Clare Association Yearbook, 2004
Fidelma Mc Donnell, Staff Member, Clare Museum
Since March 2002, Clare Museum has run interactive quizzes based on captions that accompany photographs of arifacts from the Riches of Clare exhibition that appear on its website. In 2003, Clare Museum was delighted to receive 200 Euros from the Clare Association to purchase prizes for the winners and runners-up in these quizzes.
The Clare Museum website is hosted by the Clare Library website (www.clarelibrary.ie). When the quizzes are set by the museum curator, they are promoted to local schools by the Clare Education Centre, which since 1972, has supported the in-service needs of Clare teachers. The Centre places the quiz questions on its own website, providing a link to the captions on the Clare museum site, and follows this up with a mailshot to all the schools in the county informing teachers of the quiz.
The museum website quizzes are set regularly resulting in an incentive for students to access it on an ongoing basis. This is a worthwhile exercise, as the museum is continually expanding the site with new acquisitions being added all the time. The competition element is an added bonus as the prospect of winning a prize is relished by the schoolchildren.
The following are the winners and runners-up of the schools quiz, all of whom received prizes thanks to the sponsorship of the Clare Association:
MARCH
Marie Howard, Scoil Realt Na Mara, Kilkee (Winner)
Erik Honan, St. Joseph’s NS Cree (2nd)
Sinead Donnellan Clohanbeg NS (3rd)
APRIL
Lisa Gallagher, Crusheen NS (Winner)
Aishling Moloney, Quilty NS (2nd)
Tracy Gould Duff, Carrigaholt NS (3rd)
MAY
Soracha Scanlon, Carrigaholt NS (Winner)
Sharon Kierce, Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon (2nd)
Claire McConigley, Cloonaha NS, (3rd)
NOVEMBER
Claire O’Brien, Sixmilebridge NS, (Winner)
Laura Smith, Carrigaholt NS (2nd)
PJ Lysaght, St Josephs, Miltown Malbay (3rd)
With its support of the Clare Museum Website Quiz, the Clare Association is assisting the education of the children of Clare in a very practical way, as the quiz not only informs school children of their history, but also increases their computer skills.
On behalf of all at Clare Museum, I would like to thank the Clare Association for its support.