June

Explore the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site through the lens of innovation, and how things have changed throughout the history of fishing and boatbuilding in Steveston. Students will engage in four different interactive stations with themes ranging from innovation in recycling, resources, and communications. These concepts will then be discussed and applied to a boatbuilding activity, with each student making their own wooden boat model to bring home.

About This Online Resource:  EPIC Academy Ocean Plastics Curriculum

A fully funded, fully developed curriculum targeted at secondary students ages 14+ (with materials accessible for lower grades as well) that is a comprehensive and thorough examination of ocean plastic pollution, microplastics and ways to help mitigate these serious issues. Content is available either as an online offering that students can navigate on their own, or can be accessed through downloadable offerings and presented offline in class. We highly recommend use of downloadable supports for classroom use.

10 lessons (15 hours of study in total) available in English, French and Spanish, aligned with BC Curriculum. Content can be paused at any point and returned to at the instructor's convenience (auto-saves).

Educator Materials include: detailed lesson plans and classroom presentations, reflective and group activities, quizzes and answer sheets.

Digital badges are available for every lesson and printable certificates are provided on completion.

Lessons 1 to 5 are foundational knowledge specifically directed toward classroom educators. Lessons 6 to 10 are advanced, directed toward creating meaningful change by advocacy, enacting policy, building a recycling system or upgrading infrastructure and managing media.  

Access requires the creation of a login that allows teachers (or individual users) to track progress through the lessons. This links to completed content for printable certificates.

There are 5 questions asked during the registration process: Are you a teacher or a student? What is your school/location if applicable? What country are you learning from? What language are you learning in? How did you hear about this resource?

STAY TUNED for upcoming listings of in-person tours at our Ocean Plastics Recycling Facility located in Steveston Harbour, Richmond.

How did Chinese immigrant communities maintain a sense of identity and overcome the challenges of discrimination to settle in Vancouver’s Chinatown? How did they strive to create a sense of home and belonging? 

Students will explore these questions by engaging with our interactive exhibits and touchable teaching collection. By investigating historic photos, head tax certificates, cultural artefacts, and personal belongings, students will be introduced to discriminatory policies that define the Chinese Canadian experience as well as the community’s diligent efforts to overcome them.

Total length: 1 - 2 hours 

Grade levels: 4-6

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

Looking for a new and exciting way to connect kids with Parliament? Sign your class up for The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools, an interactive new program that includes a guided tour of the parliament buildings and a travelling historical play on the grounds. 

The program runs from May 22 to the end of June, 2023.

Program Information:

The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools begins at the rear library steps. From there, the group will join a performance of My Place in Politics. This interactive, child-friendly travelling play that whisks audiences back in time, to 1947. They will meet suffragists, students, and the participants of the Chocolate Bar strike, who will teach them about different ways that Canadians have advocated for change in the past. Then, the group will enter the buildings for a guided tour that focuses on how change is made at the Parliament Buildings today. 

While The Parliamentary Play and Tour for Schools is fun for all grades, it has been designed with the Grade 5 and 6 social studies curricula in mind. The play focuses on participation and representation in Canada's systems of government and how groups developed a plan of action to address issues like discrimination, inequality, and the fight for human rights. It can also be modified to fit the Grade 10 Social Studies Curriculum.

Drawn to History is where art and history meet. With historical photos and artifacts as inspiration, the activities in this kit take students through perspective drawing, contour shading, drawing faces, and contemporary issues with indigenous rock art. This kit is suitable for grades 5 to 12 (may be altered for lower grades), with strong curriculum connections in art and social studies.

Our Regional Indigenous Basketry explores the different weaving and dyeing techniques used by this region’s Indigenous Peoples. With a focus on the Sinixt Peoples, students will explore weaving, dying, food collection, and Indigenous language through a series of activities. From designing a basket to making a traditional Sinixt recipe, this kit provides a glimpse into the traditions of this area’s first peoples. This kit is suitable for grades kindergarten to grade 7, with curriculum links to Social Studies, Arts, Science, and Language Arts.

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.