Are you missing travel outside of your classroom and are left balancing teaching, physical distancing and health and safety protocols? The team at Brightspark has tested the best virtual attractions and curated a virtual travel experience just for you and your students! With the itinerary below you can explore many of the great attractions you would usually see on tour – all from the comfort of your classroom or home!

Start the Tour!

Board your virtual motor coach and depart for Ottawa – but first, we will be making a quick stop en route in Peterborough to visit the Canadian Canoe Museum.

Canadian Canoe Museum 

Join museum staff live at the Canadian Canoe Museum and participate in one of two virtual field trip options - Bark Skin and Cedar designed for grades 2-6 or Fur Trade Travels and Tales (not listed on website, request when booking) designed for Grade 5-8. These programs will get your students exploring the various geographical regions of Canada, the richness of traditional Indigenous watercraft, the role of the canoe in the development of the trading networks, as well as routes and relationships of the 18th century. The virtual field trips include drama, discussion, maps, and a close-up look at the museum’s Voyageur canoes. Make sure to ask about the longest canoe in the museum, it’s huge! The Canoe Museum is willing to customize the depth, focus and delivery style of this virtual field trip to the grade and learning goals of your class and will include a downloadable, hands-on follow up activity as well!

Length: 45 minutes 

Language: English only  

Cost: $4 per student per session  

Number of Participants: 30 passengers per session (recommended limit)  

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

After the tour of the Canadian Canoe Museum, we are hopping on our virtual motor coach once again and continuing our journey to Ottawa to check out some of the country’s most historic buildings; sites where many debates and decisions have shaped our country.

As we enter Ottawa, join Brightspark for a virtual tour of our capital city. Get yourself familiar with the sites before we head into some specific attractions.

Rideau Hall/Citadelle 

Have you ever wanted to see where some of the most important and historic ceremonies and events in Canada take place? Join a live guided tour of the workplace or residence of the Governor General at either Rideau Hall or the Citadelle (Québec), and discover how the design and function of the State rooms have evolved over the years. These tours are full of grand rooms, seating areas, and views. We always make sure to pay attention to the tent room in Rideau Hall and the view of the St. Lawrence from the Citadelle, they are so cool! This tour allows participants to learn more about the Governor General’s daily responsibilities, and to discover the history, architecture and collections of the residences.

Length: 45-60 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: Free  

Number of Participants: 30 passengers maximum per session 

How to Reserve: Book directly on website – Rideau Hall or Citadelle 

Supreme Court of Canada

Even though you can’t visit the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court can now visit you! Have your class join a live remote tour by the Supreme Court’s guide-interpreters, who will teach you about the Court and its history through pictures and interesting facts. This tour will familiarize you with all Canadian judicial systems and how decisions made by the Supreme Court Justices affect all Canadians. Have you ever wondered how court cases work, what an appeal is, or why there are nine Supreme Court Judges? Well, after this tour you will wonder no more.

Length: 45 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: Free 

Number of Participants: 35 pax maximum per session  

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

No virtual field trip to Ottawa would be complete without a stop at the iconic Parliament Hill! Here students will learn all about the heart of Canada’s federal democracy – the Canadian government.

Parliament Hill

For more than 100 years, the Canadian Government was seated in Centre Block, best recognized by the iconic Peace Tower. This historic building has now closed its doors for long-term renovations; however, students can still experience it through innovative, immersive technologies. Step inside the doors of Parliament: The Virtual Experience which will transport your students through Centre Block’s most iconic spaces: the Senate, House of Commons, Library of Parliament and Peace Tower. Our favourite is the Library of Parliament; did you know it’s the only original part of the entire building? Each of these spaces offers a new perspective on Parliament—its history, its art and its role in the lives of Canadians, today and in the future.

Be sure to stay on the hill after dark to see the newly transformed Northern Lights Virtual Sound and Light Show reflected onto Centre Block. This thrilling, thematic journey through Canada's history combines bold digital technology with the architectural splendour of the Canadian Parliament. The show illuminates Canadian stories of nation building, partnership, discovery, valour, pride and vision at the heart of our country.

Length: N/A (Parliament: The Virtual Experience), 35 minutes (Northern Lights Virtual Sound and Light Show) 

Language: English or French  

Cost: Free  

Number of Participants: N/A 

How to Reserve: no reservations required  

Wow what a fun and packed day! What was your favourite part? We are worn-out, I’m sure you are too. Let's all get a good night's sleep, and we’ll regroup in the morning for another incredible day!

Day 2: 

After a good night’s sleep, it's time to board our virtual motor coach once again and leave the province of Ontario! First, we are making a quick detour in Québec City! Not a bad time to practice our French, car au Québec, la plupart des gens parlent français.

To learn more about this beautiful and historic city, join us on a virtual tour to see all that makes Québec City so special.
   

Albert Gilles Copper Art

You are going to be amazed at how many uses copper has! Join the five women artists at Albert Gilles to learn about how they bring the noble medium of copper art to life. When participating in their live virtual tour you will learn about where copper comes from, its various uses and secrets. You will see demonstrations of different art techniques, and even learn how copper can fight viruses. Our personal favourite was seeing all the beautiful, enameled copper art. If you choose, there is an additional workshop that you can participate in where students get to create their own copper art.

