Anishinaabe culture and storytelling is greatly influenced by the natural cycles of our solar system, and David Thompson, a fur trade cartographer, used the sun, stars and other celestial bodies to create maps that would shape the borders of North America. Join our astronomers as they demonstrate how the marvels of the Earth, solar system and the unknown influence our lives.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 1+
Availability: September to June (day and night)
Length: 1 hour
Cost (+HST): $120 per class

David Thompson, a fur trade cartographer, used the sun, stars and other celestial bodies to create maps that would shape the borders of North America. Join our voyageur guides and fur trade astronomers as they demonstrate how the marvels of Earth, the solar system and the unknown influence our everyday lives.

Curriculum Links: Math, Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 1+
Availability: September to June (day and night)
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $9 per student

Ensuring our way of life on Earth remains intact is no easy task. We must work globally to energize the world and think about a world without borders. Join us as we explore a green world that will revitalize the way we live. This experience will encourage students to think of new ways to create energy and how energy can be shared worldwide.

Curriculum Links: Indigenous Studies, Math, Science & Technology
Grade Suitability: 9+
Availability: September to October, May to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

Explore the connections between Anishinaabe culture and the natural environment. Learn about the important roles of plants in medicine, religious ceremonies, food, and shelter. Discover Indigenous perspectives on nature, biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

Curriculum Links: Indigenous Studies, Science & Technology
Grade Suitability: 9+
Availability: September to November, January to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

What did technology look like in the Fur Trade Era? Discover Indigenous innovations that made life easier 200 years ago. Examine various objects and tools used by Indigenous Peoples and Europeans, including a model birch bark canoe, baskets, snowshoes, tools, and raw materials.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 5+
Availability: September to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

A unique cultural experience! Students will be immersed into the traditional and cultural practices of the Anishinaabe. Select from a menu of learning experiences that meet your curriculum requirements, including paddling canoes on the Kaministiquia (May-June), making a traditional craft, learning about Anishinaabe material culture, exploring the forest for wild edibles and medicines, and preparing traditional foods.

Curriculum Links: Health & Physical Education, Indigenous Studies, Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 6+
Availability: September to June
Length: 2 hours
Cost (+HST): $9 per student

Discover the various animals that were important to the fur trade from the perspectives of the North West Company’s fur traders and the Anishinaabe hunters and trappers. Learn which furs were valued for fashion or winter survival, and why. Examine the skulls of these animals to learn about their anatomy, behaviours, diets, and habitats!

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: Virtual – JK-3, in-person – 2+
Availability: Virtual – year-round, in-person – September to June
Length: 1 hour
Cost (+HST): $120 per class (virtual), $6 per student (in-person)

Learn survival skills inspired by Indigenous Peoples and the Europeans who worked and lived in the boreal forest during the Fur Trade Era. Discover how they used their natural surroundings to build shelter, harvest food, keep warm, and navigate the vast wilderness.

Curriculum Links: Indigenous Studies, Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 4+
Availability: September to June
Length: 45 minutes
Cost (+HST): $120 per class

Learn about Anishinaabe life, including daily and seasonal routines and the contributions of Indigenous Peoples to the fur trade. Discover building materials, technologies and foods. Learn about trading practices and how the knowledge and technologies shared by Indigenous Peoples with Europeans helped expand the fur trade across North America.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 3-7
Availability: September to June
Length: 45 minutes
Cost (+HST): $120 per class

Discover some of the tools and technologies developed and used by Indigenous Peoples before European contact, and understand the science behind creating these items. Learn about the many regionally available resources, engage in experiments, including testing the tensile strength of natural cordage and manipulation of wood using heat and moisture, and learn about the uses of local sediments and minerals to create tools.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 4-6
Availability: September to June
Length: 45 minutes
Cost (+HST): $120 per class

Energy is everywhere! The Sun, wind and water all provide energy in different ways. Energy gives us everything our planet needs to grow and change. Join us for an energizing adventure as we generate different kinds of energy such as lightning bolts of electricity, and become energy detectives to uncover where energy is found and why.

Curriculum Links: Health & Physical Education, Science & Technology, The Arts
Grade Suitability: 1-2
Availability: September to October, May to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

Students will learn about the role of black powder firearms in early Canada, learn how to collaboratively and safely discharge a cannon, and try firing a flintlock musket. Please note, participants must be 13 or older to fire a cannon or musket.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography
Grade Suitability: 6+
Availability: September to October, May to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

Anishinaabe traditions, stories and harvests are greatly influenced by the cycles of the Earth, moon and immediate solar system. Listen to Anishinaabe storytellers as they draw upon their culture to explain the mysterious cycles of creation, life and beyond, and the roles we all play in the universe. Following Anishinaabe cultural practices, this program is only available when snow is covering the ground.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography, The Arts
Grade Suitability: 1-8
Availability: When snow covers the ground (Estimate December to February
Length: 2 hours
Cost (+HST): $9 per student

Discover the machines that advanced life in the 1800s and how these devices have evolved over time. Investigate how simple machines and tools use force and reduced friction to move heavy objects. Have fun using wheels, levers, pulleys, and screws to move different objects.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology
Grade Suitability: 3+
Availability: September to October, May to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student

The Sun and the energy it radiates form the basis for all life on earth. Discover how the Sun affects life at Fort William, from effecting the change in seasons and food availability to telling time and navigating the continent!

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology
Grade Suitability: 1-6
Availability: September to June (Daytime)
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $9 per student

This experience introduces students to the Anishinaabe, who they are, their importance in history, and their way of life. This experience will focus on the use of music and food to welcome students to the Anishinaabe encampment and their way of life.

Curriculum Links: Health & Physical Education, Indigenous Studies, Science & Technology, Social Studies, History & Geography, The Arts
Grade Suitability: 3+
Availability: September to June
Length: 2 hours
Cost (+HST): $9 per student

The future looks green! Creative minds around the planet are working every day to create new and renewable means of energy. Join them in creating a sustainable future for our planet. Create steam, wind, water and heat powered devices where your own imagination is the most important tool.

Curriculum Links: Science & Technology
Grade Suitability: 4-8
Availability: September to October, May to June
Length: 1.5 hours
Cost (+HST): $6 per student