Elementary School Programs

The following programs are available for booking any time during the school year.  Use the online booking form, contact Education Programs, or speak to the Education Officer 705.742.7777 ext 2475

ARCHAEOLOGY

Students work through the archaeological process and experience the excitement of a real ‘dig’ as they uncover traces of six Peterborough and area communities.

Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies ‘Early Civilizations’ and ‘First Nations People and European Explorers’ Grades 5 & 6 and ‘Early Settlement in Upper Canada’ Grade 3

EARLY SETTLEMENT

Students travel back in time to explore life with the Anishnaabe First Nations, and then pack their bags for a voyage on the immigrant ship ‘John Barry’. The journey continues with Peter Robinson’s settlers to a new home in the backwoods of Upper Canada. Along the way students explore the roles and responsibilities of children in each community, and celebrate the timeless delight of toys.

Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies ‘Early Settlement in Upper Canada’ Grade 3

FROZEN MOMENTS IN TIME

Students learn to ‘read’ photographs from the PMA’s Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images in order to uncover the invaluable information they contain about life in early 20th century Canada, then present that information to their peers.

Ontario Curriculum for History “Canada: A Changing Society: Grade 8

GET THE PICTURE

Old photographs can provide fascinating information about the past when we know how to ‘read’ the images. This program uses a selection of evocative images of Peterborough’s past from the Museum’s fabulous Balsillie Collection of Roy Studio Images that students analyze, evaluate and dramatize.

Ontario Curriculum for Language and The Arts Grades 4, 5 and 6

HERITAGE AND CULTURE

Using sleuthing skills and a variety of fascinating artefacts from the Museum’s collection, students explore what the objects of daily life can tell about the people who used them. Add in photographs, the natural and built environments, songs, celebrations and memories to determine the foundations of heritage and culture.

Ontario Curriculum for The Arts Grades 7  8.

HISTORY MYSTERY

The adventure begins with a map to your very own treasure chest! Students use primary source documents, maps, recordings, photographs, artefacts and drama to investigate and tell the stories of Peterborough’s heritage.

Ontario Curriculum for Social Studies ‘Heritage and Citizenship’ and Ontario Curriculum for Language Grades 4, 5 and 6.

IMMIGRATION STORIES

The stories begin in the Museum’s permanent galleries with aboriginal migrations, Treaty 20, and the arrival of the region’s earliest European settlers. Students explore the personal stories of the 1825 Robinson Emigration from Ireland through archival documents, music and drama. Modern day immigration is highlighted by the stories of two remarkable young women from Afghanistan and Somalia.

Ontario Curriculum for History ‘British North America’ Grade 7 and Ontario Curriculum for Geography ‘Migration’ Grade 8.

JUMP INTO GEOMETRY

Math at the Museum! Students investigate quilt artefacts with the eye of a museum curator, create patterns in sound, music and movement and use geometric shapes to explore and design their own patterns and quilt blocks.

Ontario Curriculum for Mathematics ‘Geometry and Shapes’ and ‘Patterning and Algebra’ Grades 1 to 5

LITERACY AT THE MUSEUM

Fascinating artefacts from the PMA collection generate ideas for storyboards, reports, letters, drama and story-writing. Student writing will be featured on the PMA website and catalogued in the PMA library.

Ontario Curriculum for Language Grades 4, 5 and 6

Student writing from Literacy at the Museum

SIMPLE MACHINES 

What is it? How does it work?  Through a variety of hands-on learning activities students decode the ways in which wheels, pulleys, levers and screws combine to make ‘work’easier.  

PLAYTIMES PAST

In this gentle introduction to Museums, young children enjoy the simple pleasures of a wide variety of games and toys, as traditional Native and settler life is explored with a focus on play!

JK/SK, pre-school