Length: 60-70 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: $225 +tax for virtual tour, $8.50 +tax per student for workshop

Number of Participants: 35 pax maximum per session 

How to Reserve: Email museum@cuivres-albertgilles.com or Call 418-824-4224

Wow, Québec City really is beautiful! Second stop – Winnipeg! This is going to be a long drive, let's play some bus games to pass the time. Try the Fortunately/Unfortunately Game, or Trivia.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights 

Human rights stories are all around us. The world we live in has been shaped by struggles over injustice and equality, tensions between rights and responsibilities, and the pursuit of hope and freedom. Discover the meaning of human rights live with one of the Canadian Museum for Human Right’s virtual field trips. The museum’s programs are designed for all ages and include themes such as expressing rights through arts, being an upstander, as well as Indigenous perspectives. Each virtual tour strives to give students the tools required to help them think critically and with empathy and will end with a visit to the Israel Asper Tower of Hope to see a 360-degree view of the city of Winnipeg.  

Length: 45-60 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: Free  

Number of Participants: 25-50 pax per session 

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

Royal Canadian Mint

As one of two Royal Canadian Mint locations, the Winnipeg site is the country’s high-tech, high-volume manufacturing facility. Every single Canadian circulation coin is produced here— literally billions each year. Join one of their friendly tour guides for a virtual walkthrough of the newly renovated tour area featuring interactive coin displays. On this tour students will learn how massive strips of metal meet 50-ton presses to produce over 1000 coins per second and discover how the Mint has made over 55 billion coins for more than 75 countries around the world. Make sure to ask lots of questions. The tour guides can give you great stories about attempted robberies, and how the loonie was never supposed to be a loonie.

Length: 35-45 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: $50 per session 

Number of Participants: 35 pax maximum per session   

How to Reserve: Email reservationswpg@mint.ca  

Are you ready to have some more fun? Our final attraction of the day is jam packed with entertaining yet educational activities for your students!

Cosmodome

The Cosmodome presents you with a concept of interactive, virtual missions where you become a space exploration hero! Embark on the adventures in store for you on one of the virtual journeys offered and take up the challenges of the space explorers in a futuristic setting! Each workshop brought to you live from a Cosmodome counselor will focus on space conquest and immerse students in a unique scientific and technological universe. The program includes interactive activities and ends with a question and answer period for the students.

Length: 60-120 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: $100 for 30 min, $175 for 60 min, $250 for 120 min per session 

Number of Participants: 100 pax maximum per session  

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

We are having a blast, and we hope you are too! Is Day 2 done already? Not to worry, we have one more day full of activities to wrap everything up.

Day 3:  

It’s the final day of your virtual experience. As the tour comes to close, it is time to head towards home! Board your virtual motor coach and head to Southern Ontario for our final couple of stops. Another long drive means more bus games, try the Going on a Picnic Game, or as we like to call it “Going on a Bus Ride”.

Art Gallery of Ontario

Join the Art Gallery of Ontario daily for a live conversation with an AGO Art Educator. Choose from themes such as Arts and Science of Conservation, Indigenous Art and Artists, Art and the Senses, and Getting to Know Art of African Diaspora. The gallery offers three versions of each conversation for students in various age groups and incorporates an element of wellness and art in each session. Each conversation will end with a small creative exercise, so please have pencils, pens or crayons and paper at the ready!

Length: 30 minutes  

Language: English or French (limited availability)  

Cost: Free  

Number of Participants: No maximum, all programs open to public  

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

The Art Gallery of Ontario is right in downtown Toronto. You can join us for a quick virtual tour of the city, to learn more about its many famous attractions.

Josiah Henson Museum

An estimated 30,000 Black refugees from slavery in the United States fled to Canada along the silent tracks of the Underground Railroad. One of these freedom seekers was abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor and former slave Josiah Henson. He became known as Uncle Tom through his connection to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Take your students to visit the Josiah Henson Museum virtually, where you will receive a tour of the onsite museum, the Interpretive Centre, the Josiah Henson House, two cemeteries and numerous artefacts that have been preserved as a legacy to those freedom seekers. Students will also be able to meet a descendant of some of these courageous Underground Railroad freedom seekers and learn about the early Black presence in Ontario. This virtual tour is very eye opening, make sure to ask about the Josiah Henson mural and Henry ‘Box’ Brown, for some truly inspiring stories.

Length: 45 minutes  

Language: English or French  

Cost: $50-$100 per session  

Number of Participants: 35 pax maximum per session 

How to Reserve: Email jhm@heritagetrust.on.ca  

Ending off the trip on a high note, we have added an activity we are positive all your students will love. Our final activity is sure to bring out the James Bond in everyone!

International Spy Museum

Have you ever wanted to learn the art of being a spy, how to decode, and solve mysteries? The International Spy Museum is highly interactive and offers live, multi-disciplinary, educator-led workshops that will transport students into the shadow world, test their spy skills, and encourage teamwork. Choose from one of seven workshops designed for various age groups where students can use their observation skills to spot threats and opportunities and think like a gadget-maker to solve problems, become forensic scientists using real FBI techniques to examine evidence, or comb through collected intel to find connections and patterns, sniffing out deception!

Length: 45-60 minutes  

Language: English only 

Cost: $150 USD per session  

Number of Participants: 30 pax maximum per session   

How to Reserve: Book directly on website  

Thank you for joining Brightspark Canada on this virtual experience! If you are looking for more activities to do with your class, we recommend you check out The Royal Ontario Museum, Ripley’s Aquarium, and the Canadian War Museum. Be sure to make reservations soon for each of these tours as spots are filling up quickly for the remainder of the school year!

Once travel is permitted, consider taking your class on a live Brightspark tour to any one of our many destinations featured in this virtual experience! Take a look at our itineraries here.