Education Programs

The Dundas Museum and Archives gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the education program by the Tom and Wilma (McKee) Dobson Family.

The Dundas Museum & Archives is dedicated to providing fun and engaging curriculum-based educational programming. An in-person or virtual visit by your class or community group is a chance to engage in historical thinking through inquiry-based learning activities.

In-person programs are typically 90 minutes in duration, while virtual programs are typically 60 minutes. Both can be adjusted depending on the needs of your class.

1. Please choose a program from the list below, or contact us to design a custom program for your class. We invite collaboration to ensure your objectives will be fully met to the best of our ability.
2. Submit an Education Request Form on our Contact page (be sure to select Education Programs under recipient).

We look forward to arranging your visit to the Dundas Museum and Archives! If you have any questions, please contact our Public Programming Coordinator Matthieu Vallières at matthieu@dundasmuseum.ca.

ELEMENTARY PROGRAMS

JK/SK – Grade 4

Childhood in Dundas 

Based on our “Childhood in Dundas” exhibition of childhood artifacts, this program will explore how children played, worked, studied, and dressed in Dundas through time. This program includes components and activities related to specific curriculum expectations for each grade. Students will learn all about being a kid through the ages!

Grade 1 | Social Studies

Community Helpers, Past and Present

This program invites your students to explore the concept of “community” and some important roles and responsibilities people hold. Students will play a matching game with historic tools and artifacts, discover important Dundas community helpers, and explore the main exhibition at the Dundas Museum and Archives.

Grade 2 | Social Studies

Happy New Year!

This fun and lively program will examine how and when various cultures celebrate their New Year! Does every culture celebrate on the same day? What types of foods do people eat? Your class will discover the answers to these questions and many more! This program will focus on the traditions practiced in Kaga, Japan, the sister city of Dundas.

Grade 3-8 | Social Studies/History

Black History in Dundas Walking Tour

Black history is year-round! That’s why we’ve added this walking tour to our permanent program offerings for 2022. Beginning at the Museum, this tour will visit 7-10 sites significant to Black history in Dundas and connect with specific curriculum expectations depending on the grade. The route is accessible and can be adjusted depending on the individual needs of the class or group.

Route: The full tour involves approximately 40 minutes of walking (3.2km) on sidewalks, paved walkways, and one short gravel trail. The route can be altered or shortened to meet specific accessibility needs.

Grade 4 | Social Studies

The First People of the Valley

The first people to call Dundas home were the Attawandaron or Neutrals, as the French knew them. This unit explores life in the First Nations family’s longhouse in the Neutral Confederacy and considers the relationship between the Attawandaron and other neighbouring nations. Students will have the chance to examine our archaeological artifacts to learn about the relationship between the Attawandaron and their environment.

Grade 5 | Social Studies

First Contact

This social studies module explores the consequences of contact between Indigenous peoples and European explorers and settlers in what would eventually become Canada. Focusing on the history of the Attawandaron, students will learn about the impact of colonialism on Indigenous peoples. This lesson includes a discussion of motives for Europeans’ exploration, analysis of how this colonization shaped Canada, and a craft to help remind us of our treaty obligations.

For virtual programs: Prepared craft packages can be picked up at the Museum or dropped off at your school before the program within the Hamilton-Wentworth region.

Grade 6 | Social Studies

Connecting Dundas to the World: The Desjardins Canal

The opening of the Desjardins Canal in August of 1837 was to usher in The Golden Age of Dundas, but would it last? This social studies module will explore the economic, social, and cultural changes the canal brought to Dundas. The program will ask students to consider how these changes helped to develop the community identity of Dundas. Students will also become acquainted with other canals worldwide and invite them to inquire about their importance.

Grade 4 – 12 | Social Studies/History

Classroom Curator

Is your classroom full of curators? Your class will work as a team or in small groups to create exhibits related to your history or social studies curriculum. This program goes beyond a poster or presentation, and students will learn what goes into making a real-life exhibit. They will explore the exhibitions at the Museum and derive the important questions and considerations the curator needs to address in preparing an exhibition. Students will have the chance to work with related artifacts and some archival documents to practice curating a small display.

This program is highly customizable; content is based on classroom study, and the project can be divided into multiple visits.

SECONDARY

Grade 10 Canadian History Since World War 1 – Strand A and B

Dundas and the 1918 “Spanish Flu” 

Before Covid-19, there was the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many parallels have been drawn to the 1918 influenza pandemic, often known as the “Spanish Flu,” which had vast implications for a world emerging from the end of the First World War. This program will use extensive primary sources to examine how Dundas responded to the 1918 crisis, how individual local families were affected, and what the implications were for Canada at large. Your class will have the opportunity to practice historical inquiry skills and learn about careers within the heritage field in which those skills might be useful as they examine this often-overlooked aspect of Canadian history. Based on the 2019 Ontario Museum Association Award of Excellence winning program “Finding Hazel,” this program is both truthful and uplifting, offering students a chance to consider how those who came before us coped with their own unprecedented times.
Content Warning: Students will learn about Hazel Layden, a 14-year-old girl from Dundas who died of influenza in 1918.