Shackleton and Riverbank collaborate on programme for Kildare primary schoolers
Third Class students from Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Athy at the Shackleton Experience
A NEW immersive visual arts programme for primary school students across Kildare has been unveiled by Riverbank Arts Centre in collaboration with the Shackleton Experience, Athy, the only institution in the world dedicated to the life and achievements of Kildare-born polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.
The project, ‘An Antarctic Journey’ with Martina McDonald and the Shackleton Experience, aims to deliver an immersive visual arts programme for primary school students across Kildare through photography, storytelling, and artefact encounters. Students will also explore Martina’s personal Antarctic journey alongside the legacy of Ernest Shackleton.
The project combines an interactive tour with Martina and tour guides in the venue followed by an in-school printmaking workshop the subsequent week, highlighting print as a historic method of documenting exploration. This two-part experience invites children to connect imagination, creativity and adventure.
Speaking about the project, Martina said: “This project is a wonderful opportunity to bring art and history together, allowing children to experience exploration through Shackleton’s story and my own journey to Antarctica. By combining museum discovery and in-school creations, students will be supported to express their own creative responses to adventure and place.”
The project, which is due to officially launch in April 2026, has already had its first test run with Third Class students from Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Athy. The students were thoroughly engaged as they were led through the Experience by Martina and Tour Guides Adam Guthrie and Alyssa Russell, which included a stop to view a slideshow featuring photos from Martina’s trip to Antarctica in February 2025.
Aline FitzGerald, general manager of the Shackleton Experience, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Riverbank on such an exciting and innovative project which brings the story of Ernest Shackleton to life in such a creative and meaningful way.”
If you are a teacher and interested in signing your class up for An Antarctic Journey with Martina McDonald and the Shackleton Experience, or would like more information please contact Riverbank’s Box Office team on 045 448327 or email boxoffice@riverbank.ie.
