School Programs

Come visit Woodstock's first farmers market, town council chambers, early fire hall, ballroom, theatre and auditorium!

Children will set up their own stalls in our farmers’ market and sell and barter market goods with their classmates. Then it’s on to the town council for a mini council meeting to experience what it was like to be a mayor, newspaper reporter or councillor. Finally, head up to the Grand Hall to have a Victorian era dance complete with period music and dance cards.

In this one unique building, students can discover how the timeless social and physical needs of Woodstock's first settlers were met by a number of different people.

Our simple machines make work seem like play! Simply Mechanical uses experimentation and interaction with artifacts from the Museum's education collection to give the children a hands-on historical experience, while also introducing them to the mechanical advantages of the wedge, lever, pulley, wheel, screw and inclined plane.

Children will tinker with and test out some of the fascinating implements that made life easier for the first settlers of Oxford County.

Students will develop an understanding of their local community and begin to examine the global community. By exploring a variety of traditions and celebrations within their families, and diverse groups within our community, students will develop an understanding of how traditions contribute to and enrich their own community and Canadian society.

December only. Christmas, Diwali and Hanukkah can be covered. 

This exciting program provides children with a hands-on opportunity to experience settler life in early Woodstock.

Travel across the ocean with us as we arrive in Woodstock in 1800. Try out pioneer tools, plant a heritage seed, compete in a spelling bee, dress-up in our pioneer children's clothing, and try your hand at spring cleaning. See how Woodstock has changed over the centuries!

Special Comments:

The spring cleaning segment can only be done in warm months outside. Contact the Education Officer for more information.

Pulley power and grinding gears! While churning butter, grinding wheat, spinning sheep's fleece and experimenting with different pulleys and gears, students will gain a first-hand understanding of history's pulleys and gears.

Children have the opportunity for hands-on interaction with our large education collection of historical pulleys and gears, from corsets and large barn pulleys to eggbeaters and spinning wheels.

Ontario Curriculum Links:

4s77 Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of pulleys and gears;

4s80 Describe, using their observations, the functions of pulley systems and gear systems;

4s82 Describe, using their observations, how gears operate in one plane and in two planes;

4s83 Demonstrate an awareness of the concept of mechanical advantage by using a variety of pulleys and gears;

4s100 Identify common devices and systems that incorporate pulleys and/or gears (e.g. hand drills or grandfather clocks).

Special Comments:

Please be prepared to divide your class into three groups. Bringing name tags for the children is very helpful!

Be mayor for a day! Tour the original town hall. See where the first farmers market and early fire hall were located. Stand in the room where the famous Birchall-Benwell murder trial took place! Then visit the new city hall and hold a mock council meeting in the real council chambers! Your class chooses a current issue to debate and elects the council and a mayor before your visit.

Ontario Curriculum Links:

• 5z25 Describe the structure and components of Canada's municipal government;
• 5z26 Describe the rights of groups and individuals and the responsibilities of citizenship in Canada, including participation in the electoral process and the granting of voting rights to various groups;
• 5z28 Explain the process of electing governments in Canada;
• 5z36 Use primary and secondary sources to locate information about the structure and functions of government;
• 5z44 Model activities and processes of responsible citizenship.

Special Comments:

Pre-program preparation is required.

What was life like in Oxford County during the War of 1812? Through discussion of the Oxford Militia's participation in the Battle of Lundy's Lane, students will discover how war was waged with a musket at 100 paces. Students will also learn about the often harsh lives of women and children who stayed behind on newly cleared homesteads while the men were camped with their companies.

Ontario Curriculum Links:

• 7h21 Describe the different groups of people who took part in the Loyalists' migration and identify their area of settlement;
• 7h22 Outline the reasons for the early settlement of English Canada;
• 7h23 Explain key characteristics of life in English Canada form a variety of perspectives;
• 7h28 Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to locate relevant information about how early settlers met the challenges of the new land;
• 7h34 Illustrate the historical development of their local community, using a variety of formats.

Special Comments:

Please be prepared to divide your class into three groups.

The 1830s were turbulent times in Oxford County! Suspicions proliferated, in an area where loyalists lived next door to rebels. This interactive program facilitates the exploration of the "Western Rebellion” by following the story of Alexander Ross's musket, given to him by Militia Colonel Allan MacNab. Students will fill the pack of a 17-year-old Oxford militiaman with accoutrements and learn what it felt like to camp out in the Zorra woods in the cold of winter. After discussing the major players from Oxford County, both rebels and loyalists, students will use the information they have learned to create either a wanted poster for the likes of Dr. Charles Duncombe or Solomon Lossing or a propaganda flyer to recruit reformers.

Ontario Curriculum Links:

• 7h36 Describe the causes, personalities, and results of the rebellions of 1837-38 in Upper and Lower Canada in relation to themes of conflict and change;
• 7h40 Identify key issues and events of the rebellions of 1837-38 in Upper and Lower Canada (e.g., issues related to land, transportation, government; events such as Mackenzie's march down Yonge Street);
• 7h41 Describe the role of key personalities (e.g, Mackenzie, Papineau, Bond Head) involved in the rebellions, and methods they used to bring about change;
• 7h44 Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to locate relevant information about key personalities involved in the rebellions.

Special Comments:

Please be prepared to divide your class into three groups.

Welcome to Woodstock at the beginning of the 20th century! We begin this program with a look at how the participation of the Oxford Rifles Militia in the Boer War and WWI indicates a change in Canada's role in the British Empire. Students will then discover the changing role of women in Canadian society through the examination of nurses in WWI and three very important (and one infamous) Oxford women. This study will be supported by interaction with artifacts and a wonderful historic clothing collection.

Ontario Curriculum Links:

• 8h39 Describe how specific individuals and events helped change the position of women and children in Canada;
• 8h42 Identify key events that illustrate Canada's role within the British Empire and explain their significance (e.g., the Boer War, the Naval question, Canada's participation in Imperial conferences);
• 8h45 Use a variety of primary and secondary sources to locate relevant information;
• 8h52 Compare family roles at the beginning of the twentieth century to family roles today.

Special Comments:

Please be prepared to divide your class into three groups.

Be mayor for a day! Tour the original town hall, then visit the new city hall and hold a mock council meeting in the council chambers. Your class chooses a current issue to debate and elects the council and mayors before your visit. Delegates will research, explore and present two sides of an issue. This program helps students to explore the political decision-making process, as well what it means to be a participating and informed citizen in a local context.

Ontario Curriculum Links

• Explain the causes of civic conflict and how decision-making processes and structures can avert or respond to such conflicts;
• Explain the roles played by elected representatives, interest groups, and the media in the political process;
• Describe fundamental beliefs and values associated with democratic citizenship;
• Describe how their own and other's beliefs and values can be connected to a sense of civic purpose and preferred types of participation;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which individual citizens can obtain information and explanations or voice opinions about important civic matters.
• Identify opportunities for citizens to participate in government and non-governmental political decision making at the community, municipal, provincial, federal and international levels;
• Identify the key stages in resolving conflict;
• Compare the roles in the Canadian decision-making process of the following: prime minister, premiers, cabinet ministers, MPs, MPPs and MLAs, senators, mayors, and councillors;
• Express ideas, understandings, arguments, and conclusions, as appropriate for different audiences and purposes, using a variety of styles and forms.

Special Comments

Pre-program preparation is required.