School Programs
Truly Interactive Learning
Take your students back to the 19th century, on the actual site where British warships docked, sailors and soldiers toiled, and settlers carved an existence out of the wilderness. Students of all ages love spending the day reliving history, and learning was never easier.
Education programs at Discovery Harbour meet the requirements of the 2018 Ontario Curriculum for History and Geography (Grades 7 & 8), by using the inquiry process to explore life in Canada in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Please contact us for more information or to book a visit, please send an email to:
Educational Programs
A NAVAL AND MILITARY OUTPOST
Discovery Harbour traces its roots back to the original British naval and military base in Penetanguishene, built to safeguard access to Upper Canada after the War of 1812.
Education programs at Discovery Harbour meet the requirements of the 2018 Ontario Curriculum for History and Geography (Grades 7 & 8). The inquiry process is used to explore life in Canada in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Through tours and activities, students at all grade levels will gather information, ask questions, evaluate the information, and communicate their findings as they explore early settlement in Upper Canada and the significance of the War of 1812.
Students will learn first-hand about the daily lives and challenges facing the officers, sailors, soldiers, labourers and ladies at an isolated outpost – and those of the Indigenous and Métis peoples who interacted with them. A half-day tour like no other!
Engage your students in history with an immersive, curriculum-linked, staff-led tour of a recreated British naval and military establishment. Built in the wake of the War of 1812, the Penetanguishene base was part of Upper Canada’s defense plan and the major supply depot for British forces on Lake Huron. It also played an important role in the maintenance of relationships between British authorities and their Indigenous allies.
- Availability: May 23 to June
- Tour length: 2.5 hours
- Capacity: 15 to 75 students
- Grades: 7-8 (adaptable to grades 3-6)
- Cost: $8.00 per student.
Enhance your students’ exploration of 19th century life at the British naval and military Establishment by including a Quill Pen Writing activity in your immersive, curriculum-linked, staff-led tour.
The hands-on experience writing like the people of long ago will illuminate the importance of the written word in society – and its role in assisting with our understanding of the past. Writing their own letters and the collaborative creation of a class “Muster List” will give students unique mementos of their half-day experience at Discovery Harbour. Program components: Tour of the historic site and buildings Quill Pen Writing activity.
- Availability: May 23 to June
- Tour length: 2.5 hours
- Capacity: 15 to 75 students
- Grades: 7-8
- Cost: $8.00 per student
This curriculum-linked, activity-packed half-day program immerses students in core aspects of a soldier’s routine, such as marching, setting-up camp, basic musket and cannon drills, and exploration of a soldier’s belongings.
Even in peacetime, the life of a 19th century British “redcoat” was a highly regimented mix of manual labour and technical skill. Daily fatigue work, ongoing sentry duty and repeated practice of military drill were the norm for those serving in the British Army. Program components: Marching, setting-up camp, basic musket and cannon drills, and exploration of a soldier’s belongings. A tour of the original Officers’ Quarters provides a striking upper-class contrast to the harsh realities facing the common soldier. A concluding black powder demonstration (weather permitting) ties together key elements of a soldier’s life – and the role it played in Britain’s colonial expansion.
- Availability: May 23 to June
- Tour length: 2.5 hours
- Capacity: 15 to 75 students
- Grades: 7-8
- Cost: $8.00 per student
Expand your dynamic half-day experience into a full day and ensure you get the complete Establishments story. Transform your Outpost Explorer, Outpost Explorer Plus or Through a Soldier’s Eyes program into a full day experience by adding a 2.5 hour activity block comprised of three historic activities allowing your students to further explore aspects of life at an isolated 19th century British Naval and Military base. Historic activities complement your experience by adding fun and learning in equal measure!
Activity options (choose any 3):
- Historic Games
- Sailors’ Ropework
- Quill Pen Writing (This activity is included with Outpost Explorers Plus)
- Fire Starting
- Historic Cooking
Full day program (5 hours):
- Option 1: Outpost Explorers Tour and 3 Activities
- Option 2: Outpost Explorers Plus and 3 Activities
- Option 3: Through a Soldier’s Eyes and 3 activities
- Option 4: Outpost Explorers Plus and Through a Soldier’s Eyes
- Option 5: Outpost Explorers Tour and Through a Soldier’s Eyes
- Availability: May 23 to June
- Capacity: 15 to 75 students
- Grades: 7-8
- Cost: $14.00 per student
