Connecting With the Past
The Crowsnest Museum offers hands-on, stimulating curriculum based programs for youth and school 
groups of all ages. Developed by teachers, all programs are integrated with various aspects of the Alberta and British Columbia educational curricula and can be adapted to meet the specific program needs based upon age, grade, size and needs of any group.
Our program is based on our artifact enriched collection and their related stories as we encourage participants to immerse themselves in these “treasures” of the historic Crowsnest Pass.
Objectives
Our Educational Programming can be adapted for any age group.
•To learn and apply inquiry strategies to assist in developing a greater understanding of the link between the past and present as it relates to the history of the Crowsnest Pass.
•To encourage questioning, analyzing, interpreting, sensory experiences and applying personal knowledge as methods of learning.
•To encourage both convergent and divergent thinking to promote logical connections.
•To learn and practice respect for museums and care of artifacts.
Programs
ECS to Grade 2
- Pioneer Toys (Suitable more specifically for ages 5 – 7 years)
- Treasure Hunt: Seek and find the “treasures” in one or more of our many exhibits. Learn the stories connected to the “treasures”.
- Storytelling: Follow the “dark, dark’ cat on its journey to a very special place in the “dark, dark” house.
- “Find the Animal”: Meet some of the animals native to the Pass in our animal diorama exhibit.
- Hands-0n Pioneer Toy Activity: In a cooperative group setting, share toys of the past and compare them to today’s toys. Together prepare and present your findings to the rest of the group.
Length: I hour per Program
Grades 3 and Up
All programs #1 to # 6 can be adjusted for the age, size and needs of the group. Normally, program length is 1 ½ hours but a group may chose to participate in one or more of the programs and the length of program or programs will be modified to meet those requirements. These programs are also suitable to adult groups and can be modified to meet their interests.
Basic component of each program for youth groups includes a treasure hunt of one or more exhibits, the role of a museum in society, museum terminology and museum standards for conservation of artifact and archival collection.
All our programs are highly interactive hands-on experiences.
1. Hands-on Family Treasures & Trunk Program
Working in a small co-operative group setting children explore through their five senses (touch, smell, sound, taste and sight) various artifacts that are part of our museum collection. Together children try to determine what the object is, what it is composed of, how it might have been used and when or who might have used it and finally compare it to present day similar objects. Following the sharing session each group then presents their findings to the rest of the group.
One of the main objectives of this program is to encourage observation and inquiry skill building and help develop greater insight in comparison of past, present and future.
2. Guided Tour of one or more exhibits
Through the museum’s collection of over 25,000 artifacts and archival items,
hear the stories and see the artifacts that tell the story of the life of the underground coalminer and his family as they lived through the boom and bust of the coalmining industry in the early 1900’s in the Crowsnest Pass.
Learn the importance of “thunder mug” to the average Pass family.
Check out the early century precursor to the visa or MasterCard.
Find out where one might have a tooth removed if a dentist is not available.
Visualize using the mechanism designed to keep a wagon rider’s feet warm during the harsh winter.
See the predecessor to “e-mail”. Hear the story of the ever full whiskey bottle.
3. Animal and Plant Diorama
(conducted in the Wildlife Diorama: a gallery of animals native to our area, preserved by taxidermy, in a beautifully crafted backdrop of their natural habitat – from the plains, to the foothills, to the mountains)
Hands-on activities designed to stimulate student knowledge about animal and plants native to the Crowsnest Pass.
- Sharpen observation skills about animals through our ‘bits and pieces” treasure hunt.
- Analyze animal scat, fur and animal prints and guess the “owner”.
- Learn about the ecosystems of the Pass and the animals and plants that live in those
areas. - Hear the stories of the animals and marvel at the realistic artistic layout of our diorama.
4. Underground Coal Mining
Facilitated in the newly redesigned exhibit gallery depicting a day in the working life of the underground coalminer. Learn about coalmining through artifacts and stories.
- Why was the barometer reading so important to the safety of the miner?
- How many men in the mine actually worked at digging coal?
- How long was the horse’s shift and what did they do?
- What is a “dinky”?
- How did room and pillar mining work?
- Why was Crowsnest coal so good for steam engines?
- What is the difference between coal and coke?
- Why was the production of coke important?
- How safe was the job of a coal miner?
- How were canaries used in mine?
- What were rope riders, bratticemen, fire bosses and drivers?
5. Miner’s Path Hike
(An easy one km. historic and nature hike. A camera is a must on this trail!)
Retrace the steps taken by the miners of McGillivray Creek Coal and Coke Co. Ltd. For over 50 years, starting in 1909 these men, bucket and flashlight in hand, came from all parts of Coleman to walk this glacially carved spur valley to the McGillivray complex high above the valley.
Hear the stories of the “Biggest Piggy Bank”, the mighty Douglas Fir and the tiny field mice, the companionship of the miners as they journeyed along the path, Chunky Jerry, the “bumps” and the 1926 mine explosion.
Enjoy the diversity of fauna and flora, variations in topography and microclimate along the trail.
Through your guides descriptions and photos, visualize the McGillivray complex where the men prepared to walk the 200 stairs down into the depths of the mine.
6. Downtown Coleman Walking Tour
Let your guides take you back in time as you walk the main streets of Coleman which has recently been designated a National Historic Site. The buildings of this picturesque community and the adjacent International Mine site ooze history. Each has a story to tell. In a 45 minute to 1 hour walking tour, learn what it was like to live in a multi-ethnic coal town in the early part of the 1900’s.
- See the International Coal and Coke Co. main office and view the remains of the coke ovens
- Learn how the beehive coke oven operated
- Learn about the Italian Benevolent Society and other such societies’ role in the history of the people who lived and worked in Coleman and neighboring towns
- Find out why builders positioned the front windows as they did in the many stores
- Discover the major hobby of the Dr. Lilly, a prominent dentist in early Coleman
- Hear the story of the Crystal Palace and its importance to the residents of Coleman
- Imagine how the rum runners ducked out of sight during a police pursuit through the streets of Coleman
- Be part of the scene when Constable Lawson was gunned down by Emperor Pic and Filomena
- Learn about the many merchants of Coleman and the services they offered
- Find out how Coleman got its name.