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Automatic Online Bookings now available!
New! This fall, we are offering the following programs in French*: Blacksmith Apprentice Quest and School Days Field Trip programs, and the School’s In Museum2U program.
*dependent on Museum Interpreter availability for selected program days
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Contact us for more information, by email, or phone at 905.683.8401.
Please note, due to increased renovation work at the Pickering Museum Village, staff will not be conducting programs in costumes.
On-Site Education Programs
Choose your adventure, and spend part of a day, or the whole day at Pickering Museum Village!
Program Length: 90 minutes
Cost per student: $8.75 (or $14.80 for two programs with a ½ hour lunch break in the museum picnic shelter)
Program Options
The Blacksmith's Apprentice Quest |
Join our Museum Interpreter to learn about the life of a blacksmith’s apprentice while solving puzzles, finding clues, earning tools for your toolkit, and becoming a full journeyman in a new quest-style education program. This 90-minute program includes visits to a house, general store, and the newly opened Greenwood Blacksmith Shop exhibit as well as a quest booklet to complete.
Grade 3 Curriculum Connections:Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2,3, 2,4; Writing 3.1, 3.2 Social Studies: Heritage and Identity A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7; People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.5, B3.1, B3.3, B3.5 Mathematics: A1, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, E1, E2, F1 |
Fun on the Farm Independent Discovery |
We’ll provide three scavenger hunt cards, and you’ll explore independently in groups lead by you and your chaperones. Spend time in our new Combination Barn exhibit: try milking our demonstration cow, Buttercup, comb the tail of Clyde (our demonstration Clydesdale foal), judge fair exhibits, and grind feed for cattle, then explore an inn and our village to complete activities on your hunt cards. Curriculum Connections: Language 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6; 2.1, 2.2, 2,3, 2,4 Social Studies (Heritage and Identity) A1.1, A1.2, A1.3; A2.1, A2.5, A2.6; A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7 Science and Technology (Understanding Life Systems) 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6; 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 3,7, 3.8 (Understanding Structures and Mechanisms) 1.1, 1.2; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6; 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3,7, 3.8, 3.9 Mathematics B2.1, B2.3, B2.4, B2.5; E1.2, E1.4; E2.1, E2.5, E2.7; F1.1 |
School Days |
The bell has rung and it’s time to step back in time to the early days of school and slates! Role-play along with our costumed school teacher through authentic lessons (and a few old-time school rules). Then learn new games and enjoy some typical recess play. This program takes place in our Chapel school room and outdoors for some recess play (recess will be indoors in poor weather). Grade 3 Curriculum Connections: Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2,3, 2,4; Writing 3.1, 3.2 Social Studies: Heritage and Identity A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7; People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.5, B3.1, B3.3, B3.5 Mathematics: Measurement E2.1, E2.5, E2.7 |
Playful Pursuits |
Explore life for children 200 years ago through play. Try our toys (batteries are not included!), and learn a combination of quiet and active games. Finish up by making and learning a game to take home. This program takes place outdoors; in poor weather, indoor games will be substituted in our hall. Grade 3 Curriculum Connections: Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1 Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4 Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2 Grade 2 Curriculum Connections: Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1 Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4 Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2 |
Rebellion! |
Pickering Township was a hotbed of political unrest in the 1830s. Through role-play and hands-on activities, we’ll help students use historical inquiry to explore physical, social and political challenges facing all Upper Canadians, and to understand the causes and consequences of the 1837 Rebellion. They will learn stories of local people and decide for themselves where their sympathies would have rested. Program reservations will include pre- and post-presentation activities for teachers to do with their students to prepare for and round out the experience. Program Length: 2 hours
Grade 7 Curriculum Connections: The Arts: Drama B1.1, B1.2, B1.4, B2.1, B3.1; Visual Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1,7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 History: New France and British North America: 1713-1800 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A2.7, A3.1, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7, A3.8 |
Teddy's Holiday Adventure |
November 24 to December 22,2023
Follow the story of Teddy Bear as he journeys through the museum village discovering the many holiday traditions from around the world! Equipped with a storybook and activity sheets, teachers and chaperones will help students to explore customs, read maps, and identify where in the world the traditions began. They’ll even make a Victorian thaumatrope toy with our Museum Interpreter, and a Diwali rangoli to take home. Curriculum Connections:
Kindergarten Belonging and Contributing, Self-Regulation and Well Being, Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviors Grade One Social Studies (Heritage and Identity: A2, A3); (People and Environments: B2, B3) Grade Two Social Studies (Heritage and Identity: A1, A2, A3); People and Environments: B3) Grade Three Social Studies (Heritage and Identity: A3); (People and Environments: B1, B2) |
Extra Information for your class trip:
- Pickering Museum Village is an open air museum village. Programs take place outside in nature, and in heritage buildings that are unheated and are not air-conditioned. Please advise your program participants to dress for the weather, and to wear footwear appropriate for uneven ground.
