Castlebar.News      
    From The West of Ireland
    Go to Castlebar | Photo Gallery | Castlebar Directory | Nostalgia Board
Museum of Country Life : Temporary Exhibitions Last Updated: 2, Apr 2018 - 10:02


Planet Earth: Our Place in Space.
By Bernie Byron
22, Dec 2008 - 14:04

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

Planet Earth: Our Place in Space. 

A new temporary exhibition based on the geological collections from the National Museum of Ireland – Natural History continues this Christmas in the National Museum Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar. The exhibition will run until the end of February 2009.

This exhibition provides an opportunity to see at first hand some of the most important rocks and minerals that make up our home. It includes a collection of meteorites, many of which fell in Ireland, that tell us more about the origins of our planet.

Based on the geological collections of the National Museum of Ireland – Natural History, this exhibition includes a collection of meteorites, many of which fell in Ireland, that tell us more about the origins of our planet. A highlight is the Limerick Meteorite that fell near Adare, County Limerick in 1813, Ireland's largest ever meteoritae weighing in at 27 kilos. The exhibition will also feature some of the folk traditions associated with the moon and the stars.

The exhibition will also feature a sample of moon rock, complete with an Irish tricolour flag that was brought to the moon. Other exhibits will include meteorites – rocks from space that are debris from the early solar system. These specimens will be used to explain what meteorites tell us about the early solar system and also what we know about the earth as a planet. Minerals and rocks will further illustrate what the earth is made of and its nature as a planet.

Nigel Monaghan, exhibition curator explains "these meteorites came to the museum because people centuries ago saw them as significant even if they were a scientific puzzle at the time. I am delighted to see them on public view in a way that explains the fascinating stories they can tell. Hopefully people will become more aware of the importance of meteorites to Irish science. It would be great if the next time one falls we get a call from the finder".

2009 is the 40th anniversary of Man landing on the Moon, another rocky body orbiting our planet. The piece of Moon rock presented to the Irish State from the Apollo 17 mission of 1972 will be on general public display for the first time, complete with an Irish tricolour flag that was brought to the moon.

Visitors are invited to celebrate International Year of Planet Earth 2008 with a visit to some of these earthly and cosmic treasures. The exhibition will also feature some of the folk traditions associated with the moon and the stars.

A number of education activities will also take place to complement the exhibition. Admission to the exhibition is free. Opening times: Tues-Sat: 10am – 5pm; Sun: 2-5pm. Closed Mondays (incl. Bank Holidays).



© Copyright 2008 by © Contributor(s) and Castlebar Web Pages 1997 - 2018

.. Top of Page


Temporary Exhibitions
Latest Headlines
Vibrant Large-Scale Art at Museum of Country Life
Return to the Land of Youth
Safe Secrets: the Story of the Coggalbeg
Temporary Exhibitions at the Museum of Country Life
The Cross of Cong Returns to Mayo
Liam O'Neill Wood Sculpture
Moylough Belt Shrine
Common Threads - An Exhibition of Fabric Art
Christmas Exhibition
Planet Earth: Our Place in Space.
Moylough Belt Shrine
Romantic Stitches and Realist Sketches
Some Current Temporary Exhibitions
Whitewash & Thatch
Religion and Magic - Exhibition