An incredible world in miniature will be laid out at the Jackie Clarke Museum next weekend as part of Heritage Week.
Toy Soldiers is a diorama exhibition on the World War I.
The scene is a perfectly detailed miniature recreation, complete with forces made up of toy soldiers, of a World War I battlefield.
Alongside this, there will also be a chance for visitors to work on their own strategy as part of an all day multi-player battle game.
There will also be some World War I quizzes and competitions, combatant genealogy, tracing the Ballina men and women who fought and died in the war, as well as stories from the war.
The day will feature a ‘living history’ component, in which children and parents can experience life during World War 1.
Recruitment
When participants enter the collection, they will be ‘recruited’ into the war effort. They will answer a brief questionnaire and based on their answers they will be given a war time role.
For boys, this would include joining the regiments and fighting in the trenches or becoming part of the strategy team planning battles.
Girls can take part in the war effort by working in factories or becoming nurses working on the front line, or they can join the fight for women's voting rights.
Part of the museum will be developed into a replica of a trench. Children and parents will be able to make gas masks, play some of the card games soldiers used to play in times of boredom, and read and write their own wartime diary.
The collection is launching at the museum tomorrow (Saturday ).
For more information visit www.clarkecollection.ie or find it on Facebook.