- Lunch space is available in our picnic shelter and must be confirmed at the time of booking.
- A visit to the museum Gift Shop can be included and must be confirmed at the time of booking.
- We require a minimum of 12 participants for a program booking.
- Adult chaperones are welcome and are free up to a 1:4 ratio; admission fees will apply for any adults over that ratio (excepting assigned Education Assistants)
- Homeschool groups are welcome.
#Museum2U
Can't do a field trip? Invite us to your classroom! We'll send a costumed Museum Interpreter to your class for a program of your choice. #Museum2U programs are available year round. See below for our #Museum2U program offerings and descriptions. For more than one program in a school on the same day, receive a discount! (COVID NOTE: Our staff are fully vaccinated, and programs are adaptable for changing COVID-19 guidelines.)
Please note, schools outside of Pickering will include a mileage fee in the final cost of the program.
NEW! Mapping George’s Freedom! (Gr. 6-8) |
Explore the life of local Black settler, George Chapman, against the backdrop of changing enslavement laws and the Underground Railroad. Through hands-on activities, students will analyze primary sources, learn about the UGRR’s secret codes, and apply those codes to plot a route for George from enslavement in Virginia to a free life in Pickering Township. Program Length: 2 hrs. Program cost: $145 per class Curriculum Connections: Social Studies; History; Geography; Language; Mathematics; Art |
Far-back Fun (K to Gr. 3) |
Adaptable for students from Kindergarten to Grade 3 and adjusting COVID guidelines, our costumed interpreter will lead students in games played by Indigenous and early European settler students 200 years ago. Students will gain the building blocks of constructive play by learning how to manipulate old toys, and play games using vocabulary, rhythmic patterns, body percussion, movement, and cooperative interaction. Program length: 45 minutes Program cost: $100 per class Grade 1 Curriculum Connections: Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1 Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4 Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2 Grade 2 Curriculum Connections: Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1 Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4 Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2 |
School Is In! (Gr. 2/3) |
We’ll send our 1830s school teacher to you along with enough slates and slate pencils for some role-playing fun! Lessons in spelling, elocution and arithmetic will include school room rules from 200 years ago! At the end, we’ll wrap it up with a compare and contrast between school then and now. Program Length: 45 minutes Program cost: $100 per class Grade 3 Curriculum Connections: Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2,3, 2,4; Writing 3.1, 3.2 Social Studies: Heritage and Identity A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7; People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.5, B3.1, B3.3, B3.5 Mathematics: Measurement E2.1, E2.5, E2.7 |
1837! |
Pickering Township was a hotbed of political unrest in the 1830s. Through role-play and hands-on activities, we’ll help students use historical inquiry to explore physical, social and political challenges facing all Upper Canadians, and to understand the causes and consequences of the 1837 Rebellion. They will learn stories of local people and decide for themselves where their sympathies would have rested. Program reservations will include pre- and post-presentation activities for teachers to do with their students to prepare for and round out the experience. Program Length: 2 hours Program cost: $145 per class Grade 7 Curriculum Connections: The Arts: Drama B1.1, B1.2, B1.4, B2.1, B3.1; Visual Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1,7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7 History: New France and British North America: 1713-1800 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A2.7, A3.1, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7, A3.8 |
Free Online Content
We’ve created videos you can view with your students - some contain follow-up activities you can lead, or these resources can be used as lessons to do before or after a program led by our Museum Interpreter. All videos have links to curriculum, to make it easy!
