Education

Explore the life of local Black settler, George Chapman, against the backdrop of changing enslavement laws and the Underground Railroad.  Through hands-on activities, students will analyze primary sources, learn about the UGRR’s secret codes, and apply those codes to plot a route for George from enslavement in Virginia to a free life in Pickering Township.

Program Length: 2 hrs.

Program cost: $309 for two 2 hrs. programs

Curriculum Connections:

Social Studies; History; Geography; Language; Mathematics; Art

Adaptable for students from Kindergarten to Grade 3 and adjusting COVID guidelines, our interpreter will lead students in games played by Indigenous and early European settler students 200 years ago.  Students will gain the building blocks of constructive play by learning how to manipulate old toys, and play games using vocabulary, rhythmic patterns, body percussion, movement, and cooperative interaction. 

Program length:  45 minutes 

Program cost: $216 for two 45-minute programs

Grade 1 Curriculum Connections:

Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1

Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4

Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2

Grade 2 Curriculum Connections:

Physical Education: Social-Emotional Learning Skills A1.5; Active Living B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.3, B3.1; Movement Competence: Skills, Concepts & Strategies C1.2, C1.3, C1.4, C2.1

Language: Listening to Understand A1.1, A1.2; Speaking to Communicate A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4

Music: Creating and Performing C1.1; Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing C2.2; Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts C3.2

We’ll send our Museum interpreter to you along with enough slates and slate pencils for some role-playing fun!  Lessons in spelling, elocution and arithmetic will include school room rules from 200 years ago!   At the end, we’ll wrap it up with a compare and contrast between school then and now. 

Program Length: 45 minutes

Program cost: $216 for two 45-minute programs

Grade 3 Curriculum Connections:

Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2,3, 2,4; Writing 3.1, 3.2

Social Studies: Heritage and Identity A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7; People and Environments: Living and Working in Ontario B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.5, B3.1, B3.3, B3.5

Mathematics: Measurement E2.1, E2.5, E2.7

Pickering Township was a hotbed of political unrest in the 1830s.  Through role-play and hands-on activities, we’ll help students use historical inquiry to explore physical, social and political challenges facing all Upper Canadians, and to understand the causes and consequences of the 1837 Rebellion.  They will learn stories of local people and decide for themselves where their sympathies would have rested.  Program reservations will include pre- and post-presentation activities for teachers to do with their students to prepare for and round out the experience.

Program Length: 2 hours

Program cost: $309 for 2 2-hr programs

Grade 7 Curriculum Connections:

The Arts: Drama B1.1, B1.2, B1.4, B2.1, B3.1;

Visual Language: Oral Communication 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1,7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7

History: New France and British North America: 1713-1800 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A2.7, A3.1, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7, A3.8

We’ve used the backdrop of Pickering Museum Village, its buildings and artifacts to explain simple machines in a series of 7 videos. At the end of each is a challenge activity or two for students to do as a follow-up activity.

Force and Movement  |  Inclined Planes  
Levers  |  Screws  |  Wedges 
Wheels & Axels  |  Pulleys

Curriculum Connections:

Grade 2 Science and Technology – Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Movement

Grade 3 Science and Technology - Understanding Matter and Energy: Forces Causing Movement

Grade 4 Science and Technology review - Understanding Structures and Mechanisms: Pulleys and Gears

Enjoy a brief introduction to some early settler information, and structures at Pickering Museum Village with these videos.

First Arrival
A quick lean-to or tent would have to do until the barn or shanty could be constructed.

Log House
Life was tight - and busy - in the first home, but where did a family of 10 sleep?

Blacksmith Shop
Early trades moved in as quickly as the settlers, and the blacksmith was a very important tradesman in the community.

We’ve developed an independent learning lesson in Prezi, exploring the UGRR, key figures, and local settlers.  We’ve added in primary source material for students to explore and provided tips on how to analyze the information.  In the end, we encourage students to use the evidence and decide: Was Pickering a stop on the UGRR?  This lesson is recommended as a pre-presentation activity for students before the Underground Railroad Virtual Live presentation takes place.

