Education
School Programs offered at the Billings Estate National Historic Site
Programs are offered Tuesday to Friday during the months of May, June, September and October. All programs are available in both French and English.
For more information about a particular program, or to book a program, please contact the Client Services Clerk at 613-247-4830 ext. 221.
Living in the Past at the Billings Estate – Kindergarten to grade 4
Discover what life was like in early Ottawa! Customize your visit by choosing from the following activities to introduce history to your students or to complement what they have already learned. Each activity provides a unique learning opportunity that combines the history of the Billings family with hands-on activities and discussion.
Building from the ground up
Pioneers had to use materials near at hand to build their new homes. Students will learn about construction techniques, the importance of natural resources and what home life was like by building their own log cabin.
Kindergarten to grade 2: Math
Kindergarten to grade 1: Science and Technology
Victorian games
Get outside and get active! Students will play children’s games from the past while learning why they were popular and what they tell us about the times in which they were played.
Kindergarten to grade 4: Health and Physical Education
Step into the kitchen
Discover how ingredients made their way from the field to the cupboard while measuring and mixing a tasty treat! Students will make their own snack for the day – a batch of “nice breakfast cakes” and freshly churned butter.
Kindergarten, grades 1 and 4: Math
Grades 2 to 3: Science and Technology
Mapping the community
Explore the Billings Estate and its community through maps. Students will learn how to read them for historical information and create their own maps of the estate.
Grades 1 to 4: Social Studies
Let’s get growing
Students will get their hands dirty in this outdoor gardening activity. Topics will include the importance of the pioneer vegetable garden, how food is grown and the lifecycle of plants. Students will also get to help out with seasonal garden chores while learning about the importance of locally grown food.
Kindergarten to grade 4: Science and Technology
Grade 3: Social Studies
Get to work!
Students will have a chance to learn about pioneer chores through this role-playing activity. They will dress up like pioneers and do old-fashioned chores while their classmates guess what their responsibilities are.
Kindergarten, grade 3: Science and Technology
Grades 1, 3: Social Studies
Grade 2: The Arts
Exploring the cemetery
Learn about local families with this outdoor scavenger hunt. Students will use math skills to understand tombstones and make rubbings to show off their findings.
Grades 1 to 3: Social Studies
Grades 1, 4: Math
Herbs and their uses
Lamira Billings was a well-known herbal healer in early Gloucester. While making herbal tea to take home, students will learn how she used herbs in food and medicine.
Kindergarten to grade 4: Science and Technology
What’s that?
Students will examine objects used in the everyday lives of families like the Billings but that may be unfamiliar to us today. After studying their objects, students will present their findings to their classmates and compare them with modern equivalents.
Kindergarten to grade 2: Science and Technology
Grade 3: Social Studies
Light show
Students will use artifacts to explore how the Billings kept their homes lit up at night and how lighting technology has changed. Then, when the lights go out, they will try their hand at shadow puppets, an old-fashioned parlour game.
Kindergarten to grade 3: The Arts
Grades 1, 4: Science and Technology
Making the band
Music was an important part of Victorian life. Students will learn how music influenced culture while making a variety of string, wind and percussion instruments and performing for their classmates.
Kindergarten to grade 4: The Arts
Grades 2, 3: Social Studies
Grade 4: Science and Technology
Recycling the past
Early Settlers never let anything go to waste. Students will compare artifacts that demonstrate how items could be used over and over again with modern disposable equivalents.
Kindergarten, 1, 4: Science and Technology
Grade 2: Math
Grade 3: Social Studies
Lumbering Along the River – Grades 4 to 8
Braddish Billings got his start in the lumber trade. Students will discover what the life of a lumberjack was like in this three-part interactive program. Students will roam the Billings Estate identifying trees and their historical uses. They will travel down the river and through the lumber camps and sawmills to meet the people involved in the different phases of the industry with a role-playing game. Finally, they will learn about life in the shantytowns by playing traditional games and eating authentic foods.
