operating columbian press

Secondary School Curriculum Links

The Junior Cycle tour is cross-curricular in nature and is suitable for 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students. The content of the tour links to and interprets a number of subjects on the Junior Cycle curriculum including History, Art, Craft & Design and English.

The Senior Cycle tour is cross-curricular in nature and is suitable for 5th and 6th year students. The content of the tour links to and interprets a number of subjects on the Senior Cycle curriculum including Art, History and English.

The interactive tour for Transition Year students links into and interprets the following within the Transition Year Curriculum: Aesthetics Education, English, Environmental and Social Studies (in particular Historical Studies – history of arts and crafts, heritage studies) and Practical Studies.

Round stain glass window of the print museum building

Practical Info and Booking

The tour lasts approximately 60 minutes and the cost is €3 per student, with teachers free.

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What People Are Saying
Fantastic museum and tour guides! We organised a trip to the museum for our TY journalism class and they had a blast! The staff were friendly, welcoming, accommodating, and went above and beyond for us. They gave us so much fascinating information about printing, and the tour even included some interactive elements. They made the tour so entertaining and informative for the students. I would highly recommend.
Shauna
April 2025
What People Are Saying
A really super Museum. We organised a visit with a group of international students and they loved every second of it. Ciaran was a super guide, very accommodating to varied language levels and extraordinary engaging and knowledgeable. All the staff I spoke with to organise the visit were incredibly kind and helpful. Its a pity the museum doesn't have a roadside property or is not more heavily promoted as it is really a superb experience, I hate to think that people might be missing out. Thank you and to everyone who hosted us and is involved with this wonderful location.
Ellen
February 2025
What People Are Saying
I visited the museum with students and we were given a very informative introduction by a lovely lady. We saw same amazing printing machines and got to learn about the history of printing. The building is beautiful.
Lilian
June 2021
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