Dear Valued Educators, please see below for the programs available at each of our sites.
| Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum School Programs |
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Doon Heritage Village is completely closed for construction. All school programs will take place in the modern museum building. Doon Heritage Village will be available in May and June 2025 for field trips. Education programs at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum cost $9.00 per student for a half day program (2 hours), and $13.00 per student for a full day program (4.5 hours). To make a full day program, you would book two programs in the same day. Each program listed below is a half day program. Teachers and supervising adults are free at a ratio of 1:6. Additional adults pay $9.00 or $13.00, depending on the booking. Educational Assistants and/or one-on-one support workers are always free of charge.
Science SamplerGrades 1 to 8 - Science and Technology Life Systems, Structures and Mechanisms, Earth and Space Systems 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Coding Robots - OutreachGrade 1 to 8 -Science and Technology, Mathematics Teach your class the basics of coding - no laptops or tablets required! Using Ozobots, our staff will introduce your class to creating clear instructions, simplifying problems, debugging programs, producing different outputs, and coding sequential, concurrent, and repeating events. $9.00 per student Coding and Emerging Technologies, Algebra - Coding 40 -80 minutes, maximum 1 class (25 students) per session, consecutive sessions can be booked in the same day
Traditions Alive! - Available May and June 2025 onlyGrades 1 to 6 - Social Studies 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 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Communities in Canada - Grade 3Grade 3 - Heritage and Identity Take an integrated and interactive look at three communities in southwestern Ontario from 1780-1850. Students learn how Indigenous peoples, Mennonite immigrants, and Black settlers lived and interacted, with a focus on Wampum, daily life, and going to school. Communities in Canada, 1780 - 1850 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Human Body SystemsGrade 5 - Science and Technology Limited time only! Now booking for October 21, 2024 - April 2025! Learn how the human body works, what happens when medical help is needed, and how hospitals care for communities. Students explore major human body systems - digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous – and see a special exhibit on St. Mary's General Hospital. Life Systems: Human Health and Body Systems 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Communities in Canada - Grade 6Grade 6 - Heritage and Identity Students explore significant events in the lives of settler communities on the land now called Waterloo Region. Learn about schooling options for Black settlers in the 1850s, the 1885 Chinese Exclusion Act, the immigration of Europeans after the Second World War, and Hmong refugee experiences in the 1970s, by examining the lives of people who lived through these events. Communities in Canada, Past and Present 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Action, Rebellion, and ReformGrade 7 - History Students investigate local conflicts and challenges in Waterloo County from 1800-1850, using primary sources. Learn about Indigenous actions towards treaties, local involvement in the Upper Canada Rebellion, the impact of the Common School Act on students, and how a gaol (jail) allowed Berlin to become the county seat. Canada, 1800-1850, Conflict and Challenges 2 hours, maximum 80 students
Berlin to Kitchener during the Great WarGrade 10 - Canadian History Since World War I 2 hours, maximum 80 students |
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Schneider Haus National Historic Site School Programs |
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Education programs at Schneider Haus cost $9 per student for a half day program, and $13 per student for a whole day. This cost includes 1 free adult (teacher, volunteer) admission for every 6 students, additional adults pay $9/$13. Feathered FriendsKindergarten, Grade 1 - Science Join us at Schneider Haus this Spring to explore the lives of feathered friends we can find in our own backyard! Examine the stages of development inside an egg, play a “who laid this egg” identification game, experiment with how to check the freshness of a chicken's egg, and finish your trip off by exploring drama and dance with our personal favourite, the chicken dance! Exploring and Understanding Life Systems - Basic Needs and Characteristics of Living Things 1 hour in length, Maximum 45 students *Please note this program no longer includes live chickens Plants and the EnvironmentGrades 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 WildlifeGrades 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 ScienceGrade 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 208 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 Haus TraditionsGrade 1-3 and 6 - Social Studies Now booking for Fall 2024! Explore seasonal traditions at Schneider Haus! Fall traditions focus on apple processing, traditional medicines, and outdoor games. Winter traditions focus on Mennonite, German, and other local Christmas traditions, Indoor games, and winter clothing. Spring traditions highlight planting, wool working and outdoor games. Each trip includes a station where students have the opportunity to tour our historic house and learn how people lived throughout the history of our 208 year old farmhouse. Grade 1 - Social Studies - Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities; Grade 2 - Social Studies -Changing Family and Community Traditions; Grade 3 - Social Studies -Communities in Canada, 1780-1850 Grade 6 - Social Studies: Communities in Canada, Past and Present 2 hours, maximum 45 students |
| McDougall Cottage School Programs |
In-Person Outreach ProgramsWe 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 CelebrationsGrade 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; 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 IllusionsGrades 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 - Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts 1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program EtiquetteGrade 3 to 6 - Language, Mathematics & the Arts Help teach your students how to be thoughtful about their conduct both in the classroom and online in this engaging etiquette course. This program includes a brief history of etiquette, why it’s important, and showcases how we uplift ourselves and our community when we lead with kindness, and consideration. Students will experience hands-on etiquette for high tea (a staple at McDougall Cottage) as well as how to translate etiquette online. Digital Media Literacy; Spacial Awareness; Audience Etiquette 1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program Letter WritingGrade 3 to 6 - Language Unlike digital communications, written letters provide a physical history of our relationships and communications with each other and give writers space to slow down and collect their thoughts. In our letter writing program students will learn about the history of letter writing, the importance of physical letters, experience cursive reading and writing exercises, and get hands-on experience writing letters. Our final activity will give students the opportunity to write to a local senior and benefit from the intergenerational connection. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts (Cursive) 1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program Currents of ChangeGrade 4,5,7 and 8 - Social Studies and Geography Through an engaging blend of history, geography, ecology and art, students will examine the profound and dynamic connection between the Grand River, Cambridge’s heritage, and our collective future. This two-part field trip features content from McDougall Cottage’s newest exhibit - “Currents of Change – Inspiring Action Along the Grand River” - and includes a visit to the nearby Idea Exchange River Room. People and Environments: Political and Physical Regions of Canada; Heritage and Identity and People and Environments; Interrelationships between People and the Physical Environment and Natural Resources and Sustainability; Global Settlement: Patterns and Sustainability 1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program |