CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
FOR SCHOOLS

 

The educational programs offered by the Musée des Maîtres et Artisans du Québec meet your objectives.

The Museum has unique educational programs that follow the guidelines of the Ministère de l'éducation. The programs promote the ingenuity of humanity and its ability to create and invent. In addition, they allow young people to put their own creativity into practice during craft workshops.

The programs are related to the following domains: social science, visual arts, English, French as a second language, music, mathematics, science and technology. They also call upon tranversal competencies: intellectual, personal and social, methodological and communication-related.

Adult supervisors are admitted for free, plan for 1 adult per 15 children.

The activities of the Museum are listed in the Programme de soutien de l'école montréalaise directory that offers funding to some primary schools for cultural activities.

Reservations : Martin Lominy at (514) 747-7367 ext.7203 or  

ONCE UPON A TIME
Preschool

Once upon a time… there was a family of French settlers. Here’s a story that the children can experience for themselves while discovering life in the past through characters and games. The exhibition becomes an imaginary village that they explore in search of the artisans that can provide them with the objects necessary to live in New-France. An artistic workshop allows them to leave with a souvenir of their adventure.

New!

INQUISITIVE HANDS
Preschool and elementary cycle 1

The animated film Crac! by Frédéric Back captures the imagination of the children who discover the lively story of an antique rocking chair. Images from the film guide the children through the museum to help them understand how people of the past made objects with their hands and lived differently than today. A creative workshop related to the exhibition encourages the children to express themselves.

Teacher's guide

THE COLLECTION
Elementary cycles 2 and 3

The Museum's collection is full of fascinating objects and tools that allow students to discover the trades of the blacksmith, tinsmith, carpenter, potter and weaver. Through a guided tour of the exhibition, they gain a sense of the value of the collection and the artisan's work while learning the function and importance of a museum. In addition, the students take on the role of a museum curator in a exercise of observation, analysis and drawing. A creative workshop completes the program.

THE SCIENCE OF ARTISANS...

Science, creativity and talent are the essence of the artisan's work. These programs introduce participants to the basic principles of science as well as the materials and techniques that artisans used to create their crafts. These activities are composed of a short introduction film, a visit of the exhibition Master's hands and an artistic workshop inspired by the subject of the visit.

Teacher's guide

THE SCIENCE OF ARTISANS: CERAMIC
Preschool and elementary cycles 1, 2 and 3

The science of ceramic shows students the different kinds of clay used by Quebec potters to make all kinds of wares used in the daily life of our ancestors. A film showing a contemporary potter at work on his wheel gives the students a first contact with ceramic. The students then make a container from clay using a traditional technique.

See artifacts from the exhibition (in French): ceramic

THE SCIENCE OF ARTISANS: TEXTILE
Elementary cycles 1, 2 and 3

The science of textiles introduces the students to the process of making clothes, blankets, carpets and other objects of fabric used in the past. The focus is on the trade of the weaver and her tools. A film shows the transformation process of wool and linen as well as three contemporary artisans. Finally, the students make a decorative quilt or a miniature hooked rug in the workshop.

See artifacts from the exhibition (in French): textile

THE SCIENCE OF ARTISANS: METAL
Elementary cycles 1, 2 and 3 and secondary 1 and 2

The science of metal explains the properties and uses of metals worked by blacksmiths, tinsmiths and silversmiths. A film featuring a cutler discusses the scientific concepts of metal and how she uses them to make all kinds of knives. Also, the students experiment with different metals and compare their colour, vibration, hardness, magnetism and density. As a conclusion, they make an embossed rooster or a lantern in the workshop.

See artifacts from the exhibition (in French): blacksmith - tinsmith - goldsmith

THE SCIENCE OF ARTISANS: WOOD
Elementary cycles 1, 2 and 3 and secondary 1 and 2

The science of wood explores the properties and uses of different kinds of wood along with the work of carpenters and sculptors. The exhibition shows furniture and statues that illustrate the concepts of density and grain as well as the effects of humidity on the construction and conservation of wooden objects. In addition, a film features the work of a contemporary cabinet-maker. In the workshop, they create a mosaic from exotic woods or a house model.

See artifacts from the exhibition (in French): furniture - folk art - statues

FIRST NATIONS AND FRENCH CANADIANS OF THE PAST
Elementary cycles 2 and 3 and secondary 2 and 4

The life of First Nations of North America before European settlement and French Canadians is discovered through a visit of the permanent exhibition, as well as an encounter with an archaeologist. Students observe, handle and analyze replicas of prehistoric objects and compare them with authentic objects used in French Canada.

Bilingual activity (tour of the museum in English and workshop with the archaeologist in French)

Duration : 2 hours
Cost : 4.00 $/participant
Capacity: 60 students

LIFE IN NEW FRANCE

Elementary cycles 2 and 3 and secondary 2 and 4

Discover the life of French colonists who settled in America in the 18th century through a visit of the permanent exhibition, as well as an encounter with an historian. The students observe, handle and analyze a collection of French Canadian objects to illustrate daily life in New France such as agriculture, clothing, commerce and war.

Bilingual activity (tour of the museum in English and workshop with the historian in French)

Duration : 2 hours
Cost : 4.00 $/participant
Capacity: 60 students

TRADES FROM THE PAST
Secondary 1 to 5 and second language courses

School is a part of recent times. To earn a living in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, young apprentices sought the expertise of master artisans to learn a trade. A guided tour through the Museum's permanent exhibition showcases the trades of the blacksmith, tinsmith, woodworker, weaver, potter, sculptor and silversmith.