The Zoo Project

The Zoo Project 2025

Stanhope Street Primary School, Dublin 7

Black Church Print Studios artists Caroline Byrne, An Gee Chan, and Emily Mc Gardle, assisted by Drew Chambers (TY placement) worked on the Zoo Project with 4th Class pupils from Stanhope Primary School in Stoneybatter Dublin 7. Fighting Words, Dublin Zoo, and Cabra Library were also engaged in this project.

The Zoo Project provided the students with an opportunity to connect with their locality using Dublin Zoo as a backdrop. The project involved the children creating their own illustrated book inspired by the zoo and their local community.

Project Artists shared contemporary art practice with pupils and worked with a collaborative focus, generating ideas with the group to form a collaborative artwork using monoprinting, gelli-plate printing, screenprinting, and drawing.

The original “Artwork Copy” will be gifted to Stanhope School for display in a communal area, with a digital reproduction included in the school library. A riso publication will also be produced for each child in the school as a memento of their participation. We will hold an event in Cabra Library for the school community, inviting parents and guardians to attend and celebrate the children’s work.

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Outdoor classroom finished artwork

Session 1: Introduction to project and artist talk with Aileen Crossley
4th class pupils were introduced to popular picturebooks about animals including If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss, A Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr. Author and BCPS member Aileen Crossley spoke about how she writes and creates picturebooks, including her recent award winning book An Áit a nÉitlíonn na Madaí Crainn/ Where the Tree Dogs Fly.

Author Aileen Crossley holding a copy of her book which has a blue cover.

Session 2 – Visit to the zoo
The children visited Dublin Zoo, and were given a guided tour followed by a talk in the zoo Discovery and Learning Centre. Each child was given a pencil and notebook which they used to record their ideas and drawings throughout the project.

Session 3 – Exploring printmaking
Pupils were introduced to various printmaking techniques including monoprinting, screenprinting, and gelli plate printing. They also worked on developing the drawings they created during their visit to the zoo.
Session 4 – Fighting words workshop
The children visited Cabra Library to take part in a workshop hosted by Fighting Words where they worked on creating a story about a visit to the zoo. They also explored children’s poetry, and learned how to create a flow of words for their story.
Session 5 – Bringing it all together
Children worked in groups to create imagery to tell their story using drawing and the printmaking techniques they learned. They finalised the text of the story, and decided on the page layouts.