Museum programs

Learn all about dinosaurs! Meet Albertosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Tyrannosaurus and the rest of their friends. Students will learn about the full-size skeletons in the museum, as well as handle a variety of REAL dinosaur fossils! The program includes a fossil dig and a guided dino walk. 

Museum visit, 90 min

OR

If the museum is too far, we can visit your classroom. Students will learn about different dinosaur types, how they ate and communicated with each other, what happened to them over time, and handle a variety of REAL dinosaur fossils. We will finish off the program with a ride on Trish the Triceratops and a short book.

Classroom visit, 60 min

Museum visit, 90 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

Discover the hidden world of groundwater with a story featuring the characters Wally the Worm and Deanna Waterdroplet. Learn about where our drinking water comes from in Waterloo and then build a water cycle craft to take home. Includes an Eye-Spy scavenger hunt in the museum.

Museum visit, 90 min

OR

If the museum is too far, we can visit your classroom. Discover the hidden world of groundwater with a story featuring the characters Wally the Worm and Deanna Waterdroplet. Learn about where our drinking water comes from in Waterloo and then build a water cycle craft to take home.

Classroom visit, 60 min

Museum visit, 90 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

Determine the difference between rocks and minerals with this hands-on learning experience! Students get to handle 25+ different specimens before getting a tour of our underground mine tunnel. Finish off with either the rock cycle game or fossil fish dig and scavenger hunt.

Museum visit, 120 min

OR

If the museum is too far, we can visit your classroom. Minerals ROCK and rocks ROCK, but what's the difference? As we play mineral BINGO, hammer into what minerals exist, how to identify them, and where you use them in your life. Students get to handle 25+ different rock and mineral specimens.

Classroom visit, 60 min

Museum visit, 120 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

From volcanoes and earthquakes to massive landslides and hurricanes, explore all of earth’s natural hazards by learning what powerful forces on our planet cause these disasters. Then, put your knowledge and building skills to the test with a classroom-wide competition to see who can build a structure that will survive the earthquake-table! The program includes a museum scavenger hunt.

Museum visit, 120 min

OR

If the museum is too far, we can visit your classroom. Explore Earth’s natural hazards and the powerful forces behind them. Learn more nature facts and safety tips with natural disaster bingo! Then, put your knowledge and building skills to the test with a classroom-wide competition to see who can build a structure that will survive the earthquake-table!

Classroom visit, 60 min

Museum visit, 120 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

Learn all about the grey part of your pencil — what it's made of, where those minerals come from, how it conducts electricity and how we can use it to light up our art! Students will also learn about batteries — the minerals inside them — and how they work. Finish the program with an in-house scavenger hunt

Museum visit, 90 min OR Classroom visit, 60 min

Museum visit, 90 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

Explore what's under the Earth's surface using geophysical techniques! Learn how scientists can find valuable resources without even digging into the ground. See the technology used and try finding these resources yourself! 

Museum visit only, 120 min

Innovation for Responsible Mining is an in-class program designed to introduce students to the mining industry in Canada, discuss environmental concerns associated with mining and introduce current research into mine site remediation. The programincludes four hands-on activities, three videos about Earth science careers, featuring active university staff and students, and a take-home field guide for every one.

NOTE: This kit is for classroom teachers. Kit includes detailed written and video instructions and can span 2 or 3 class periods. Shipping the kit is free of charge in 2026/2027!

REVISED! A hands-on exploration of how and why geologists study rocks and minerals. What is the difference between a rock and a mineral, and how do we identify them? Students will investigate the properties of rocks and minerals first hand using real petrographic microscopes to discover what rocks look like up close and how to identify them in a thin section. Students finish off the program with a challenge to determine which rock will produce the most economical AND environmentally responsible mine. Includes a tour of the Cobalt mine tunnel and a scavenger hunt challenge.

Museum visit only, 150 min

Connects to the curriculum in the following secondary courses: SNC1W, CGC1D, SVN3M and SES4U

Learn about microplastics and their impact on the environment, animals, and us. Discuss plastic as a resource and how microplastic pollution affects and disrupts sustainable ecosystems. With a tour of the Ecohydrology lab and hands-on activities, experience what researchers here in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department are doing to mitigate microplastics.

Museum visit, 120 min 

OR

If the museum is too far, we can visit your classroom. Learn about microplastics and their impact on the environment, animals, and us. Discuss plastic as a resource and how microplastic pollution affects and disrupts sustainable ecosystems.

Classroom visit, 60 min

Connects to curriculum in the following secondary courses: SNC1W, CGC1D, and SVN3M.

Museum visit, 120 min

OR

Classroom visit, 60 min

Geochemistry studies the flow of elements through nature. This program introduces students to how chemicals help us monitor, clean and prevent water resource contamination. Students will practice laboratory techniques as they perform various tests on known and unknown samples, participate in real-world drinking water problems (and solutions!), and visit a working geochemistry lab in the Earth & Environmental Sciences department. 

Connects to curriculum in the following secondary courses: SCH3U, SCH4U and SES4U.

Museum visit only, 150 min