Hi everyone, It was another great day. Today we had one activity planned and it was EPIC!! We went back to the Docklands but instead of meeting Dr. Kelly we visited Epic The Irish Emigration Museum. I really enjoyed this museum, it was a very interactive experience so all ages could enjoy it. At the beginning of the museum they give you a “passport” so at each different part you can stamp it on your passport. I really liked that aspect of it as I was excited to stamp during each part of the museum. The exhibit was broken into many different parts. Starting with “An Open Island” and ending with “Connection” each part had a different story that all connected to one bigger story at the end. I think it gives a really good idea about the history and the current day in Ireland. My overall impression of the museum was it was really cool, I really enjoyed it and I think no matter who you are or where you are traveling from everyone can enjoy this museum and learn a lot about the country they are visiting.

Something new that I learned that I haven’t encountered yet on our other tours was “The Irish Influence.” The Irish Influence basically said that people left Ireland for a lot of different reasons; whether due to poverty, a need for work, or society made it impossible to stay. When these people left Ireland they were building life elsewhere which meant they brought the Ireland culture to the rest of the world. This is something I did not know, I really enjoyed this part of the exhibit because it made me think of all the Irish culture back home and if I witnessed it.

While I did enjoy the Irish influence, that was not my favorite part. My favorite part was the river dancing. Back before I even knew I was going to Ireland when I was in high school I was really fascinated with Irish river dancing and the competitiveness of the sport. I watch a couple documentaries on Youtube about the sport, so seeing it in the exhibit today I was super excited to watch the videos of it and read all about it.

Overall the Epic museum was a lot of fun and gave a nice interactive experience to learning about Ireland. If I were to ever come back to Ireland I would bring my friends and family to experience this museum as well!