There’s nothing quite like a guided tour through a cemetery. There are a lot of versions of this type of event. A spooky walk in the dark, a theatrical ‘spirit walk’ featuring actors portraying folks buried in the cemetery, or even an afternoon historian-led walking tour. Everyone has their favourite experience but it’s the theatrical spirit walk that advances important and personal historical narratives with a high return on interpretive value. The spirit walks also have the unique ability to allow us to lift the primary sources found in the Museum’s collection off the pages of the archives and bring them to life. In most cases, there may not be another opportunity to present those archival sources to the public.
One Hour in the Past E404 – Restaurants and Taverns
On this episode, we welcome Christine Girardi, Assistant Curator from the Niagara Falls History Museum to join us for a discussion on the history of taverns and restaurants.
VMLS via Podcast – Open for Business: The Welland Canal in 1830
The story of the first full operating season of the Welland Canal in 1830 is interesting because it challenges the dominant narrative of a well organized, well financed, well run, and generally successful endeavour, when in actuality, it was plagued with problems and failures.
Guided Spirit Walks 2021 Character Exclusives
This year’s Guided Spirit Walks tour theme, “Before they were Famous,” provides a diverse cast of characters.
STC StoryLab Presents: Back to School
Happy First Day of School! 🍎👩🏫🏫📚 Over the last few months, STC StoryLab sat down with a few members of […]
Wrapped up in History: Guided Spirit Walks Costume Design
One of the most important (and fun) features of our Guided Spirit Walks productions is the costumes. They help to bring our show to life and immerse the audience into past societies.
STC StoryLab Presents: Scott Street Church
Day-to-day our lives may seem ordinary, but everyone’s unique experiences are what make our stories special. These stories tap into feelings of nostalgia, happiness, sadness, and more. These are the stories that help to make St. Catharines what it is today. At the St. Catharines Museum, our goal is to collect these stories and share them for generations to come.
Welcome Back to the Museum!
The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canal Centre is very pleased to again welcome visitors safely to our facility as of Friday, July 16 at 9:00am. Read here to familiarize yourself with our updated operations to ensure all visitors have the best and safe experience at our facility.
History from Here: Lakeside Park at Port Dalhousie
Once widely touted as the “Playground of Ontario”, Lakeside Park has been a destination for summertime fun for more than a century. What started as a boisterous port town grew to be a hub of entertainment, leisure, and play that drew thousands of locals and tourists each summer.
Picture This: Photo Albums
Photo albums are an interactive medium and tools for conversation and storytelling. Similar to the art of scrapbooking, the process of compiling an album involves organizational choices that, though they may seem insignificant at the time, collectively shape our memories of certain people, events, or experiences.
Words for the Future, From our Visitor Book
This year, Museum Week ends with the theme #WordsForTheFutureMW. The words for the future we choose to share today come from our 2019 Visitor Book, where visitors from around the world left their mark and shared their comments about their experience at the St. Catharines Museum. As we enter the summer months of 2021, I was curious to learn what our visitors were saying about the Museum back in Summer 2019. It turns out, there’s a few lessons for the future we can gather from our visitors.
Museum Chat Live! E610 – Play & Museum Interpretation
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, we chat with St. Catharines Museum Visitor Services Coordinator Adrian Petry to talk about the role and interpretive value of play in museums, and to take a closer-look at the inspiration and thinking behind some of St. Catharines Museum’s play-based programs.
Lego Challenge: Bridge Edition – the Glendale Lift Bridge
Bro, do you even lift? The Glendale Lift Bridge does! It lifts 36 meters above the water and it’s time to build this impressive bridge/machine.
Get out your Lego and join in the challenge. Your bridge doesn’t have to look like ours. Make it your own and have fun!
One Hour in the Past E403 – Military Rations
On this episode, we welcome Michael Ashford from the Niagara Military Museum, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario to discuss one hour of research into military rations.
One Hour in the Past E402 – Mealtimes
This season on One Hour in the Past, we are cooking up some food fun! Each episode this season takes down the research rabbit stew of food and food related topics! We will also be joined by some special guests from other museums around the Niagara region.
On this episode, we welcome Sarah Kaufman, the Managing Director/Curator of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum to discuss the timing of food consumption: mealtimes.
We Need Your Postcards – New Exhibit at the Museum
Postcards have a quiet yet significant place in the history of our community. In mid-nineteenth century, postcards were an inexpensive way to send brief messages quickly to friends and family, either close to home or across the country. At the height of their popularity in the early twentieth century, postcards accompanied the tourism boom, serving as a photographic collectable in an age where camera equipment wasn’t quite commercial. The widespread movement of photographic postcards depicting idyllic scenes helped promote tourism in cities and towns across the country.
Curator’s Pick – November
As we enter November and this month of Remembrance, this Curator’s pick is a book that tells the story of […]
One Hour in the Past E305 – The Fur Trade
On this episode of One Hour in the Past, Kathleen and Adrian tackle the expansive history of the Fur Trade.
Museum Chat Live! E604 – Victorian Tweets: Contradictions Performed
As modern, progressive people of the 21st century we enjoy a certain distance from the romanticized and contradictory Victorian period but are we really that different from our Victorian ancestors?
