1:30 pm

As a distinctive neighbourhood filled with cultural monuments and historic sites, Chinatown’s public places are a precious and integral part of the city. Yet the neighbourhood is evolving quickly and many heritage sites are starting to disappear. How might we imagine a future Chinatown that honours and protects its heritage while welcoming new ideas and communities? We’ll survey Chinatown’s past and present sites of cultural significance and invite students to imagine the neighbourhood’s next phase of growth and revitalization with a creative “vision board” activity.

Total length: 1 - 2 hours
Grade levels: 9 - 12
Cost per student: $8 (1 adult chaperone per 10 students may visit for free)

Connections to the BC Social Studies Big Ideas

Grade 9

• Collective identity is constructed and can change over time.
• Emerging ideas and ideologies profoundly influence societies and events.
• The physical environment influences the nature of political, social, and economic change.

Grade 10 

• Historical and contemporary injustices challenge the narrative and identity of Canada as an inclusive, multicultural society. 

Grade 11

• Decision making in urban and regional planning requires balancing political, economic, social, and environmental factors.

Grade 12

• Social justice initiatives can transform individuals and systems.

In this guided school program, students will learn about the history and cultural life of Vancouver’s Chinatown through our interactive exhibits and touchable teaching collection. Delving into the lived experiences and mementos of Chinatown’s diverse residents, students will gain an appreciation for the community’s resilient spirit and rich cultural heritage.

Total length: 1 hour

Grade levels: adaptable to all grade levels

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

Explore the historic houses and engage in story time and eye-spy activities to learn about Steveston's unique cultural community. Students will participate in a shopping relay game while representing a family that may have lived in this community. Experience what life may have been like for the workers, families and children from diverse cultures who lived and worked here together. 

Since early migration until now, Chinese Canadians have had and continue to have diverse and complex relationships with Canada. Racial discrimination against Chinese Canadians was prevalent during the creation of the nation, yet their individual voices and experiences are often left out of the historical narrative. In this three-part field trip consisting of a visit to the Chinese Canadian Museum, the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden, as well as a mini Chinatown walking tour, students will explore the endurance of Vancouver Chinatown and the resilience of the Chinese Canadian community through stories of food, community, and activism.

This field trip for Gr 9 and 10 is hosted collaboratively in partnership by the Chinese Canadian Museum and Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden, and features research and content development by the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies (UBC INSTRCC)

Please see chinatownexisting.wordpress.com for more details.

Hosted through video conference software, an FRDC educator will lead your students through a fully interactive program, engaging them with the material by utilizing the latest tools in online and remote education. 

Learn about all sturgeon from both an Indigenous and Western Science Perspective.

Did you know there’s a 6-meter-long, 100-year-old fish living in the Fraser River? Learn all about the endangered white sturgeon through interactive activities, with both Indigenous and Western science perspectives. Students will listen to a First Nation’s story about sturgeon, construct theories from available research, and communicate their learning through art.

To participate in this program, you will need:

• A stable internet connection.
• The ability to join the video conference with the FRDC educator.

Curricular connections:

This program incorporates the First Peoples Principles of Learning, specifically that learning is relational; recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge; is embedded in story; and requires recognizing the consequences of one’s actions. This program supports science competencies through analyzing data and constructing theories, and applying First people’s perspectives. This program supports the ELA Big Idea that stories help us make connections with others and the world. And this program supports the Arts Education competency of expressing feelings, ideas, stories, observations, and experiences through the arts.

For more information, visit our website or email us. 

Online booking form here.

Engage in a virtual experience of our galleries from the comforts of your classrooms! An educator leads you through our 360° virtual galleries via screen sharing, pausing along the way with inquiry-based questions to stimulate creative thinking and critical discussions.

Virtual Galleries available:

Vancouver History Galleries

ćəsnaʔəm: the city before the city

 A Seat at the Table

That Which Sustains Us

Haida Now