Educational Programmes
Welcome!
- Over 30 years of experience as leaders in museum education; we offer an exciting line up of innovative programmes designed to compliment and enliven the Ontario elementary and secondary school curriculum.
- We also encourage participation by other groups. Homeschool classes, Scouts and Guides, Cadets, we'd love to have you visit!
- Several programmes are also offered as outreach inside the classroom at a cost of $50.00 per class with a limit of 35 students per presentation. Multiple bookings are welcome within the same school, but group sizes are limited to ensure the quality of the programme.
View and Download the Teachers Guide
Booking Information:
To book a programme:
- Programmes are 2 hours in length, available morning or afternoon.
- Programmes are $3 per student.
- Classroom teachers and parent chaperones are admitted free of charge. We recommend three parent chaperones per class. Chaperones are expected to actively participate in the programme.
To book your museum visit or have the museum visit you, please call Katie Clarke, Assistant Museum Programmer, Monday through Friday, 519.846.0916, ext. 5231 or email: katiec@wellington.ca
Available Programming
Primary/Kindergarten
| Kindergarten |
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Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours
Museums Come in All Shapes and Sizes
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| Encourages kindergarten students to play with the concepts of sorting, collecting, measuring and categorizing with our Museum collection. Kindergarten students are little curators by nature and we will put their problem solving skills to work at the Museum in a fun and hands-on way. |
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Grade 1
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Social Studies: The Local Community-People and Environments
Maps and Mapmaking
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Hands-on with maps of Wellington County! Students will build on several skills for extracting information from a map including orientation, grids, relative location, using a map legend, and symbols. Students will work to create their own map to places in their community.
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Science and Technology: Understanding Life Systems
Living Things
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| All living things have needs! By exploring the trails, woodlots, and the Grand River on the Museum grounds, students will discover the needs and characteristics that all living things need to grow and thrive. Programme is exclusively outside with little access to washrooms or shelter, please dress accordingly. Available from late April to June, and September to October. Rain or shine. |
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| Grade 2 |
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Social Studies: Global Communities-People and Environments
The Following Three Programmes are Offered
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Festival of Lights - A focus on celebrations around the world and how heritage is passed through community celebrations such as St Nicholas Day, Eid al-Fitr, Hannukkah and the Festival of the Three Kings among others (celebrations change each year). Activities include stories, games, a festive treat and a take home craft.
Cultures of the County - Modern Wellington County was built by various communities and traditions. Students will look at four diverse groups and how they helped to shape the County we live in today. The Attawandaron First Nation, Black Canadian settlement of the Queens Bush, Scottish, and Dutch cultures will all be celebrated for how they helped develop our modern Canada.
Christmas Traditions in Canada - Christmas traditions in Canada are found among diverse groups and have changed over time. Students will make a festive treat, a take home gift, and participate in some of the cultural traditions that have gone into the creation of the modern Canadian Christmas.
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Science and Technology: Movement
Simple Machines
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| Students will explore the use of simple machines in the 19th and early 20th centuries that helped make work a little easier. In our 1877 Heritage Barn and Museum, there are incline planes, wedges, screws, levers, wheel and axles, gears and pulleys. We will be using them all and even making our own! |
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Grade 3
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Social Studies: Communities in Canada 1780-1850
Long House or Log Cabin
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| Through exhibit investigation and a variety of hands on activities, students will compare the ways of life between the Attawandaron First Nation and the early 19th century European settlers. How did these people face challenges differently? How did they influence how we live our lives today? |
Science and Technology: Strong and Stable Structures
Structures: Built for the Future |
| 150 years of construction have been taking place on the Museum grounds and continue to this day. Students will have a chance to explore a number of different structures and investigate their properties. Students will be inside a timber frame Barn built in 1877; a 19th century stone Poor House; under a steel and wooden trestle train bridge spanning the Grand River; at the ruins of a limekiln; and visit an ultra-modern public library. What makes these structures stand the test of time? Or not? |
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Social Studies: Communities in Canada 1780-1850 Heritage and Identity
Early Settlers in Wellington County
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Students discover the many challenges that faced early 19th century Canadian settlers. Activities may include candle making, processing wool and creating herbal remedies. Gallery tours and discussions will focus on challenges faced
by the early settlers, how they overcame them, and the differences between their way of life and our own today. |
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Junior
| Grade 4 |
Science and Technology: Rocks and Minerals
Wellington County Rocks! |
| Students will go into the Elora Gorge and learn about its creation and how the communities that sprung up around it used rocks and minerals to their advantage. Activities include a visit to the ruins of a nineteenth century limekiln and trying to start a campfire with a rock! Programme is exclusively outside with little access to washrooms or shelter, please dress accordingly. Available from late April to June, and September to October. Rain or shine. |
Science and Technology: Pulleys and Gears
Pulleys and Gears: Work Made Simple! |
| Students will explore the use of pulleys, gears, and other simple machines from the 19th and early 20th centuries. In our 1877 Heritage Barn, there are a wide variety of pulleys and gears performing different functions. We’ll be using them all, and making our own! Available from late April to June, and September to October. Rain or shine. |
