December

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

September 16, 2024-June 27, 2025

Explore community, local identity, and common ground through the lens of city park planning. This program uses works from the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection, encouraging students to collaboratively design and construct their own mini urban green space. 

Curriculum Tie-ins: Art Education, Social Studies, Geography, Math, Design, STEAM

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?

In this program, students will visit To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965, MOA’s feature exhibition exploring how First Nations people represented themselves as Indigenous in urban public spaces during the period of the potlatch prohibition and other forms of erasure in Canada. After visiting this multimedia exhibition, students will visit a selection of works in MOA’s core galleries 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. 

To book this program, please submit a booking request.

Visit the Laboratory of Archaeology (LOA) and be an archaeologist for a 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 cedar bracelet.

This program is part of an overall unit plan with prerequisite lessons that show the techniques used by archaeologists to find and identify belongings. The complete unit plan will be sent by email along with a booking confirmation. 

To book this program, please submit a booking request.

SCIENCE IN THE SUBALPINE

Our Junior Rangers program takes students on a thrilling ride up to our unique subalpine environment, 885 meters above sea level! We help teachers meet curriculum requirements with a dynamic and hands-on approach to learning. These courses are designed to engage students and connect them with nature and wildlife in an interactive way that encourages an inquiry-based method of learning.

GRADE K - 1: SEASONAL CHANGES AND THE NEEDS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS

In this course, students learn about the unique ecosystem of the subalpine environment, how that environment changes throughout the year, and how our native plants and animals adjust to the seasons. We explore this vibrant mountain-top setting through hiking and group activities.

GRADE 2-3: THE FOOD WEB OF A SUBALPINE ECOSYSTEM

There is so much biodiversity and interconnected life in the subalpine! Grade 2 and 3 students will investigate the lifecycles, food webs and food chains found in this unique habitat. They will explore the Summit and take part in a team activity which demonstrates the sensitive relationships within a food web at this altitude.

GRADE 4: THE SUBALPINE BIOME AND ANIMALS WITH SUPER SENSES

In this course, we look into local wildlife biodiversity and discuss the topic of biomes. Together we learn about the delicate balance in the subalpine environment and what sustains a healthy ecosystem. We examine how animals, birds and reptiles use their senses to respond to other creatures and their environment. Students will discover just how vital these super senses are to some of our most familiar mountain residents.

GRADE 5-6: THE ROCK CYCLE

It is easy to see how amazing the local landscape is! From our Summit, each direction you look there is a rock feature of some kind. How did they get there and how did they form? Hiking our trails, students will discover how rocks transform from one type to another, and what forces build up the landscape and wear it down.

GRADE 7-8: ADAPTABILITY OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN THE SUBALPINE

The subalpine is home to some of British Columbia’s most fascinating wildlife and interesting plants. With specific reference to natural selection and the characteristics of life, students will discover the ways in which these plants and animals adapt to meet the challenges of finding food, avoiding predators, and surviving the changes of the seasons.

A collaboration between Sea to Sky Gondola, Mountain Research Initiative, Geo Mountains, the University of Calgary, and the Arctic Institute, our Mountain Sustainability Program is designed for learners of all ages. Students take a global view of mountains around the world and initiatives in mountain resilience, examining how mountains are created, what changes them, and the shared responsibilities of mountain stewardship. We make the most of our unique subalpine environment with hands-on activities on weather, glaciers, and biodiversity. In support of the United Nations declaration that 2022 is the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development, the program is built around the question "What do mountains mean to you?" #mountainsmatter 

Students who have already done our course, can try our new mountain sustainability case studies on wildlife counts and nature-based solutions like ecological restoration.