Dear Valued Educators, As we begin to return to in-person field trips we will gradually be reintroducing several of the programs you have missed, and some new programming opportunities as well. All education programming will be in accordance with the most up-to-date health and safety protocols.

Field Trips and Outreach

Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum School Programs 

Education programs at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum cost $5.50 per student for a half day program, and $10 per student for a whole day. This cost includes 1 free adult (teacher, volunteer) admission for every 6 students, additional adults pay $5.50.
Do you want us to come to you? Aspects of all of these programs are available in your classroom! Please indicate "outreach" on the online form, and a member of our team will contact you!

Science Sampler

Grades 1 to 8 - Science and Technology
This program provides students with the opportunity to sample different branches of science: ecology, robotics, and earth sciences. Students use the scientific experimentation and engineering design processes to conduct investigations. Do a creek study on Schneider Creek, code easy-to-use robots, and uncover real fossil fish!

Understanding Life Systems, Structures and Mechanisms, Earth and Space Systems

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Earth in Focus

Grades 4 to 8 - Science and Technology
Limited time only! Students explore "Earth in Focus," an exhibit from Ingenium Canada, and actively engage in the exploration of light, heat, and water systems. Using remote sensing and Earth observation from space as a framework, students use distortion goggles to see how difficult it is to take photographs in space, study thermal imaging using a thermal camera, make a topographical map, and code small robots to navigate around Arctic ice! 

Grade 4 - Light and Sound, Grade 5 - Conservation of Energy and Resources, Grade 6 - Space, Grade 7 - Heat in the Environment, Grade 8 - Water Systems

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Offered October 2023 - January 2024

Traditions Alive!

Grades 1 to 8 - Social Studies and History
Students make and taste historic and seasonal dishes, using a real open hearth or woodstove! While preparing their food, students learn about the history behind different cooking methods. Try pickling and canning in the fall/winter, and baking and cooking in the spring/summer!

Grade 1 - Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities, Grade 2 - Changing Family and Community Traditions, Grade 3 - Communities in Canada, 1780-1850, Grade 4 - Early Societies to 1500 CE, Grade 5 - Interactions Prior to 1713, Grade 6 - Communities in Canada, Past and Present, Grade 7 - New France and BNA, 1713-1800 & Conflict and Challenges, 1800-1850, Grade 8 - Canada, 1850-1890 & Canada, 1890-1914

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Berlin to Kitchener during the Great War

Grades 10 to 12 - History
Industry, soldiers, nursing sisters, and a name change. What happened in Waterloo County and Berlin during the First World War? Explore real attestation records of Waterloo County residents who served, learn about munitions factories, practice suturing like a nursing sister, and feel the pressure to be recruited into the military.  

Grade 10 - Canadian History Since World War I, Grade 11 - World History since 1900: Global and Regional Interactions, Grade 12 - Canada: History, Identity, and Culture, Grade 12 - Adventures in World History

2 hours, maximum 80 students

 Schneider Haus National Historic Site School Programs

Education programs at Schneider Haus cost $5.50 per student for a half day program, and $11 per student for a whole day. This cost includes 1 free adult (teacher, volunteer) admission for every 6 students, additional adults pay $5.50/$11.
Do you want us to come to you? Aspects of all of these programs are available in your classroom! Please indicate "outreach" on the online form, and a member of our team will contact you!

Plants and the Environment

Grades 1 to 4 - Science and Technology

Roll up your sleeves, it’s time to get to work outside as we dig into the natural world relationships that our planet relies on! While students are here they will explore plant parts and needs, identify plants; learn about plant medicines; use mini-microscopes to examine healthy soils; tend to the vermiculture box, and more!

Understanding Life Systems, Understanding Matter and Energy, Understanding Earth and Space Systems

2 hours, maximum 40 students

Offered in the Spring and Fall

Canadian Animals and Wildlife

Grades 2 and 4 - Science and Technology

This program introduces students to the wildlife and animals found in our own backyard! With a variety of hands-on activities, students examine the differences between local mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as the relationships between humans and animals in both past and present day contexts. 

Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Animals, Habitats and Communities

2 hours, maximum 40 students

Bread Science

Grade 5 and 7 - Science & Technology and Social Studies

This program provides students with a hands-on opportunity to experience the science of bread making, an important activity for communities globally, both historically and today. Physical and chemical changes, changes of state, experimenting with mixtures, and the effects of heat on matter are demonstrated as students produce a variety of breads for sampling, comparing historic and modern cooking technology. While bread is baking students have the opportunity to tour through our 207 year old historic house and associated outbuildings; discussing the history of Waterloo Region and examining the scientific methods used in everyday life on historic homesteads. 

Understanding Matter and Energy – Properties and Changes in Matter; Pure Substances and Mixtures

2 hours, maximum 45 students

McDougall Cottage School Programs 

In-Person Outreach Programs - we bring the museum to you! 

McDougall Cottage is offering in-person, outreach programs that we will bring right to your classroom! In-person visits are one hour in length, and $100.00 per visit. Each program is also available as a virtual visit. Virtual Education Programs

Traditions and Celebrations 

Grade 2 - Social Studies

This program combines Social Studies, The Arts, and Mathematics as we explore our changing family and community traditions using the Scottish heritage of the former residents of McDougall Cottage as a focused exploration. Students will explore Scottish celebrations by looking at traditional music, foodways, dance, clothing, and conclude with an Art and Mathematics design challenge!

Heritage and Identity - Changing Family and Community Traditions; The Arts;  Mathematics - Algebra: Patterns and Relationships 

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Emigrant’s ‘Kist’ 

Grade 3 - Social Studies

With only a small 'kist' to carry their most important practical and sentimental belongings to a new home in Upper Canada, how and why did an immigrant family select those precious items? In what ways might this have changed for families moving to a new country today? In this inquiry based program, students will unpack and explore artifacts essential to Scottish emigrants in the nineteenth century, drawing comparisons between their own lives and the communities that formed new beginnings in Waterloo Region between 1780 and 1850.

Heritage and Identity - Communities in Canada, 1780 - 1850

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Murals and Illusions 

Grades 4 - 6 - Art

We will take your class on an exploration of the recently revealed 100 year old trompe l'oeil murals and  friezes at McDougall Cottage. Students will compare and contrast historic mural art with modern examples of optical illusion mural, street and body art, and then try their hand at creating their own ‘trick of the eye’ art piece.

The Arts

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Bouncing Back!: Building Personal Resilience 

Grades 4 - 6

This program is an extension of McDougall Cottage’s new temporary exhibit, Resiliency: Shared Stories of Strength and Survival. Students will see real life examples of resilience, both from the 165 year- old Cottage itself, as well as from those shared by members of our local community. This program introduces students to a few of the strategies and techniques (including mindfulness, breathing, movement and art exercises) that can help them to build and strengthen the trait of resilience in their own lives in order to be able to bounce back better from life’s challenges.  

Health and Physical Education - Social Emotional Learning Skills

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Resiliency: Shared Stories of Strength and Survival 

Grade 7 - 9

This program is an extension of McDougall Cottage’s new temporary exhibit, Resiliency: Shared Stories of Strength and Survival. Students will see real life examples of resilience, both from the 165 year-old Cottage itself, as well as from those shared by members of our local community. Through an exploration of these examples, students will identify and discuss protective factors and strategies that can help to build and strengthen their personal resilience, versus risk factors that limit and hinder it. 

Health and Physical Education - Social Emotional Learning Skills

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program.

Book Your Education Program Today