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Introduce students to Metro Vancouver’s watersheds through an engaging, curriculum connected, in-class program facilitated by a watershed educator, who brings the watersheds to you. A mix of thinking and movement-based activities will keep students engaged in a fun and memorable way as we explore where our drinking water comes from, water use, sustainability, and what makes watershed ecosystems important. ​​

Welcome to the Watersheds In-Class Program | Metro Vancouver

How have Indigenous people used public events to claim agency over their representation during times of colonial oppression? How do our experiences, knowledge, and identities shape the way we interpret archival photographs?

This program is inspired by one of MOA’s past feature exhibitions, To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965. This exhibition It explored how First Nations people represented themselves as Indigenous, self-determined and modern in urban public spaces during the period of the potlatch prohibition and other forms of erasure in Canada. Prior to this program, teachers will share excerpts from this exhibition’s documentary with students in the classroom. During the program at MOA, students will visit a selection of works by contemporary Indigenous artists and makers to expand on the ideas of To Be Seen, To Be Heard. Finally, students will participate in a reflective art making activity using mixed media self-portraiture to explore themes of representation, agency, and futurity.

Please note: Teachers must facilitate a pre-visit activity in class to introduce key concepts for the To Be Seen, To Be Heard program. Please refer to the accompanying Teacher’s Notes for instructions and complete the lesson prior to your visit.

• Teacher’s Notes: To Be Seen, To Be Heard
• MOA Field Trip Information + Guidelines

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Visit the Laboratory of Archaeology (LOA) and be an archaeologist for the day! Discover the rich, 9,000-year history of the First Nations people who live along the lower Fraser River by learning about their ways of life, tools, and technologies. This program was designed in collaboration with archaeologists from the Laboratory of Archaeology at UBC. We also recognize with appreciation the Musqueam people whose knowledge guides the ongoing evolution of the program.

This program includes a hands-on introduction to cultural materials used long ago for hunting, fishing, wood-working and home life. Students will engage with real and replica belongings to determine how they were made, how they might have been used, and why they survived for thousands of years. After a brief introduction to First Nations’ use of the cedar tree and a rope-making demonstration, the program will conclude with each student making a bracelet.

• MOA Field Trip Information + Guidelines

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The VHEC's teaching exhibition In Focus: The Holocaust through the VHEC Collection introduces students to the history of the Holocaust with reference to primary source artefacts belonging to Holocaust survivors and victims. Led by a VHEC museum educator, the exhibition tour covers topics such as pre-war Jewish life, antisemitism, the rise of Nazism, Jewish refugees, rescue, resistance and post-war life. Over 90 artefacts donated by local Holocaust survivors are on view in this exhibition, each of which tells a poignant and unique story of Jewish life during the Holocaust. Students are given the opportunity for hands-on examination of select artefacts including personal letters, toys, photos, propaganda and other items. Tours include a workshop featuring survivor video testimonies and short films. On view until June 2024. Book now: https://www.vhec.org/school-programs/exhibition-tours/

Looking for a new and exciting way to connect kids with Parliament? Sign your class up for The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools, an interactive new program that includes a guided tour of the parliament buildings and a travelling historical play on the grounds. 

The program runs from May 22 to the end of June, 2023.

Program Information:

The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools begins at the rear library steps. From there, the group will join a performance of My Place in Politics. This interactive, child-friendly travelling play that whisks audiences back in time, to 1947. They will meet suffragists, students, and the participants of the Chocolate Bar strike, who will teach them about different ways that Canadians have advocated for change in the past. Then, the group will enter the buildings for a guided tour that focuses on how change is made at the Parliament Buildings today. 

While The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools is fun for all grades, it has been designed with the Grade 5 and 6 social studies curricula in mind. The play focuses on participation and representation in Canada's systems of government and how groups developed a plan of action to address issues like discrimination, inequality, and the fight for human rights. It can also be modified to fit the Grade 10 Social Studies Curriculum.

Drawn to History is where art and history meet. With historical photos and artifacts as inspiration, the activities in this kit take students through perspective drawing, contour shading, drawing faces, and contemporary issues with indigenous rock art. This kit is suitable for grades 5 to 12 (may be altered for lower grades), with strong curriculum connections in art and social studies.

Our Regional Indigenous Basketry explores the different weaving and dyeing techniques used by this region’s Indigenous Peoples. With a focus on the Sinixt Peoples, students will explore weaving, dying, food collection, and Indigenous language through a series of activities. From designing a basket to making a traditional Sinixt recipe, this kit provides a glimpse into the traditions of this area’s first peoples. This kit is suitable for grades kindergarten to grade 7, with curriculum links to Social Studies, Arts, Science, and Language Arts.