Programs descriptions

Teacher information | Program descriptions | Book a school program

Program descriptions 

Life at the Lighthouse (grades K-6)

Teachers, bring your students to the oldest lighthouse on Canada’s west coast, and let them experience what life as a lightkeeper was like 150 years ago. 

This program will introduce your students to the importance of lighthouses on the coast, highlights how simple tasks today would have been significantly more challenging in the past, and explains how the hard work of the lighthouse keeper allowed ships to safely travel up and down the coastline.

Let them explore what everyday life was like at Fisgard Lighthouse as a costumed interpreter teaches them through games and activities!

Learning objectives

• Identify how the lives of children in the lighthouse were different from and similar to the lives of children today
• Understand how the environment impacted the lives of lighthouse families
• Understand the function of a lighthouse
• Understand why the lighthouse was built in its current location (the pursuit of resources, environment, links with the community, Canada and the World)
• Understand how the pursuit of resources and colonization lead to the creation of Victoria

During this program students will

• Explore Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site
• Discover how life was different for families who lived in the lighthouse
• Discuss how the environment affected the location of the lighthouse
• Discover how weather and the environment affects how people travelled

Fit to Serve (grades 7-12)

Report for duty as a soldier of Fort Rodd Hill! 

Teacher, bring your students to one of Canada’s best preserves artillery forts, where assigned in teams, they will be tasked with mental and physical challenges to see if the have what it takes to serve. 

This program will be facilitated by a costumed interpreter who will teach students about the role of coastal defence and Canada’s involvement during World War I and World War II. The program will also help students discover the challenges and hardships faced by the men and women stationed at Fort Rodd Hill a century ago.

Let them reflect on the life of those who came before them while our knowledgeable staff recounts the stories of the many sacrifices they must have endured.

Learning objectives

• Evaluate the impact of the physical environment and geography on the construction of Fort Rodd Hill
• Identify how evolving technology changed the roles of soldiers stationed at Fort Rodd Hill
• Work cooperatively to complete challenges as a team
• Learn how social, cultural, and technological innovations and developments in the 20th century impacted and changed Fort Rodd Hill
• Learn how war impacted Victorian’s and how different people worked together at places like Fort Rodd Hill

During this program students will

• Challenge themselves and their classmate through team based activities 
• Practice communicating using military hand signals, Morse code, and more
• Understand the role of technology and the environment in the Fort’s history
• Experience the physical and mental challenges soldiers had to pass in order to enlist