Outreach Programs

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 first hand how nostalgia can reduce stress, build self-identity, and increase happiness in peoples 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