This March Break come learn about the previous uses of the Custom House, the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre’s home, which was built before Canada was even a country! Find out what types of workers inhabited this amazing space, and contribute your own ideas and imagination to bring this building’s colorful history of work, play and art to life!
Monday, March 14 Art, Museums and Community with Cornelia Peckart
What type of work is done at a museum? How do museums engage members of their community? What is workers art, and what is workers heritage? Kids will learn what it takes to make an exhibition, and will make collaborative banners about things that are important to them. They will also learn some of the many past uses of Custom House, WAHC’s impressive home.
Tuesday, March 15th Make, Taste, Create! with Cornelia Peckart and Donna Akrey
Custom House served as a pasta, vinegar and donut factory over different periods in history that employed people Hamilton’s North End neighbourhood. Join us for a day of local history and food-inspired creation!
Wednesday, March 16th Building an Ambitious City with Donna Akrey
What does it take to make a building a productive space? Kids will share their ideas about cities, buildings and architecture, and explore hand production that mirrors the work that so many people in our city do every day. Through collaborative art-making inspired by assembly lines, kids will create an installation using simple casting processes.
Thursday, March 17th Historic Roleplaying at the Custom House with Jody Boston
The Workers Arts & Heritage Centre makes its home in an amazing stone building built before Canada was even a country. Kids will consider the history of our building towards making dramatic skits that mix up and mash up the history of immigration, work and workers within the Custom House’s walls.
Friday, March 18th World Art and Music with Hitoko Okada and Kojo Chintoh
Custom House used to be a place where newcomers to Hamilton would learn the English language and new skills that would help them settle. What can we learn from newcomers to our city today? This camp day will include musical performances and an African drumming workshop, worker’s stories from around the world, and lantern-making with Japanese paper.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
This March Break camp is presented in partnership with our friends at the North Hamilton Community Health Centre, who will include physical literacy activities to our week’s camp schedule. At the end of camp, parents, family and friends are invited to come for a post-camp celebration at the museum, with pizza and a performance!
For children ages 8-12; pre-registration is required. Admission for each day of camp is $20, and $100 for the entire week. Sign up for as many or as few days as you like! Subsidized spots are available—no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. A wholesome lunch and nut-free snacks throughout the day is included as part of each camp day. Registration ends March 9th at noon.
For more information or to register, download and fill out a registration form (doc and pdf formats) or contact Tara Bursey, Program Coordinator at (905) 522-3003 ex. 29 or tara@wahc-museum.ca.
Old Buildings, New Ideas! at WAHC is made possible through the generous support of the Hamilton Community Foundation.
*Please note that physical literacy activities offered on Tuesday-Thursday camp sessions are part of a study to Develop, Implement and Evaluate Physical Literacy by Jenna McHugh, Student Researcher, Dept. of Health and Aging at McMaster University. Please fill out and sign this consent form and submit it along with your registration forms if enrolling your child in Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday camp days.
