On Wednesday October 18th, we took a field trip to Nano Nagle Place here in Cork, in order to examine the impact that Digital Technology has had on this historic site.
For those who don’t know who Nano Nagle was, she founded the
“Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary” (PBVM) in Ireland (also known as the “Presentation Sisters“) and was a pioneer of Catholic education in Ireland. She was declared venerable in the Roman Catholic Church on 31 October 2013 by Pope Francis.”
Throughout the site, there was a mix of traditional and modern techniques used to tell the story of Nano Nagle. The museum itself is a mix of brightly lit exterior to the dimly lit, more traditional interior of the original school grounds where the exhibition now stands. Nano Nagle is one of the most innovative buildings in the country and it is easy to see as you walk through the museum.
The exhibits are a mix of physical examples like original objects from the original time to more digital examples like digital copies of the role books. It is also easy to see that the people behind the site are catering for as many tourists from all ago groups as possible. There are many examples of this like seating around the museum for elderly people and activity corners for children to keep themselves busy if they are starting to lose interest. However, I do feel like there is not enough facilities for people who are in wheel chairs or who have walking aids as there is a lot of steps throughout the museum.
There are some issues with the place, such as sound echoing throughout the place which made watching the exhibits quite distracting and difficult to listen to the narrations of the exhibits. Especially for older people who may be hard of hearing. Another issue is that or some of the technology does not have instructions on how to use them which may be difficult for some people as they may not be aware that they can interact with the displays.
All in all, I felt that it was beneficial to go see the exhibit and I would probably return to the museum at another stage to have another look at the exhibits and to get a better feel of the museum. I like the idea that there are plans to create a green-space in the location as the surrounding areas are quite urbanised so it would be lovely to have an area of green in the built up area of Cork City.
