Spend the Day in Steveston

Spend the day at Steveston’s national historic sites and let us do the planning! The Gulf of Georgia Cannery and Britannia Shipyards National Historic Sites now offer joint bookings for up to four classes (Grades 1-6).

How it Works

Book up to 4 classes (2 per site) per visit. Classes switch locations at lunch. Classes with different age groups may be booked at the same time.  

Travel time between the Gulf of Georgia Cannery and Britannia Shipyards National Historic Sites takes between 45 minutes (to transfer by bus and including lunch time) or 60 minutes (to walk between sites and including lunch time). 

Bookings are accepted up to one calendar year in advance, with availability Tuesday-Friday. Programs may be available in French with a minimum of one month’s notice.

How to Book

• Fill out the Spend the Day in Steveston Booking Form.  
• Allow 3-5 business days for a response. 
• You will receive via email either a confirmed (recommended) itinerary, or a request for further information required to complete your booking. 
• Each site will send separate booking confirmation letters.  
• Each site will send separate date/time reminders. 

Note: Separate payments are required for each program, as each site is operated by a different organization. 

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Eligible Programs

Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site 

• My Community on the Waterfront (90 minutes) Grade 1-3
  Explore the historic houses and engage in story time and I-spy activities to learn about Steveston’s unique cultural community. Students will participate in a shopping relay game while representing a family that may have lived in this community. Experience what life may have been like for the workers, families and children from diverse cultures who lived and worked here together. 
• Britannia Boatbuilders (90 minutes) Grade K-3
  Explore the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site to learn about history of boatbuilding and its importance in Steveston. Students will explore the different steps to build a boat by participating in a tool scavenger hunt, a caulking demonstration, and more maritime-themed activities. These steps will then be applied to a boatbuilding activity, with each student making their own small wooden boat to bring home. 
• Britannia Boatbuilders (90 minutes) Grade 4-6
  Explore the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site through the lens of innovation, and how things have changed throughout the history of fishing and boatbuilding in Steveston. Students will engage in four different interactive stations with themes ranging from innovation in recycling, resources, and communications. These concepts will then be discussed and applied to a boatbuilding activity, with each student making their own wooden boat model to bring home. 
• How We Lived-Immigration Stories (105 minutes or 120 with break) Grade 4-6
  Step into the shoes of a history detective to discover the diverse experiences of immigrants who tried to make Steveston their home.  First, students will explore four historical houses through a scavenger hunt. After a short break, the adventure continues with an immersive activity where each group delves into a unique immigrant story. Armed with historical documents and fascinating artifacts like a typewriter, a radio or a washboard, students will piece together the narrative of their chosen immigrant group and uncover how settlers from different countries faced different challenges to build their new home. 

Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site 

• Fishy Business (90 minutes) Grade 1-3
  Explore the relationship between people and the environment through the investigation of the West Coast fishing industry. Students compare past and present fishing methods and discuss the economic and cultural importance of fishing to coastal communities. An interactive fishing activity inspires students to consider how human activity contributes to the sustainability of our oceans while they discover different fish species.  
• Machines at Work  (90 minutes) Grade 5
  Students investigate how machines work together along a 1930s to 1950s salmon canning line, including a demonstration of the working machines. Using their knowledge of simple and complex machines, groups of students will each explore one complex machine in the Herring Reduction Plant and will present their interpretation of the machine to the rest of the class. 
• Salmon People (90 minutes) Grade 3-5
  This program introduces students to Indigenous Peoples of the West Coast and the importance of salmon in their lives. The program utilizes Indigenous-created resources from a variety of nations to inform a series of activities. Activities include: an activity about animals that introduces Indigenous worldviews; a discussion of salmon as a Cultural Keystone Species, serving important cultural and spiritual as well as subsistence purposes; a viewing of the film Salmon People, about the importance of salmon to the Cowichan; an examination of Indigenous fishing tools; and a conclusion covering contemporary Indigenous relationships to fish and fishing.   
• Cannery Stories (105 minutes or 120 with break) Grade 5-6
  Early cannery workers faced discrimination based on race and gender inside and outside of the canneries. These workers fought that discrimination through various means, including letter writing, suing the government, volunteering in their communities, and acting as allies. Cannery Stories consists of a modified Canning Line tour specific to jobs the characters in the activity had, and a small-group activity to learn about one specific worker and their struggles.  
• Discovery Tour (90 minutes) Grade 7+ and mixed-age groups
  The Discovery Tour consists of a 30-minute Canning Line tour, and 45 minutes chosen from a list of modules based on curriculum goals and grade.  Please put specific curriculum goals, reference program from the above (if applicable), and desired program length in Comments field to help us design your program. 

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Recommended Combinations

Grades 1-3 

• Britannia Boatbuilders & Fishy Business (1-3)
• My Community on the Waterfront & Fishy Business (2-3) 
• Britannia Boatbuilders & Salmon People (3)

Grades 4-6

• Britannia Boatbuilders & Cannery Stories (4-6)
• How We Lived & Machines at Work (5)
• How We Lived & Salmon People (4-5)
• Britannia Boatbuilders & Salmon People (4-5) 

Sample Schedules

90 minutes per site (up to 4 classes):  

• 10-11:30am Group 1 Cannery/Group 2 Britannia 
• 11:30-12:15pm LUNCH (add 15 minutes if walking) 
• 12:15-1:45pm Group 2 Cannery/Group 1 Britannia (12:30-2 if walking) 

105 minutes per site (up to 4 classes): 

• 10-11:45am Group 1 Cannery/Group 2 Britannia 
• 11:45-12:30pm LUNCH (add 15 minutes if walking) 
• 12:30-2:15pm Group 2 Cannery/Group 1 Britannia (12:45-2:30 if walking) 

120 minutes per site (up to 4 classes): 

105 minute programs with 15 minute breaks mid-program at each site 

• 10-12 noon Group 1 Cannery/Group 2 Britannia 
• 12-12:45pm LUNCH (add 15 minutes if walking) 
• 12:45-2:45pm Group 2 Cannery/Group 1 Britannia (1-3 if walking) 

Mix and Match (Up to 4 Classes)

Group 1  

• 10-11:45am 105 minute program 
• 11:45-12:30pm LUNCH (add 15 minutes if walking) 
• 12:30-2pm 90 minute program
  
  Group 2  
• 10-11:30am 90 minute program
• 11:30-12:15pm LUNCH (add 15 minutes if walking) 
• 12:15-2pm 105 minute program (12:30-2:15 if walking) 

9:30 Start Option (2 class maximum) 

If starting at 9:30, both classes must do the morning program at Britannia and the afternoon program at the Cannery with a 60 minute lunch. 

90 minute programs 

• 9:30-11am Britannia 
• 11-12 noon LUNCH 
• 12-1:30pm Cannery 

105 minute programs 

• 9:30-11:15am Britannia 
• 11:15-12:15pm LUNCH 
• 12:15-2 Cannery 

Mix & Match 

• 9:30am start Britannia 
• 60 minute lunch 
• 12 or 12:15 start Cannery 

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For more assistance, please contact: 

Johanna Trapier, Education Programs Coordinator Steveston Heritage Sites
schoolprograms@stevestonheritage.ca or 604 238-6104 

Rachel Meloche, Education Programs Coordinator Gulf of Georgia Cannery
bookings@gogcannery.org or 604 664-9261