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How did Chinese immigrant communities maintain a sense of identity and overcome the challenges of discrimination to settle in Vancouver’s Chinatown? How did they strive to create a sense of home and belonging? 

Students will explore these questions by engaging with our interactive exhibits and touchable teaching collection. By investigating historic photos, head tax certificates, cultural artefacts, and personal belongings, students will be introduced to discriminatory policies that define the Chinese Canadian experience as well as the community’s diligent efforts to overcome them.

Total length: 1 - 2 hours 

Grade levels: 4-6

Cost per student: $8 (1 adult chaperone per 5 students may visit for free)

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.

September 14, 2026-June 25, 2027

Discover the interwoven worlds of math and art. Using tessellations as a foundation, each workshop explores pattern making and mathematical elements of design. Workshops examine the artwork of Coast Salish contemporary artist Dylan Thomas, and how he has connected math and geometry to his art practice.

Curriculum tie-ins: Art Education, Indigenous Art, Earth Science, Math, STEAM

Students explore and analyse archival photographs featuring Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) people and places chosen from exhibits presented at MONOVA (Museum & Archives of North Vancouver). These were shared projects of MONOVA and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) or individual members. The Squamish Elders and Language Authority chose many photos that represent local landscapes, the community and individuals, and contributed to exhibit research.

Your students will:

• Recognize that the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) is an active community today on the North Shore.
• Discover aspects of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) history and culture through photos.
• View primary source evidence and develop photo analysis skills.