Field Trips

Take an integrated and interactive look at three communities in southwestern Ontario from 1780-1850. Students learn how Indigenous peoples, Mennonite immigrants, and Black settlers lived and interacted, with a focus on Wampum, daily life, and going to school. Groups visit Martin House, the Blacksmith Shop, the Freeport Church, and an exhibit on the history of Waterloo Region.

Communities in Canada, 1780 - 1850

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Students explore significant events in the lives of settler communities on the land now called Waterloo Region. Learn about schooling options for Black settlers in the 1850s, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the immigration of Europeans after the Second World War, and Hmong refugee experiences in the 1970s by examining the lives of people who lived through these events. Groups visit Martin House, the Dry Goods & Grocery Store, the Freeport Church, and an exhibit on the history of Waterloo Region.

Communities in Canada, Past and Present 

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Explore 1914! Students learn about making bread on a historic woodstove, with pre-baked samples available to try. Next, try blacksmithing using a real forge, playing historic games, and sending messages using a telegraph machine. Groups visit Martin House, the Blacksmith Shop, the Dry Goods & Grocery Store, and the Train Station.

Grade 1 - Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities, Grade 2 - Changing Family and Community Traditions, Grade 3 - Communities in Canada, 1780-1850, Grade 6 - Communities in Canada, Past and Present

2 hours, maximum 80 students

This program provides students with the opportunity to sample different branches of science: ecology, robotics, engineering, and earth sciences. Students use scientific experimentation and engineering design processes to conduct investigations. Test the pH levels of common liquids, code easy-to-use robots, see how gasses move using a Schlieren table, and uncover real fossil fish! This program takes place in the modern museum building, with one outdoor activity.

Life Systems, Structures and Mechanisms, Earth and Space Systems

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Back by popular demand! Explore Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, Hanukkah, and Lunar New Year, learning about these celebrations and what makes them special to different communities across Waterloo Region. This program takes place entirely in the modern museum building.

Changing Family and Community Traditions

2 hours, maximum 80 students

It’s Christmas in 1914! Explore how Mennonites observed Christmas, see what gift options were available in the Dry Goods & Grocery Store, learn about winter travel options in the Blacksmith Shop, and visit the Train Station. This program takes place entirely in Doon Heritage Village.

Changing Family and Community Traditions

2 hours, maximum 80 students

Explore the lives of feathered friends we can find in our own backyard! In this trip students examine the stages of development inside an egg, play a “who laid this egg” identification game, participate in some egg-speriments, and use drama and dance to connect with birds! 

Exploring and Understanding Life Systems - Basic Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

1.5 hour in length, Maximum 60 students 

It’s time to dig into the natural world and examine the relationships that our planet relies on! While students are here, they will explore plant medicines; identify plants; use mini-microscopes to examine healthy soils; tend to the vermiculture box, discuss climate change, and more!

Understanding Life Systems, Understanding Matter and Energy, Understanding Earth and Space Systems

2 hours, maximum 60 students

Learn about the eh-mazing animals that call Canada home! With a variety of hands-on activities, students will examine mammal skulls and learn about predators versus prey, experience simulated tracking through an outdoor scavenger hunt, identify the differences between reptiles and amphibians, and dissect owl pellets!  

Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Animals, Habitats and Communities

2 hours, maximum 60 students

This program provides students with a hands-on opportunity to experience the science of bread making! Students produce a variety of breads for sampling, comparing historic and modern cooking technology. They will explore different leveraging agents and concepts like physical and chemical changes. While bread is baking students have the opportunity to tour through our 209 year old historic house and associated outbuildings; discussing the history of Waterloo Region.

Understanding Matter and Energy – Properties and Changes in Matter; Pure Substances and Mixtures

2 hours, maximum 45 students

Embrace the changes of the season with Haus traditions at Schneider Haus! 

Fall traditions focus on apple processing, traditional medicines, and outdoor games. Winter traditions focus on Mennonite, German, and other local Christmas traditions, indoor games, and winter clothing. Spring traditions highlight planting, wool working, and outdoor games. Each trip includes an opportunity to tour our 209-year-old historic house and learn about the history of Waterloo Region. 

Grade 1 - Social Studies - Our Changing Roles and Responsibilities; Grade 2 - Social Studies -Changing Family and Community Traditions; Grade 3 - Social Studies -Communities in Canada, 1780-1850 Grade 6 - Social Studies: Communities in Canada, Past and Present

2 hours, maximum 60 students

This program combines Social Studies, The Arts, and Mathematics as we explore our changing family and community traditions using the Scottish heritage of the former residents of McDougall Cottage as a focused exploration. Students will explore Scottish celebrations by looking at traditional music, foodways, dance, and clothing, and conclude with an Art and Mathematics design challenge!

Heritage and Identity - Changing Family and Community Traditions;  Mathematics - Algebra: Patterns and Relationships 

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

With only a small 'kist' to carry their most important practical and sentimental belongings to a new home in Upper Canada, how and why did an immigrant family select those precious items? In what ways might this have changed for families moving to a new country today? In this inquiry-based program, students will unpack and explore artifacts essential to Scottish emigrants in the nineteenth century, drawing comparisons between their own lives and the communities that formed new beginnings in Waterloo Region between 1780 and 1850.

Heritage and Identity - Communities in Canada, 1780 - 1850

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

We will take your class on an exploration of the recently revealed 100-year-old trompe l'oeil murals and friezes at McDougall Cottage. Students will compare and contrast historic mural art with modern examples of optical illusion mural, street, and body art, and then try their hand at creating their own ‘trick of the eye’ art piece.

The Arts - Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Help teach your students how to be thoughtful about their conduct both in the classroom and online in this engaging etiquette course. This program includes a brief history of etiquette, its importance, and showcases how we uplift ourselves and our community when we lead with kindness and consideration. Students will experience hands-on etiquette for high tea (a staple at McDougall Cottage) as well as how to translate etiquette online. 

Digital Media Literacy; Spatial Awareness; Audience Etiquette

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Unlike digital communications, written letters provide a physical history of our relationships and communications with each other and give writers space to slow down and collect their thoughts. In our letter writing program, students will learn about the history of letter writing, the importance of physical letters, experience cursive reading and writing exercises, and get hands-on experience writing letters. Our final activity will allow students to write a letter to their future self or a friend to practice their letter-writing skills. 

Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts (Cursive) 

1 hour in-person outreach OR virtual program

Explore the fascinating phenomenon of nostalgia and learn about its benefits on this multi-disciplinary trip. This two-part field trip features content from McDougall Cottage’s newest exhibit - “Snapshots in Time: Nostalgia and Memory” - and includes a visit to the Cambridge Libraries and Art Galleries. Students will learn firsthand how nostalgia can reduce stress, build self-identity, and increase happiness in people's lives. 

At McDougall Cottage, students will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on exploration of nostalgia through our multi-sensory exhibition. Students will investigate the concept of nostalgia and how it relates to mental processes, sociality, and culture through Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology. Students will also visit our partners at the Cambridge Art Galleries and the Cambridge Public Library, where they will experience how nostalgia is captured and explored through literature and art. 

Research and Inquiry Skills; Explaining Human Behaviour and Culture; Human Mental Processes and Behaviour; Explaining Social Behaviour; Art, Society, and Values; The Creative Process;

2-hour in-person program