Grades K-6

Helmet. This First World War German Stalheim helmet is a recent "battlefield pick-up." After over 90 years, it emerged from the ground at Vimy Ridge.

Grades K-6 Education Programs

Packages

Boats, Bells, and Banners
Grades 2-4 • 3 hrs • $6/student In this four-component package, you will learn about Canada’s navy. Discover how a ship is like a family, with various roles and responsibilities. Understand the terminology, the history, and the people.
Aboriginal Veterans: Calling My Spirits Home
Grades 4-6 • 2 hrs 15 mins • $6/student This three-component package includes a theatre presentation, a hands-on activity, and an art activity. Learn about Aboriginal veterans. Touch a stone-tipped arrow, a burrowing owl skull, and a coyote pelt. Create a medicine shield using print making techniques. Appreciate Aboriginal peoples’ contributions to Canada’s history and identity.

Theatre Presentation

A Good Question
Grades K-3 • 30 mins Provide sound effects and learn how to puppeteer! Learn to use your words instead of fighting. This presentation includes a puppet show, an animated video and a discussion about conflict resolution.

Gallery Tours

Naval Museum of Alberta
Grades K-6 • 45 mins Look through a periscope, decipher navy flags, examine airplanes, learn about a sailor’s life during the Second World War, understand boats and buoyancy, and learn how sailors communicate.
Army Museums
Grades K-6 • 30 mins Tour one of five army museums. The museum you tour will be determined based on volunteer availability. Army museum tours cover a variety of topics, including the Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, animals in the military, Calgary’s contributions, Aboriginal veterans, women’s contribution to the war effort, the UN, peacekeeping operations, and current conflicts such as Afghanistan. You may request a tour that focuses on one of these topics to better fit your curriculum.
Landmines: Making Peace and Saving Lives
Grades 4-6 • 45 mins Explore how Canada helps prevent the use of landmines and learn about the complex problem of removing them from our planet. A simulated de-mining activity enables students to appreciate the scope of this problem.
Air Force Museum of Alberta
Grades K-6 • 45 mins Discover the role of Canada and Alberta in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Sit in on a pre-mission briefing of a bomber squadron’s operation in a Second World War Nissen Hut. Learn the history of flight and about the men and women who serve in today’s air force and those who served in the early years.

Temporary Exhibits

Centennial Celebrations
Grades 4-6 • 30 mins February 2010 - August 2010. Exhibits honour the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Navy, the King’s Own Calgary Regiment, and the Calgary Highlanders.

Outreach

Request a serving soldier or veteran of the Second World War, Korea, the Cold War, or Afghanistan to speak at your school Remembrance Day ceremony. This outreach opportunity to meet a veteran is available all year, but in high demand during the remembrance period. Requests exceed capacity from 6 to 13 November, so to ensure a speaker plan your function for an alternate date. A $50 donation to the Education Department at The Military Museums is suggested for this service.

Other Activities

Time-to-Explore
Grades K-6 • 30 or 45 mins Teacher supervised.
Artefact Handling
Grades K-6 • 30 or 45 mins Get your hands involved and compare Second World War battle tunics, gas masks, and helmets to modern military equipment. (does not include weapons).
Marching Drill & Uniform Try-ons
Grades 1-6 • 30 or 45 mins Explore the badges and symbols of authentic military uniforms and participate in a marching drill. Learn why soldiers wear uniforms and how drills promote teamwork. Guaranteed to produce lots of smiles!
Morse Code Send & Receive
Grades 4-6 • 30 or 45 mins Send a Morse code message to a classmate using an oscillator. Learn the history and significance of Morse code language and technology.

Special Speakers

Meet a Veteran or Serving Soldier
Grades 4-6 • 30 mins Meet a serving soldier or veteran of the Canadian Forces and hear their stories. Learn how soldiers kept in touch with their families and how they made friends. Bring prepared questions.
Evolution of Peacekeeping: Cyprus to Afghanistan
Grades 4-6 • 45 mins Canadian peacekeepers resolved an international crisis during the Suez Crisis. Through innovative thinking Canadian peacekeepers contributed to Canada’s national identity and Canada’s international policy.