Today Thursday 23 March 2006 will see Donegal County Archives Service launch of an innovative project aimed at Primary Schools in Donegal. This project will bring archival material to primary schools in Donegal with the launch of its Schools Facsimile Pack.
The County Archive Service is part of the Cultural Services Division of Donegal County Council and has compiled this pack in conjunction with the Donegal Education Centre and the Donegal Teachers' Focus Group.
Speaking before the launch, Ms. Niamh Brennan, County Archivist with Donegal County Council said that “the aim of the project is to increase awareness of local archives and local history by introducing archival material to children at a young age, in a manner that causes no threat to the preservation of the documents”. She added that “this provides an excellent learning opportunity while demonstrating the value of archival material. The packs are potentially a very versatile teaching aid for use in history, geography, civics or social studies classes and are easily manipulated in the classroom”.
Archival material demonstrates the nature of evidence, introducing the concept of primary and secondary sources and can also help develop a broad range of investigative and interpretive skills in students.
The pack contains facsimile copies of documents from the County Archives collection along with worksheets.
Niamh Brennan stated that “with the support of the Heritage Council, who have provided part funding for this pilot project, we intend on introducing the pack into ten primary schools in the county to coincide with the rollout of the new history curriculum”.
For further information contact Ciara Joyce, Assistant Archivist, Donegal County Archives Service, Three Rivers Centre Lifford, Co. Donegal or email: cjoyce@donegalcoco.ie or Tel: 074 91 72455.