Explorers Education Programme are back to school and expanding to Donegal

The Marine Institute's Explorers Education Programme is thrilled to announce its return to schools for the 2025-2026 school year, with an expansion that will bring marine-themed education to both coastal and inland counties across Ireland, including Donegal.

This new nationwide reach is a testament to the program's success and growing demand for ocean literacy.

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In addition to the online expansion, the Explorers Programme also welcomes eight new team members to its network that will be providing outreach delivery to coastal counties all around Ireland. Cat and David McCann will be delivering the Explorers programme in Donegal, while new team members in Kerry; Elis Martineili and Dalia Alnajar, will also be delivering a range of marine themed projects in schools in Limerick. New team members Claire Law and Lauren Cahill-Quinn in Cork, and Lauren Minion, Brian Parle, Angeleen Leckie-James and Rianna Carroll will be delivering in other key coastal counties around Ireland.

Drawing on extensive backgrounds in both marine science and the primary school curriculum, these new and existing teams will provide teachers with expertise and support for a variety of engaging class projects and seashore safaris. Explorers project modules such as Learning about Squid, Fintastic Sharks, Turtle Talk with Sea Turtles, as well as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Deep-sea Species, are some of the favourite modules delivered by the team, with new content being launched throughout the next couple of months. The coastal teams will also offer hands-on experiences, from seashore adventures to bringing the seashore to the classroom with aquarium modules also being extended in counties in Dublin and Wicklow.

“This expansion marks a significant milestone for the program, which has successfully delivered marine-themed educational content for nearly two decades,” said Ms. Patricia Orme, Director of Corporate Services at the Marine Institute. "The sustained success of the Explorers Education Programme is a testament to its engaging and impactful approach to teaching students about our vital marine environment and supporting teachers in creating ocean literacy in the classroom.

“We are delighted to support this expansion, reaching some inland counties through interactive online workshops and the continued development of our educational resources that are available to all schools online. This underscores our commitment to ensuring all young people are engaged in valuing and understanding the ocean’s influence on our lives, and our impact on the ocean," she said.

Dr. Noirin Burke from the Explorers Outreach Team, who will be leading the delivery to primary schools in inland counties, is particularly enthusiastic about this new chapter.

"We are super excited to see the Explorers Education Programme expand to inland counties, bringing a wave of ocean literacy across the country," Dr. Burke noted. "Having grown up in Co. Tipperary, I understand how someone who lives away from the coast can still be passionate about the shoreline and spending time at the water. With nowhere in Ireland being far from the sea, an online interactive school module is a fantastic way of connecting students to our marine heritage and identity, and we are looking forward to exploring the ocean with all the schools we meet throughout the year."