Crafted Creatures:The Ark, the children's cultural centre in Temple Bar, has teamed up with the Crafts Council of Ireland and the National Museum of Decorative Arts at Collins Barracks and come up with a really clever idea – a treasure hunt for families that goes from the Ark building to the museum, spotting all sorts of treasures in the Ark and in the museum but also along the way.
Pick up a map at the Ark on Eustace Street, take a look at the magical Crafted Creatures Exhibition that’s currently on (until March 27th) – some of the puzzles in the trail relate to the cute and hugely inventive animals on show – and then set out on your journey answering questions and puzzles along the way.
For example, the map encourages young walkers to look up at the magnificent frieze on the Sunlight Chambers building at Parliament Street – one of Dublin’s treasures – as well as hunting out some of the more unusual items in the vast Collins Barracks museum. If you prefer, you could download the trail map from ark.ie.
What makes this particularly buggy- and small child-friendly is that both venues are linked by the Luas – cross the bridge, walk down to Jervis Street and hop on the red line, which stops outside the museum.