Heritage Museums

Museum Workshops

Birchbark Mask

This interesting program combines curriculum requirements with hands-on activities.

The First Nations of Canada made use of the many natural resources around them. Instruction will cover the many uses of the birch tree by Northern Ontario First Nations, its health giving properties, and the surprising use by one of Sudbury's early prospectors.

The hands-on component of the program involves the construction of a Birch Bark Mask and the telling of a Cree tale of how the birch tree received its stripes.

*This workshop is subject to the availability of bark. Please book before the snow flies!

Braided Rugs

Our early settlers recycled as much as possible. The original braided rugs were made from many types of material, literally any piece of clothing or bedding which was worn beyond further usefulness became material for braided rugs.

The material was cut up into long strips and used in the rug. Colourful patterns helped to brighten dark rooms and the rugs helped to keep the settlers' feet warm.

Now you can learn to make attractive and useful "memory rugs".

*Suitable for children ten years and up.

Candle Making

The candle is the oldest means of supplying light. Although a number of changes have been made to the methods of candle manufacturing, there is no basic difference between a candle made in the past and one made today.

Students will learn about the history of candle making and will have the opportunity to make their own candles using bee's wax.

*Suitable for students in grade 3 and up.

Pioneer Games

Ever wonder how children played in bygone days?

Early pioneer children didn't have computers or play stations to keep them entertained. Boys and girls played games such as hide-and-go-seek, tag, skipping, leap frog, hopscotch, and red rover.

Play games of skill and test your hand-eye coordination with the cup and ball.

Rope Making

Learn the art of handmade rope making!

Dating back to prehistoric times, people all over the world have made and used rope. From twisted tree roots to hemp strands and even sinew from animals, many materials have been used to make rope.

Students will work as part of a team producing their own hand-turned rope. The workshop includes a demonstration of a one hundred-year-old manual rope machine.

Soap Making

Pioneer life was often a struggle. It was a struggle to feed your family, build your home, to keep warm, and even to keep clean.

This workshop will introduce students to how soap was made in early days. From the first European discoveries to Roman baths to the Finnish sauna here in Northern Ontario.

Photographs and written accounts of doing laundry on the shores of a lake will aid the students in understanding the process of keeping clean during pioneer days.

Students will have an opportunity to assist with a melt and pour soap making exercise.

To register your class for any of these workshops or to obtain more information, please contact Samantha Morel, Museum Curator, at 705-671-2489, extension 4152.

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