Education Programs

The Aurora Historical Society (AHS) hosts school groups for single-day educational programming. The 2023 educational program overviews are below. The AHS is dedicated to providing safe, accessible, engaging and innovative programming. Please reach out to us if you require any modifications to the available programs.

To receive the full educational programming package, including booking details, please email programming@aurorahs.com or call us at 905-727-8991 to make an inquiry.

Tour Hillary House National Historic Site to learn about a doctor’s practice during the Victorian Era. Through games and interactive activities, explore how technology, medicine, and ways of life have changed throughout time. Get hands-on with artifacts from the Aurora Historical Society’s education collection! Topics can be catered to each class unit.

Grade 3 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

A1.1, A1.3, A2.2, A2.3, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3, B1.2, B2.6, B3.1, B3.2, B3.3, B3.4, B3.5, B3.6, B3.7

Grade 4 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

B1.1, B2.1, B3.2, B3.3, B3.7

Grade 5 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

B3.1 B3.4, B3.5, B3.8, B3.9

Grade 6 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

A1.1, A1.3, A3.1, A3.3, A3.7, A3.8, A3.10, B2.1, B2.2, B2.5, B2.6

Get out of the classroom and tour Aurora! Guided by the AHS Programming & Outreach Coordinator, get to know the early settlement history of Yonge Street or Wellington Street. Compare past go-to town spots and present-day hubs around Aurora.

Grade 7 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

A1.2, A2.3, A2.6, A2.7, A3.6, A3.8, B3.4, B3.6

Grade 8 Curriculum: Specific Expectations

A1.1, A1.3, A1.4, B1.1, B1.3, B1.4

Learn more about the architecture of Hillary House and how it contributed to the heritage property’s title of “National Historic Site.” Critique and analyse other artwork on display, understand the various purposes of artwork, and learn how museums display art.

Grade 9 Curriculum: Overall Expectations

A3.3, B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B1.4, B2.1, B2.2, B3.1, C1.1, C1.2

Grade 10 Curriculum: Overall Expectations

A1.1, A1.2, A3.2, A3.3, B1.1, B1.2, B1.3, B1.4, B2.1, B2.2, B3.2, B3.3, C1.2, C3.1, C3.2, C3.3

Discover the different roles of AHS Staff and how our team came to enter the arts and culture field. Explore possible avenues for education, specialized training, alternative jobs with similar skills sets, and cautionary tales! Briefly job shadow our team and see if a career at a cultural institution calls out to you too.

*See our Youth Mentorship Program on the AHS website for a free, hands-on, multi-week program designed for high school students to gain volunteer hours and learn more about working in the museum field.

Grade 10 Curriculum: Discovering the Workplace

• Essential Skills for Working and Learning
• Exploration of Opportunities

Grade 11 Curriculum: Designing your Future

• Interpersonal Knowledge and Skills
• Exploration of Opportunities

Grade 12 Curriculum: Navigating the Workplace

• Exploration of Opportunities
• Preparations for Transitions and Change

What is material culture? Dive into the archival collection at Hillary House National Historic Site and explore personal letters between the Hillary family. Understand the meanings behind every part of the letters, both material and immaterial, what is being said and what is not being said. Objects tell us more than we think!

Grade 10 Curriculum: Canadian History since World War I

A1.2, A1.3, A1.6, A2.4, B1.1, B1.2, B3.2, C1.2, C3.2

Grade 11 Curriculum: World History since 1900 – Global and Regional Interactions

A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.3, A2.4, C1.2, C3.1

Grade 12 Curriculum: Canada – History, Identity, and Culture

A1.2, A1.3, A2.3, A2.4, D1.1, D1.2, D1.3, D2.1