Cork Playful Culture Trail

Discover, explore and play in Cork City

New Playful Culture Trail features 30 fun things to do this summer in museums, galleries, attractions, and green spaces throughout Cork City.

Click here for Play Trail Video & Links

Are you looking for interactive, educational, and playful things to do with your kids this summer?

Museums, galleries, and attractions in Cork City have come together to create a Playful Culture Trail, featuring 30 fun and playful places where kids can explore the city’s culture, heritage and green spaces through play.

Each attraction on the trail will have a unique activity pack for kids on arrival with numerous challenges to complete from scavenger hunts, to sketching tasks, crosswords and investigation work.

Families participating in the trail will have the opportunity to hop through labyrinths at St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral, design costumes for superheroes at Crawford Art Gallery, find their Bog Age at the Cork Butter Museum, trace tombstones at St Peter’s Church, make daisy chains at Nano Nagle Place, enjoy the playground at the Old Cork Waterworks, and lots more.

Make sure to keep a beady eye out for ‘Blaithín’ on your adventures – a cute and cuddly lizard who is the play trail mascot and will be playing hide and seek in lots of attractions.

The full trail is highlighted on a colourful and child friendly map that can be picked up along with a unique tote bag, colouring pencils, a Pure Cork pencil, and a bookmark, from attractions and hotels in the city.

One of the first adventurers on the Cork City Playful Culture Trail was Olivia Phillips, aged 6 from Youghal, who has already explored the labyrinth at St Fin Barre’s.  She said “I love my play trail kit and can’t wait to search for Bláithín the lizard with my little brother and sister in other places. I love art so the next time I want to do some sketches in Crawford, and science is my favourite subject so star-gazing and learning about space at the Observatory sounds so cool!”

Commenting on the reasons behind the initiative, one of the key organisers Dr Danielle O’Donovan, Programme Manager at Nano Nagle Place, said that Cork City wants to lead the way in encouraging playful engagement in venues that may have traditionally been perceived as quiet spaces.  “Lots of us want to bring kids to museums, galleries and attractions, but often there isn’t anything designed for them to do. This summer in Cork we have turned that problem into a creative opportunity by designing playful and engaging activity packs for kids so that families feel welcome in our cultural spaces.  We are delighted to launch this innovative Playful Culture Trail, which will make kids VIPs at cultural venues throughout Cork City. It has been a real passion project for everyone involved and all the project partners have been hugely enthusiastic in devising activities for kids of various ages and interests”

Also commenting, Denise Cahill, coordinator of the Playful Cork City Project and Cork Healthy Cities, said “Providing opportunities for fun and giving children permission to play is more important than ever right now, after a year of lockdown. We’re working on making Cork City a playful city, and this exciting new initiative that introduces play to culture not only promotes wellbeing, activity and learning, but it inspires families to engage with the wonderful cultural attractions, heritage spaces, museums, galleries and green spaces that they have yet to discover in Cork.”

Get inspired by the Cork City Playful Culture Trail:

1. Scoot down the marina
2. Explore with coke zero bikes
3. Go otter spotting along the lee
4. Have a picnic at Bell’s Field
5. Find Bláithín the lizard
6. Make a daisy chain at Nano Nagle Place
7. Find out your ‘bog’ age at The Butter Museum
8. Get locked up at Cork City Goal
9. See underground at Triskel Christchurch
10. Get in the stocks at Elizabeth Fort
11. Find the medieval bowling ball at Cork Public Museum
12. Fire your imagination at the city library
13. Play chase or fly a kite in the lee fields
14. Skim a stone across the Lee
15. Float a paper boat on the lough
16. Star gaze at Blackrock Castle Observatory
17. Find the centre of the labyrinth at St Finbarre’s Cathedral
18. Discover the playground at Old Cork Waterworks
19. Pose like a sculpture at the Crawford Art Gallery
20. Find the right time on one of the 4 clock faces of Shandon
21. Play pooh sticks at the Glen River park
22. Make a wish on the witches wishing steps at Blarney castle
23. Run over the shaky bridge
24. Balance on a silver ball at Fitzgerald’s Park
25. Find the little boys on the rubble of St. Peter’s
26. Find the shiny tree in Fitzgerald’s Park
27. Do the UCC art trail at the Glucksman
28. Find the Cork town walls at Bishop Lucey park
29. Hunt for medals at the military museum, Collins Barracks
30. Treat yourself to sweets in Lenihan’s, Shandon

Get ready by picking up your free canvas goodie bag or download the virtual map at purecork.ie/playtrail, Get set by choosing where you want to visit, and go, go, go before the summer is out!

This project is part of an overall mission to make Cork a playful, child friendly, active city  and was developed in collaboration with all of the participating museums, galleries and attractions in Cork, in partnership with Playful Paradigm, Cork City Council, Cork Local Sports Partnership, Pure Cork, and Bus Eireann.

Some venues are free and others offer family rates.  For more see purecork.ie/playtrail.