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| Grade 5 |
Social Studies: The Role of Government and Responsible Citizenship-People and Environments
Government in Canada: It's Your Choice. |
| Who will win the 1886 election in Wellington County? The Poorhouse was a major issue. Students will learn about elections, the different levels of government, and gather and organize a variety of information and data that present various perspectives about Canadian social issues. Students will run their own campaigns and elections. Who will win? |
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Intermediate/Senior
| Grade 6 |
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Social Studies: Communities in Canada Past and Present-Heritage and Identity
History Detectives
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| Using Wellington County as an example of how Canadian communities developed this inquiry based research programme highlights some of the diverse communities that have shaped our nation. Using primary resources and fun activities, students will learn about the creation of the Canadian Identity and how different communities may have diverse perspectives on Canadian history. |
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| Grade 7 |
History: Canada 1800-1850: Conflict and Challenges
Richard Pierpoint: Historical Survivor - Black Settlement in the Queen's Bush |
| The War of 1812, the American Revolution, pioneers in the wilderness. All significant events in Canadian history, but how were these events viewed by Canada’s marginalized populations? By studying original documents and creative presentations, students will learn about the life of Richard Pierpoint; slave, freedom fighter, soldier, and first settler of present day Fergus. How did he and other black settlers to the County view the events of history? Is it different from how we view our history today? |
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| Grade 7/8 |
Geography: Natural Resources Around the World Global Settlement
Settlement and Sustainability: Why are we here? |
| For thousands of years the natural geography of Wellington County has been influencing the settlement patterns of the area. From the First Nations groups who first settled here, to the European settlers building farms, quarries and industrial mills, to the modern tourists tubing down the Grand River, the physical features of the County have been the reason people choose to live here. Students will investigate how different groups have used these natural features to their benefit over time. Have they always used these features sustainably? Are we? |
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| Grade 8 |
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Science and Technology: Water Systems
A Grand Resource: Local Water Systems
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The Grand River is a National Heritage River that has shaped the history of Wellington County right up to the present day, and the Museum grounds are located on its banks! Students will be visiting the Grand and investigating our historical water ram and working windmill to discover how people at the Poorhouse used the local water systems to their advantage. Did they use it wisely? Did it have life and death consequences? Programme is exclusively outside with little access to
washrooms or shelter, please dress accordingly. Available from late April to June, and September to October. |
History: Canada 1890-1914 a Changing Society
Poorhouse to Social Justice: Society Shifts
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From 1877-1947, the Wellington County Museum was the County’s House of Industry and Refuge (Poor House) where hundreds of the unemployed, the poor, women, children and the elderly sought refuge. Through the use of primary documents, students will discover the lives of the people that lived, worked and died here, as well as learn about
Canadian society’s views on charity, social responsibility, and the poor and marginalized over 100 years ago. What were some of the challenges these communities faced? How does this compare to the challenges facing present day Canadians? |
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High School
| Grade 10 |
Canadian History Since World War 1: Strands A-C
Poorhouse to Welfare State: Society Shifts |
From during the first half of the 20th century the Wellington County Museum was the Poorhouse. This represented a Victorian attempt at creating a modern welfare system with all the rights we enjoy today, but by 1947 it was seen as outdated. What changed? Students will tour though the old poorhouse and its cemetery to learn about the lives of
some of the people who lived and died within its walls. What made Canadian society change so that we don’t have poorhouses today? |
History: Canada 1914-1929 Strand B
Change and the Canadian Century |
| Canada was less than 50 years old when the First World War broke out. Through the study of primary documents and maps in the Archives, with hands on learning in the Museum, students will discover how The Great War changed the lives of various groups of people both in Wellington County and across Canada. Women were entering the labour force in large numbers, men were enlisting in a new form of industrial warfare, mechanization was coming to the farms of the nation, and changes in science and technology were bringing the new mediums of radio and film to the masses. A new nation was facing unprecedented change. How did this effect different groups of Canadians? |
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Visual Arts
| Grade 1-3 |
| The Colours of Wellington County - Using our exceptional collection of local Wellington County artwork, students will develop an understanding of the elements of design, including line, shape and form, colour, texture, space and value. Featuring local artists including A.J Casson, Percy Runnells and Barry McCarthy, students will create their own artwork using the collection, the beautiful Museum outdoor landscape, and their own feelings for inspiration. |
| Grade 4-6 |
| The Landscapes of Wellington County - Using our exceptional collection of local Wellington County artwork, students will develop an understanding of the elements of design, including line, shape and form, colour, texture, space and value. Featuring local artists including A.J Casson, Percy Runnells and Barry McCarthy, students will create their own artwork using the collection, the beautiful Museum outdoor landscape, and their own feelings for inspiration. |
| Grade 7-8 |
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The Artists of Wellington County - Multimedia artwork is not just for the present, it has a long history in Wellington County. Through the exploration of the Wellington County Poorhouse and the life of local artist and photographer John Connon, students will create their own multimedia artwork and art show. Some elements of this programme will be outside please dress for the weather.
Full day programme.
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