Lesson Plans

Artefact Investigation (Grades 3-6)

Artefacts are unique primary sources. At first glance, they may not appear to communicate a lot of information, but if you take a closer look, you may be surprised what you discover. In this lesson students will have the opportunity to look critically at an artefact, formulate their own conclusions based on their observations and use secondary sources to confirm, or contracidt, their findings.

Photograph Forensics: Looking Closer at Primary Sources (Grades 7-9)

Photographs are exciting primary sources to analyse. They can capture a specific time, story, perspective, landscape and event. When you investigate further, it is interesting to discover what photographs can communicate about: typical modes of transportation, important businesses, popular fashion, gender roles, recreation, communication, as well as social norms and values. In the exercise, we invite you to look critically at images from the early twentieth century, ask lots of questions and delve deeper into the art of photographis forensics!

Class project

New to Nepean: Celebrating Nepean's Newest Settlers

In 2012, Nepean Museum partnered with St. Pius X High School to create an exhibit that celebrated the student's immigration experiences. The project took place over an entire semester.

Each student was assigned with the tasks of: interviewing a family or community member, writing out their immigration experience and creating a work of art that represented that experience. The completed artworks were placed on display in the Atrium Gallery at Ben Franklin Place from July 14th - 26th of 2012. The immigration stories written by each student were published in a booklet that accompanied the exhibit.

The exhibit opening was attended by staff, students and administration from St. Pius X High School, staff and Board Members from Nepean Museum and local politicians, including the Mayor of Ottawa. In addition to a well attended opening event, the exhibition received front page coverage in the local, community newspaper and a few of the students were interviewed on CBC Radio.

ADDitional Resources

One rainy day, Evan and Belle decided to go on a very special adventure. Their trip is described in an exceptional storybook that is now available at Nepean Museum.