BCK Partner Sites

The Agnes is a wonderful site for teachers who want to explore art or use art as a background study for other subjects.  With the André Biéler Studio as a homeroom and the galleries as your classrooms, so many ideas can be explored.

The Agnes is one of Canada’s most respected art museums, with a permanent collection of more than 14,000 pieces.  The collection ranges from the 14th century to the present, with an emphasis on Canadian art. It includes paintings, sculptures, and graphics by major Canadian artists, European old master paintings – including works by Rembrandt – costumes, quilts, silver and other decorative objects, Inuit art, and one of the largest collections of African art in Canada. Exhibitions from the permanent collection are complemented by travelling exhibitions and a variety of public programs.

Learn about local government and the importance of City Hall as a monument to Kingston’s history.  Create opportunities for you and your students to meet elected officials and city staff, and explore the day-to-day business of municipal affairs with City Hall as your classroom.

Kingston City Hall, one of the finest 19th-century municipal buildings in Canada and a nationally designated heritage site, is toured by thousands of tourists and local citizens each year. Kingston’s historic City Hall has housed governments, a bank, a dry goods store, and the body of Sir John A. Macdonald. This historic building still functions as the City’s administrative centre.

(Note: The City Clerk’s Department & Cultural Services supplied funding for Local Government Week [2016] for a teacher focusing on municipal issues)

Visit a school classroom set in the style of a one-room rural schoolhouse in the 1890-1910 era.  View displays of artifacts, schoolbooks, equipment and photographs.  Experience social and school life as children did in pioneer days. The desks and artifacts were collected from the schools which at one time dotted the countryside. Sit at a wooden desk, and write on a slate with a slate pencil. Browse through old Ontario readers. Try your skill at some arithmetic facts and solve problems encountered in the past!

The Frontenac County Schools Museum’s vast collection and authentic setting provide the opportunity for a class to step back in time. It is a wonderful site for teachers to make literacy and social studies connections, as well as art and drama connections. Tour the Heritage Conservation District of Barriefield Village to learn about the history of this townsite which is more than 200 years old.

One of Kingston’s largest museums, this site educates members of the military and the general public about the troops, the events, and the technologies involved in Canadian military communications and electronics. The Military Communications and Electronics Museum is an accredited museum of the Department of National Defence (DND).

During the 20th century, information was communicated largely through the use of evolving electronic technologies. This Museum documents that development and celebrates the contributions of the people who made it possible. Hands-on participation is encouraged in a number of exhibits within the Museum and educational programs are available. The Museum also houses a working ham radio station. Teachers may want to explore science and technology connections.

A week with your class at the Miller Museum is intended to build upon the classroom curriculum in the areas of geology, soils, and the history of Kingston’s geology. The Miller Museum is located in the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is a small but active earth science teaching museum for local schools and natural-science interest groups in eastern Ontario. The museum features many fossil and mineral displays, an extensive Geology of the Kingston Area exhibit, and an educational tour program of “hands-on” geology activities.

The Museum of Health Care, located in the Ann Baillie Building on Queen’s University Campus, is the only museum in Canada dedicated to the history of health and health care. The museum has one of the largest collections of medical and healthcare artifacts in Canada. It is home to a wide range of artifacts and archival documents and photographs from surgical tools to laboratory instruments documenting how people have preserved health and managed disease, pain, and suffering from the late 18th century to the present day. The Museum serves the general public, practitioners, students, and historians through exhibitions, interpretive programs, and special events throughout the year.