INSIGHT - The Enchanted Bog
Meet Saérlaith. Her skeleton was found deep in a bog in Roscommon by turfcutters in 2005. The turf cutting machine scattered her bones and shattered her clothes, but from the fragments, archaeologists were able to carbon date her to the 7th century (14 hundred years ago). She was a young woman in her twenties and she has stories to tell about her bog and all its enchantments: She is whispering about sphagnum moss and its magical properties, she is listening out for the birds in her sky and ours. She is calling out to us to listen to her and restore the boglands of Ireland and she has enrolled some artists and some data scientists to help. Come and wonder with Saérlaith and find out about miraculous mosses and their carbon capture! Snigger with the snipe as you discover how these birds make their extraordinary sounds. Get curious with CO2 as you watch it being taken up by sphagnum moss. Listen to Saérlaith’s stories as they seem to rise out of the bogland. Help Saérlaith put her shattered cloak back together as we restore the bog.
Practical Workshops led by Professor Jools Gilson & sound artist Benjamin Burns happen twice a day. Young visitors need to have engaged with activities in the The Enchanted Bog tent before they do workshops. It’s best if participants for the Sound workshop have made their snipe spinner. Places are limited.
12.00 - 12.45 Letters to Saérlaith:Creative Writing & Movement [Ages 6 – 12]
In this 45 min workshop, Prof. Jools Gilson leads a lively workshop about Saérlaith and her beloved bog. Where is she going? What does she have in her medicine basket? If we could send a letter to Sáerlaith what might it say?
14.30 - 15.00 Sounds for Saérlaith: Sound Workshop [Ages 5 – 10]
In this 30 min workshop, Prof. Jools Gilson and sound artist Benjamin Burns explore what sounds you can hear in the bog – we play with voice and percussion, using our snipe spinners (safely!) to add some creatures to our sounding adventure.
Important : Workshop places are assigned on a first come first served, max. 10 per workshop. It is a condition of participation that one parent or guardian MUST be present with their child during the entirety of the workshop- this ensures children have 100% parental/guardian supervision at all times . No supervision is provided by activity volunteers.
The Enchanted Bog is a collaboration between Professor Jools Gilson (Theatre Dept UCC), Brendan O’Flynn (Insight - Tyndall Institute [LO1] [JG2] ), Veronica Santorum (Textile Artist & Ecologist), Benjamin Burns (Sound & Media Artist) and Liudmila Khokhlova (Tyndall). Funded by Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, The Arts Council, Future Humanities Institute UCC, & Fulbright Ireland.
Location: Discovery Drive
Time: 11.00-17.00
Format: Hands on Activity