Grade 6 Curriculum Connections:

Social Studies: Heritage and Identity: Communities in Canada, Past and Present A1.3, A1.4, A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4, A2.5, A2.6, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.6, A3.7, A3.10

Grade 7 Curriculum Connections:
History: New France and British North America, 1713–1800 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A3.1, A3.3, A3.4, A3.6, A3.7, A3.8; Canada, 1800–1850: Conflict and Challenges B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B2.1, B2.2, B2.3, B2.4, B2.5, B2.6, B2,7, B3.1, B3.2, B3.3, B3.4, B3.5, B3.6

Grade 8 Curriculum Connections:
History: Creating Canada, 1850-1890 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4, A2.5, A2.6, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5

Pickering Township was very involved in Wm. Lyon Mackenzie’s ill-fated attempt to overthrow the government in December 1837. With the help of our talented Backwoods Players volunteers, we’ve interviewed six key figures connected to the Rebellion of 1837, and Pickering in particular.  Learn details about the rebellion, straight from the lips of people who lived those times. These videos are recommended viewing as a pre-program activity prior to the 1837 Rebellion Live Virtual Program.

Wm. Lyon Mackenzie Interview Part One
Learn about Mackenzie’s early life, his immigration to Canada, and his growing move towards political reform. 

Wm. Lyon Mackenzie Interview Part Two
Discover how Mackenzie’s growing disillusionment with the “Family Compact” lead him to ask farmers to take up arms against the government, and what happened over the days of the uprising. 

William Allan Interview
The Family Compact was an interconnected ruling elite in Upper Canada, that exploited their position and influence.  Meet this member of the Family Compact’s and learn about his career, and his link to Pickering. 

Asahel Scott Interview
Many of the rebels were farmers, frustrated with the lack of government support.  Meet this young farmer, and learn what getting caught up in the rebellion did to him and his family - and why he wished he’d listened to his father.

Mrs. Mary Major Sleigh Interview
Not all Pickering settlers were rebels.  Some were sympathetic to reform, but were not in favour of an armed uprising.  The Major family were early settlers and remained loyal to the Tory government.  Mrs. Sleigh tells the story of her family’s position. 

Mrs. Hannah Smith Matthews
Mrs. Matthews was left to carry on the family farm and raise her children when her husband, Peter left Pickering to lead the Pickering rebels to the uprising.  Her story is one of perseverance and sadness.

Peter Matthews
Peter was one of Mackenzie’s “captains” in the armed uprising.  Few of Mackenzie’s top men were captured.  Peter was one of two men the government was able to arrest, and hold responsible for Mackenzie's traitorous actions.  Learn why he supported Mackenzie, and what it cost him.

Gr. 7 Curriculum Connections:
History: New France and British North America: 1713-1800 A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1, A2.5, A2.6, A2.7, A3.1, A3.3, A3.4, A3.5, A3.6, A3.7, A3.8

Join the Museum’s Costumer for a look at changing fashion and social history tidbits. This is a fun series for students Gr. 7+ with an interest in lifestyle, and fashion history. 

Sontags and Shawls

1830s Fashion

Wardrobe Extenders

Baby It's Cold Outside

A Craving for Corsets

Cap This!

Fancy Dresses

The Costumes of Bridgerton

Curriculum links:

The Arts (Drama, Visual Arts)
History
Theatre Arts
Fashion Design

In this series of short videos we explore topics that peek into what life was really like in Pickering in the mid- to late 19th Century.

Hygiene
Learn what good hygiene in the 1850s meant!  You will be surprised to hear how often bathing, hair washing and teeth-cleaning were done.

Barn Raising
It took a community to raise a barn. Learn the social and the practical aspects of working together.

Cleaning
A woman’s work was never done, so they say.  Some chores were seasonal - find out more!

Courtship
Discover the differences, and the surprising similarities between dating now and in the 19th Century!

Health and Medicine
Doctors were not always trusted, and for good reason!  Many housewives relied on herbal remedies and patent medicines to treat their families.

Female Itinerant Preachers
The Bible Christians were one of very few religious groups that allowed women to preach.  Join us for a look at this extraordinary group.

Canning
Early canning practices could be dangerous!  Explore a brief history of food preservation.

Curriculum Links: Social Studies/ History