Welcome to the Hamilton Chapter's Resource Page for Teachers. This page contains numerous links to local, provincial, and national educational programs, free software, and literature for teachers and educators.
The following museums and conservation areas offer archaeological education programs to local schools and public interest groups. These are links to museums that currently run education programs for students K-12. Teachers should consult the program directors of each of these museums for more information about courses, bookings, and costs.
The Westfield Heritage Centre is operated by the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority and offers half day education 'modules'. The 'Village' consisits of more 35 historic buildings, spanning the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian Periods of Ontario History. Teachers may also 'mix & match' programs to align their visit with their own program of study.
Home of Sir Alan McNab, Dundurn Castle serves as both a museum and education facility. Owned by the City of Hamilton, the castle offers a variety of heritage based programs including archaeology. Dundurn also offers University level programmes such as the Dundurn Archaeological Field School in conjuction with McMaster University.
Crawford Lake Conservation Area
Crawford Lake Conservation Area presents an exellent reconstruction of an early Iroquoian hamlet with longhouse and surrounding palisades. An adjacent museum boasts displays and information about the 'Pre-contact" societies living in the local region. Crawford Lake also offers a variety of school programs for students k-12, including a one day archaeological dig. Contact the museum for more details. Craford lake is owned and operated by the Halton Region Conservation Authority.
Situated on the historic location of Captain Joseph Brant's Homestead, the Joseph Brant Museum offers public tours and education programs for students, K-12 including one module on historic "Iroquois Life". The museum is owned and operated by the City of Burlington.
London Museum of Archaeology (Ontario)
The London Museum of Archaeology presents an exellent reconstruction of later Proto- historic or Historic Iroqoian society. The museum, which houses multiple collections of First Nations archaeological sites, is situated adjacent to a 16th century Neutral Confederacy Village with reconstructed longhouses, palisades, and sweatlodge. The museum exhibits both prehistoric and ethnographic displays. Please contact the Program Director for further information.
Located in Brantford Ontario, the Woodland Culture Centre houses both archaeological and ethnographic collections and contains exhibits, information, and education programs about the history and culture of the Iroquois and Algonkian Nations. Contact the Program Director for more information.
The Royal Ontario Museum is a world renown institute with impressive collections and exhibits from around the world. History, geology, palaeontology,archaeology, and astronomy highlight just a few of the topical exhibits. The R.O.M. offers many educational programs and tours to schools, general interest groups, and the public. Reserve early, demand for these programs is high!
Saint Marie Among The Hurons, located in Midland, Ontario, is a reconstructed 16th century Jesuit Village and Trading Post set in the middle of Huronia. Reconstructed lifeways of both European and Historic Indian populations. The Museum offers half-day, full-day, and overnight packages to schools & interest groups.
Index of Other Ontario Museums:
TheOntario Museums Association web site offers a variety of museum links from accross the province. The site also includes links to museum studies for those individuals interested in material culture studies or cultural resource management.
Teacher Certification in Archaeology:
The Crow Canyon Archaeological Research Centre is a multifunctioning, archaeological research & education facility located in Arizona, USA. The Institute conducts a variety of education and research oriented programs for students K-12, as well as university students. The site also conducts archaeology programs for teachers as well as offering both Teaching Assistantships and Internships. Contact the centre for more information.
This section provides teachers with links to archaeology based education software. Please note that some of the software is either commercial, shareware, or freeware. Please be aware of copyright and licensing regulations before dowloading.
The Ontario Prehistory CD:(Commercial)
This outstanding CD was written by Nick Adams of Adam's Heritage Consultants. Ontario Prehistory is an interactive program that informs students about Ontario's aboriginal past as seen in the material record. Through graphics and text,students learn to identify the significance of artifacts and reconstructed lifeways of Ontario's heritage landscape. Exellent.
The Archaeology of Southern Ontario to A.D. 1650(Commercial)
This is an interactive version of the seminal work published by the Ontario Archaeological Society. Edited by Chris Ellis and Neal Ferris. This is a must read for anybody requiring detailed literature and bibliography.
The Shaman of Long Point(Freeware)
This is an outstanding program of discovery for ages 7 & up. This educational software is a true story of archaeological discovery and interpretation. This package includes multiple choice questions and ideas for further study. Written by Nick Adams of Adam's Heritage Consultants
Adventures in Fugawiland:Commercial
This is an outstanding problem based archaeological analysis and interpretation program for both university and senior secondary students. Using site maps, artifacts, ecofacts, and features, reconstruct the Basin of Fugawiland. Produced by Mayfield Publishing.
Virtual Dig(Commercial)
A commercial archaeological simulation for students Grade 3-6. This virtual excavation stimulates interest in discovery while teaching students the principles of superposition and association. Also from Mayfield Publisher's anthropology selection"
Archaeological Detective(Commercial)
This education package introduces students (Grade 3-6) with the fundamentals of archaeological procedures. Outstanding! CogniScience Inc. is an award winning Canadian educational products company.
WinDig (Excavation Simulation)(Freeware)
This is a windows based archaeological excavation simulation. Suitable for University and senior secondary students. This is a windows version of the award winning SysGraf Software Package (for DOS).
Index @TCTP (Shareware & Demos)
The Archaeology Consortium of the Teaching and Learning Technology Program or TCTP in England offers a software catalogue of high quality interactive materials for archaeology undergraduates. Demos include modules on artifact and faunal analysis, statistics, gis, resistivity and much more! Some Public, Freeware, and Demos available for downloading. Click Here For Demos
The Royal Canadian Geographic Society presents an online historical maps resource for public viewing and downloading. This site contains historic maps spanning 300 years of Canada's heritage landscape.
Have your students view and compare bones of Humans, Gorilla, Orangutan, Chimpanzee, and Baboons and gather information about them from the Osteological Database. Interactive Learning
This site provides online historical, ethnographic, and photographic images of Canada.
A large collection of digital data, artifacts, painted images, and photographic displays about Canada's precontact, historical, and present day diversity
Virtual Museum Of Nautical Archaeology
A large collection of digital data, shipwrecks, and information about underwater archaeology sponsored by the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.
Handbook For Teaching Archaeology In Saskatchewan Schools(Shareware)
This is a fully prepared course curriculum for teachers of middle grades (6-8) in the Saskatchewan School System. The report may be read online or downloaded for a fee ($20.00). Written by Maureen Rollans,the document includes a chapter on the importance of teaching archaeology in public school system. Ontario teachers need only modify the "prehistory" section of the outline to suit Ontario Archaeology & Prehistory. Other chapters, containing archaeological terms, lesson plans, etc, can be utilized 'as is' in the Ontario classroom. Exellent! Download this, along with some Ontario Prehistory Software from Heritage Market Place and your prep work is done!
A virtual tour of a 3000 year old Peruvian fishing village. Visitors can 'fly through' a reconstruction of the village and excavate a portion of the site. Compatible with Intel, Risc, and Sparc platforms. Requires Shockwave Plugin or similar application.
This site contains on-line film and documentaries about archaeology and indigenous peoples throughout the world. Films may be downloaded for DVD or viewed online via streaming video. Site requires users to have video player such as Windows Media Player or Realplayer
This is the Society for American Archaeology's Education links for teachers and Educators. A worthwhile browse.
Take your students through a tour of Canada's historical landscape as seen through historical works of art.
Archaeology, Media, & Education
Link to our Archaeology & Media Page for links to educational books, film, and television documentaries.