Grades 4 to 8: Social Studies
Grades 4, 5, 8: The Arts
Grade 4: Science and Technology
Can You Dig It? – Grades 5 to 8
Students will have the chance to become archaeologists for the day in this two-part hands-on program. They will learn how to identify dig sites, which tools to use, and how to uncover hidden artifacts. They will also learn how to identify what they find and analyse what it tells us about our history. In the second half of the program, students will explore the entire estate to find out as much as they can about the people who lived here. A house tour will follow. This program takes place both indoors and outdoors.
Grades 5 to 8: Social Studies
Grades 5 to 7: Science and Technology
Christmas at the Estate – Kindergarten to Grade 4
Enjoy the traditions of Christmas past in this seasonal program. Students will learn about 19th-century life while baking gingerbread cookies, making heritage ornaments, staging a shadow puppet show and playing winter games outdoors. Our current traditions will be compared with those of days gone by!
Kindergarten: Personal and Social Development
Kindergarten to grade 4: The Arts
Kindergarten, grade 4: Math
Grades 1 to 4: Science and Technology
Grades 1 to 3: Social Studies
Planning your Visit
Before you arrive
If you have questions about any of the programs or require more details, contact our Education Officer at 613-247-4830. Detailed outlines of the curriculum objectives that will be met by each activity can be obtained upon request.
Bookings
To book a visit, please contact the Education Officer at 613-247-4830 or museums@ottawa.ca.
Hours
Education programs are offered Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rates and Fee Structure
At Billings Estate we have designed our curriculum-based program options to ensure that they remain accessible to a wide variety of income levels. Our cost-recovery pricing reflects our strong belief that each child deserves individual attention and a unique museum experience.
Living in the Past
This program allows teachers to customize their visit to meet the needs of their students. Visits can last anywhere from a half day to a full day, depending on the number of activities in which they would like to participate. The cost for a half-day program (three activities) is $3 per student. Each additional activity costs $1 per student.
Lumbering Along the River, Can You Dig It? and Christmas at the Estate
Each program lasts approximately a half-day and costs $3 per student. A cost of $1 per student can be added if teachers want to add activities from Living in the Past to any of these programs.
There are no costs to adult supervisors.
In order to ensure that all students are able to access the educational services offered by the Billings Estate, beacon schools qualify for a 50% discount on student admissions.
Food
Indoor and outdoor spaces are available for lunches. Participants must provide their own lunches and snacks. When food is a part of an activity, it will be nut-free. However, our kitchen is not a nut-free facility.
Weather
Most of our programs take place both indoors and outdoors. Participants are required to dress for the weather. Visits can be rescheduled at no additional cost if weather forces cancellation.
Group size
The size of our museum permits an intimate learning experience. We ask that group sizes for Living in the Past and Christmas at the Estate not exceed 60 students so that they receive sufficient attention. Groups participating in Can You Dig It? and Lumbering Along the River are limited to 30 students. The size of working groups is limited to ensure a ratio of one staff person for every fifteen participants.
Adult supervision
Adult supervisors are encouraged to assist in overseeing the comportment of students during the delivery of all programs. A ratio of one adult for every ten students is required. All adult supervisors are admitted to the museum free of charge. We are happy to provide tea and/or coffee for a nominal fee.
Accessibility
All regular programming spaces are fully accessible. If your group has any special needs, please mention them when you make your booking.
Parking
Ample free parking is available onsite for buses and for adult supervisors.
Allergies
Many of the activities that take place at the Billings Estate occur in our outdoor green space. In addition to the many benefits that come with this experience, participants are exposed to pollens that could aggravate allergies. All of the recipes that participants make are nut-free. However, our kitchen and some ingredients and supplies that are used may come in contact with nut products.
Artifact kits
Want to bring history into the classroom? Artifact kits can be rented for use outside of the museum to complement lessons you already have in place. Staff can also come to you to enhance the in-class learning experience.
Don’t see what you’re interested in? Want more information about any of our programs? Contact our Education Officer at 613-247-4830 for program details or to arrange a visit. We would be delighted to work with you to tailor our existing programs or develop new ones using your feedback and collaboration.
Staff profile
Our creative and knowledgeable bilingual staff are trained educators who enjoy teaching in a museum environment. Experienced in delivering education programs to diverse groups, they are committed to making your young learners’ visit entertaining while also meeting the more important goal of educating them about our local history. They creatively forge connections between the past and the present and do it in a way that provides a safe, engaging environment.
