BC Museum of Mining - Groups - Group Types

Tour Content - Museum
Tour Content - EPCOR Environmental Discovery Centre
Elementary Schools
Secondary Schools
Home Schools
Travel Subsidy
Tour Timings
Testimonials

Tour Content - Museum

We believe that an equal balance of fun and education is the recipe for a great field trip. Our tour has been designed with this in mind, and our Guides know how important it is to engage your students.

Book a school tour and you'll get everything that the other tour groups get, and more. With a school group, we spend longer with you, scheduling in time to visit the Museum displays, and taking longer over the Mill 3 and froth flotation content of the tour. You are welcome to book our Assay Office classroom for lunch (availability dependent) and to watch a video also at no extra cost. Our Gift Shop is stocked with many items from a Loonie up, including minerals and gems, so many schools choose to book time here also. Gold Panning is another favourite. For schools, each student pans from a sand vial that contains 3 gold flakes, so everyone is guaranteed to find gold... and keep it. More and more schools are choosing the gold panning option as a great way to round off the visit.

Many schools also bring more than one class at a time. We are experts at organizing simultaneous double, triple and quad groups, so if you have a big group, the more the merrier!

Tour Content - EPCOR Environmental Discovery Centre

The 2007 Environmental Learning & Experience Interdisciplinary Guide for Teachers champions direct experience and critical reflection & negotiation, as key techniques in teaching environmental responsibility. Where better to do this than at a local site where a major environmental issue has been turned around? On a visit to the EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant Discovery Centre, your students will be at the hub of the action, seeing and trying, first-hand the science behind the reclamation. And as a pre- or post-visit experience, how does the debate between our need for natural resources, and our need for a sustainable world sound as a means of encouraging critical reflection and negotiation? If you choose this tour, you can book lunch space, Gift Shop time and Gold Panning as optional extras. See above for details.

Elementary Schools

Elementary school groups are one of our specialties. Between the Underground Adventure Tour and the Environmental Discovery Centre Tour, there are many links to the BC IRPs of Social Studies K to 7 and Science K to 7. The most popular grade level that we share our site with is Grade 5. Teachers who bring their class here come for the topics of history, science, natural resources, mining and environmental studies. Have a look at the Meeting Your District's Field Trip Policy guide for more information about the IRP fit. Note that the Environmental Discovery Centre Tour is suitable for Grade 5 and up.

Secondary Schools

Secondary schools come to us for a variety of topics, particularly for environmental studies, geography, geology and natural resources. Between the Underground Adventure Tour and the Environmental Discovery Centre Tour, there are many links to the BC IRPs of Science & Technology 11 and Geography 12, though we get all secondary grades visiting us, particularly grade 10s.

The Environmental Discovery Centre Tour is particularly suitable for secondary students, and the Walking Tunnel Double Tour (for Grade 10 and above) is about as real as it gets for direct experience with the topic of environmental sustainability.

Home Schools

A visit to the Museum for home school groups is a great way to educate your child(ren) and have fun with them at the same time. For groups of 15 or more, you'll receive our group discount rates, or if you have fewer than 15 in your group, you can join one of our public tours. We're used to groups with all ages, so if your group spans several grades, that's not a problem.

An Underground Adventure Tour is great for group activities. Throughout the multi-sensory, dynamic tour, there are times for laughter, competition, interactivity, reflection and sharing. Make for a memorable group experience by stepping inside the monumental Mill 3, or take your group photo by our 235-ton Super-Truck and its giant tires. And if you're bringing your group from the Lower Mainland, make a day of it and visit nearby Shannon Falls and the Squamish Chief before you head back.

Travel Subsidy

Most years we have a limited number of travel subsidies to distribute. Currently, we gratefully acknowledge the Greater Vancouver Mining Women's Association (GVMWA), EPCOR, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation North Shore Chapter and an anonymous industry donor for their generous donations - each awards $200 towards the cost of travel. The subsidies are generally distributed on a first come, first serve basis, with funds currently being received in September and January. We give preference to Grade 5 classes taking an Underground Adventure tour, where the school has a greater distance to travel and/or is travelling in two or more buses. The Water Treatment Plant subsidies are distributed on a first-come, first serve basis from January, where we give preference to schools choosing to do our Double Tour and where the school has a greater distance to travel and/or is travelling in two or more buses. Contact us for more information.

Tour Timings

These tours are based on a single group. Double, triple or quad groups may add on extra time.

Standard Underground Adventure School tour - 1 hour 30 minutes
Environmental Discovery Centre School tour - 1 hour
Full Double - 2 hours 30 minutes
Walking Tunnel Double Tour - 2 hours
Optional extras (Gold Panning, Gift Shop, lunch & video) - 30 minutes each

Testimonials

Here's what some teachers say about the visit:

"A unique experience to enhance any Social Studies, Science and Language Arts curriculum. Every year my students can't wait!"
Nancy Ebert, St Joseph the Worker School, Richmond

Q: Would you bring your students in the future?
A: "Each and every year"
Joelle Dressler, F G Leary Fine Arts, Chilliwack

"I thought the whole trip was fantastic... I love all the work that has been done to fix the place up. I'll definitely be back"
Karen LaRiviere, Garibaldi Highlands Elementary

"Our Geography 12 class toured the Mine Tunnel and the EPCOR facility. The students were fully engaged throughout the tours and I found the staff extremely knowledgeable and eager to interact with the students. The day was a great fit to the start of the course using the Five Themes of Geography as a lens to look at the long-term impact the mining operation had on this community. Excellent!"
Mark Prinster, Terry Fox Secondary, Port Coquitlam

The following is an excerpt written by Bill Gillies in the Spring 2008 issue of MINERAL EXPLORATION magazine. The article followed a visit by 120 students from an East Hastings elementary in 2007:

"The daylong excursion was a thrill for the kids - and a lot of fun for the adults too. Doug [a teacher] would write to me later: "All the teachers with a collective experience of more than 200 years were very impressed with the trip today. One ol' vet stated that he had never seen so many kids so engaged for such a long time."

The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support from the Province of BC through the BC Arts Council and Direct Access Gaming funds, and from EPCOR for their continued support in the operation of the EPCOR Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant Discovery Centre.