On this third and final episode of this special podcast series, we’ll finally tell you what we think about our post-modernist status as non-Victorians. Enjoy the episode.
Curator’s Pick – October
If you are looking for a couple of great reads in leading up to Remembrance Day in November, I recommend these two books by Canadian author Tim Cook. Both books make an effort to provide a human face to Canada’s participation in the First and Second World Wars.
Museum Chat Live! E603 – Victorian Tweets: Chronological Identity
As modern, progressive people of the 21st century we enjoy a certain distance from the romanticized and contradictory Victorian period but are we really that different from our Victorian ancestors?
On this second episode of the special podcast series, we’ll explore our chronological identity. Wait. What? Our chronological identity? Listen to the episode to find out more.
2020-2021 Virtual Education Programs and Experiences
Our 2020-2021 virtual education programs and experiences will lead you on some fun historical adventures! Download our e-brochure today.
Museum Chat Live! E602 – Victorian Tweets: Who Were the Victorians?
As modern, progressive people of the 21st century we enjoy a certain distance from the romanticized and contradictory Victorian period but are we really that different from our Victorian ancestors?
On this first episode of the special podcast series, we’ll explore what it means to be Victorian. We’ll hear some of the tweets and their original sources on this podcast, read and recoded by some familiar voices of staff and volunteers.
One Hour in the Past E304 – Maps and Mapping
Have you ever noticed that a simple information search can lead you in strange and wonderful directions? As in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, historical research can lead you down a winding rabbit hole that might take you off your original path and lead you to new and amazing historical places!
One Hour in the Past E303 – The Prime Ministers
On this episode of One Hour in the Past, Kathleen and Adrian explore the complicated histories of Canadian Prime Ministers.
Museum at Home: Let’s Make Butter!
Making butter would have been a regular part of the week for many people living in St. Catharines, but luckily, it’s pretty easy and very straightforward.
Museum Classroom: The Old Canals
Explore how the former Welland Canals looked and what has become of them. Understand the importance of protecting historical places and landmarks.
One Hour in the Past E302 – The Family Compact
On this episode of One Hour in the Past Kathleen and Adrian discuss their research into the secretive and mysterious Family Compact, which with their control of the governing Tory Party, concentrated power in their small group in Upper Canada between ~1800 and 1841.
Lego Challenge: Built Heritage Edition – Knox Presbyterian Church
We LOVE to build with Lego and now YOU can build along with us at home! Each week, Adrian will challenge you to build a different historic structure in St. Catharines using Lego and the
This week, we’re building Knox Presbyterian Church!
Lego Challenge: Built Heritage Edition – The Carnegie Library
We LOVE to build with Lego and now YOU can build along with us at home! Each week, Adrian will challenge you to build a different historic structure in St. Catharines using Lego and the photos we post as a template. This week, we’re building the Carnegie Library!
Lego Challenge: Built Heritage Edition – Clendennan House
We LOVE to build with Lego and now YOU can build along with us at home! Each week, Adrian will challenge you to build a different historic structure in St. Catharines using Lego and the photos we post as a template.
Museum Classroom: Re-purposing the Welland Canal
Explore how the former Welland Canals looked and what has become of them since. Analyse photographs and explore the importance of protecting historical objects and places.
Museum Classroom: Maritime Flag Journey
Students will explore the methods of communication used on ships that pass through
the Welland Canal. Students will explore the verbal and non-verbal challenges and
benefits of communication.
One Hour in the Past E206 – Stuffed Animals
On this episode: Kathleen and Adrian look at the history of stuffed animals and Teddy Bears. It’s a hilarious discussion of toys, President Teddy Roosevelt, music, and Furbie. Join them as they take this deep dive into the history of our fuzzie-wuzzie friends.
Museum Classroom: Timeline of the Welland Canal
Explore the history of the Welland Canals and St. Catharines community through this interactive timeline activity.
Museum Classroom: Cargo on the Welland Canal
Lesson: Cargo on the Welland CanalTopic: The Welland CanalsSub-Topic: Cargo on the ships of the Welland CanalGrade: 1-3 Activity: Cargo […]
One Hour in the Past E205 – Photography
We discuss the history of photography and talk about the oldest images in the Museum’s collection. This image of an unknown child is one of the oldest in our collection.
Museum Classroom: Photo Analysis
“Sara the farm cat isn’t sizing up dinner at Bert and Jennifer Dimmers’ poultry barn in Ridgeway yesterday. The eight-month-old feline is used to wandering through the different pens without harming the birds, including these one-week-old Muscovy ducks”
Museum Classroom: The 4 Welland Canals Colouring Page
Colour the map. Choose a different colour for each route and perhaps colour the different cities and towns along the canal in different colours too.
Museum Classroom: Letters to Harriet
Tubman’s connection to St. Catharines is significant. Tubman lived in St. Catharines and used the city as her base of operations from 1850-1857 and even attended the Salem Chapel – B.M.E. Church that still operates on Geneva Street. An important historical figure in both Canadian and American history, Harriet Tubman also worked for the Union Army during the American Civil War, serving as a cook, nurse and even a spy!