ABSTRACT
Schooling in Northern Ireland mirrors and to some extent reinforces the division in our society: Catholic and Protestant children are, for the most part, educated separately up to the age of 18. In this divided society, museums offer an avenue for reconciliation. Northern Ireland's three major museums—the Ulster Museum, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and the Ulster-American Folk Park—are national institutions, financed by the government through the Department of Education, Northern Ireland. The government's Making Belfast Work initiative hopes to improve educational opportunities and employment prospects in the most severely deprived areas of Belfast. It is not unusual for children in Northern Ireland to grow to adulthood without meeting, much less forming friendships with, anyone from the "other" community. The location of the residential center in the heart of the open-air museum, which is closed to the public in the evenings, adds an exciting dimension to the experience.
