New Programming
Archival Research Students are introduced to the Museum’s Archives Research Centre and have an opportunity to access and use archival resources to learn about pioneer families, heritage buildings or the industrial development of the region. Subject matter can be tailored to complement the Individual classroom focus.
Basketry Traditions Around the World 
Containers are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to basketry. Clothing, shelter, even bridges were all made using basic basket making techniques. After a short slide presentation students use simple Kwakwaka’wakw basket making methods to make a project they can take home. Can be adapted for all ages.
LEGO For the Classroom Let your class build and display these specially designed Lego kits featuring heritage buildings of Campbell River and vintage north island logging and fishing equipment. The kits (12 in total) include Campbell River’s first school, the BeeHive Café, Lourdes hospital and a 1914 steam donkey.$25.00 rental fee
Primary School Age Programs
Pioneer Program K-1
Salt Chuck and Stump Farms Ever wonder what it was like to live 100 years ago? Step into Mr. Curtis' log cabin and find out. Students will explore how families lived , played and worked in the days before cars, stores and TV.
First Nations Program K-1
Other Times. Other Ways What is it like to live in a house that’s 600 feet long?...... to go to Quadra by canoe instead of by ferry? Students will explore continuity and change in the First Nations communities of this area.
Pioneer Program Grades 2-3
Pioneer Communities How did Campbell River come to be? Using slides, gallery exploration and lots of hands on learning, students will discover how pioneer communities in this area grew and evolved.
First Nations of Northern Vancouver Island Grade 4
Who are the Lekwiltok? Where is Klamatook? Students will have an opportunity to learn more about the First Nations of this region, past and present and to experiment with traditional technologies.
Voyage of Discovery Grade 4
European Exploration of Vancouver Island Step into our new Transitions gallery which focuses on European exploration and the impact of colonization on local First Nations. Working in teams students will try for themselves some of the mapping technology used by Spanish and British explorers.
Fishing for a Living Grades 5-6
First Nations, Chinese and Japanese people all had specialized roles in the salmon fishing industry. Students will explore the sociological and technological evolution of this ‘pioneer industry’.
Logging in the Jungles Grades 5-6
While other parts of the province experienced a gold rush, here on the island we had a timber rush. Find out how this industry shaped settlement on the north island. Students may even try their hands with a ‘Swedish fiddle’!
Middle/Secondary School Aged Programs
Stones, Bones and Middens – an introduction to central coast archaeology
How do archaeologists decipher the past? In this program students are taught how to ‘read’ artifacts. Using real artifacts recovered from local sites they explore the more than 8,000 years of human history on this part of the coast. They also use pre European manufacturing techniques to make a xwádlayu (ground slate fish knife) to take home.
Where Are the Children?
This program explores the legacy of Canada’s residential school system. During the program individuals who attended Saint Michael’s Indian Residential school in Alert Bay recount their personal experiences. Students explore the concepts of integration, assimilation and segregation in the context of residential schools. They put themselves in the place of First Nations students in a residential school setting to gain insight into the impact residential school policies had on the lives of First Nations children and their families.
The Impact of Colonization
In the 1770’s Juan Perez and James Cook ‘discovered’ lands that Kwakwaka’wakw and Nuu chah nulth nations had called home for thousands of years. This program explores European exploration and settlement of the central coast from the perspective of the people who were already living here.