Simple Machines Videos (Gr. 2+) |
We’ve used the backdrop of Pickering Museum Village, its buildings and artifacts to explain simple machines in a series of 7 videos. At the end of each is a challenge activity or two for students to do as a follow-up activity. Force and Movement | Inclined Planes
Curriculum Connections: Grade 2 Science and Technology – Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Movement Grade 3 Science and Technology - Understanding Matter and Energy: Forces Causing Movement Grade 4 Science and Technology review - Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears |
Early Settlers Virtual Mini Tours (Gr. 3+) |
Enjoy a brief introduction to some early settler information, and structures at Pickering Museum Village with these videos.
A quick lean-to or tent would have to do until the barn or shanty could be constructed.
Life was tight - and busy - in the first home, but where did a family of 10 sleep? Early trades moved in as quickly as the settlers, and the blacksmith was a very important tradesman in the community. |
Pickering and the Underground Railroad (Gr. 6+) |
We’ve developed an independent learning lesson in Prezi, exploring the UGRR, key figures, and local settlers. We’ve added in primary source material for students to explore and provided tips on how to analyze the information. In the end, we encourage students to use the evidence and decide: Was Pickering a stop on the UGRR? This lesson is recommended as a pre-presentation activity for students before the Underground Railroad Virtual Live presentation takes place. Grade 6 Curriculum Connections:
Grade 6 Curriculum Connections: Social Studies: Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, Past and Present A1.3, A1.4, A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4, A2.5, A2.6, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.6, A3.7, A3.10 Grade 7 Curriculum Connections: Grade 8 Curriculum Connections: |
The Rebellion Interviews (Gr. 7-8) |
Pickering Township was very involved in Wm. Lyon Mackenzie’s ill-fated attempt to overthrow the government in December 1837. With the help of our talented Backwoods Players volunteers, we’ve interviewed six key figures connected to the Rebellion of 1837, and Pickering in particular. Learn details about the rebellion, straight from the lips of people who lived those times. These videos are recommended viewing as a pre-program activity prior to the 1837 Rebellion Live Virtual Program.
Wm. Lyon Mackenzie Interview Part One Learn about Mackenzie’s early life, his immigration to Canada, and his growing move towards political reform.
Wm. Lyon Mackenzie Interview Part Two William Allan Interview Mrs. Mary Major Sleigh Interview Mrs. Hannah Smith Matthews
Gr. 7 Curriculum Connections: |
Costumer Confidential (Gr. 7 +) |
Join the Museum’s Costumer for a look at changing fashion and social history tidbits. This is a fun series for students Gr. 7+ with an interest in lifestyle, and fashion history. Curriculum links: The Arts (Drama, Visual Arts) |
What Was It Really Like? Virtual Field Trips (Gr. 8+) |
In this series of short videos we explore topics that peek into what life was really like in Pickering in the mid- to late 19th Century.
Learn what good hygiene in the 1850s meant! You will be surprised to hear how often bathing, hair washing and teeth-cleaning were done.
It took a community to raise a barn. Learn the social and the practical aspects of working together.
A woman’s work was never done, so they say. Some chores were seasonal - find out more!
Discover the differences, and the surprising similarities between dating now and in the 19th Century!
Doctors were not always trusted, and for good reason! Many housewives relied on herbal remedies and patent medicines to treat their families.
The Bible Christians were one of very few religious groups that allowed women to preach. Join us for a look at this extraordinary group.
Early canning practices could be dangerous! Explore a brief history of food preservation.
Curriculum Links: Social Studies/ History |
More Resources
We’ve created puzzles, craft instructions, activities, on-line exhibits and many other ways for you to explore historical topics on your own, or as a pre- or post- tour or classroom activity for students!