April

Under the dome of Bloedel Conservatory, students experience the lush tropics and the plants and animals that call the rainforest home. Starting with a scavenger hunt, students journey around the tropics with a guide to learn about adaptations, meet amazing birds, and discover the ways humans use plants from the tropics in their everyday lives. 

In this program, students encounter examples of historical and contemporary Northwest Coast First Nations paintings and are introduced to the innovative Image Recovery Project. Using infrared technology, and raking light to reveal images under dirt or ash, historical painted images are recovered from bentwood boxes, house fronts and other cedar sculptures and objects. The recovery of these images allows First Nations artists and researchers to see the uniqueness and beauty of historical Northwest Coast paintings. A visual presentation paired with a walking tour through the museum galleries highlights the both new and old objects that have extraordinary painted designs. Contemporary bentwood boxes recreated from the infrared photographs of historic boxes are used in a tracing and sketching activity to encourage students to look closely, and appreciate the artists design skills.

In this program, students are introduced to contemporary and historical Indigenous use of selected plants on MOA grounds. In small groups, students find, identify and answer questions about plant species and share their findings with the class. Students explore methods for using plants for food, medicine, dyes and belongings based on Indigenous knowledge. hands-on exploration of object from the teaching collection helps students understand how they are created and used. The goal of the program is to encourage discussions on sustainability, stewardship and our shared responsibilities through learning about the cultural significance of plants and incorporating Indigenous perspectives on the making of objects and the stewarding of the land.

In this 90-minute program, students learn about the cedar tree and the different cultural objects created from the trunk, bark and roots of the tree. A presentation of images and maps introduces the historical and ongoing importance of cedar trees to the First Nations of the Northwest Coast. A tour through the galleries illustrates the depth of knowledge required to create belongings such as bentwood boxes, baskets and canoes. The tour is followed by a hands-on classroom activity with students interacting with a range of cedar objects, and tools learning directly from handling, looking and listening.

This program offers the opportunity to examine two local heritage sites in detail—the train station and the pier—in order to better understand how they came to be sites of significance in White Rock. Students will explore this by interacting with the permanent gallery, and reviewing newspaper articles and historic photographs.

Experience Britannia's diverse cultural community by exploring the shipyard building and workers homes while engaging in stories, playing a game, and making a toy to take home.

Climb aboard Tram Car 1220 and listen to stories about the employee's roles and culturally diverse passengers. Students engage in hands-on puzzles to understand how riding the tram brought communities together.