Self-guided indoor and outdoor tour options for your students May and June are:
– Introductory DVD
– Video Library: Thundering Ahead short films, and various informative video vignettes
– Curated art exhibitions in the Grand Hall and Small Gallery
– Daily Dance Performance (2 p.m. – May long weekend – September long weekend)
– Traditional Tipi Display in the Tipi Village (outdoors)
– Self-guided trail walk through 6 km of trails in the Opimihaw Valley with interpretive map
– Indoor and Outdoor scavenger hunts available
– Interpretive Garden Area
– Archaeological Dig Site (May 23 –June 23) https://wanuskewin.com/visit/events-calendar/archaeological-dig-site-2/
(with University students to meet with from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. weather pending)
To book self-guided, email tours@wanuskewin.com, and let us know:
– Three choices for self guided dates
– How many students, and what grades will be coming
– what time you will be arriving
– if you will be bringing your own lunch, or want to do a pre-order
And we will work to get you booked in as a self guided group for the day!
(SELF GUIDED) June 21 – National Aboriginal Day
Stay tuned for more information on this annual exciting day at Wanuskewin! Dancers, traditional crafts and artisans, programs, food, and so much to do through the day celebrating and embracing Plains First Nations culture. Please contact tours@wanuskewin.com to let us know if you will be joining us, and to get more information.
(FULL) May 10-12 – Survival Training (Grades 5 and up, $5.50/student)
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with Daily Dance Performance at 2 p.m.
Our interpretive guides will teach participants what they need to know to prepare for any disaster, whether it’s a natural catastrophe or the zombie apocalypse.
Fun and interactive training will include common plants for survival, practicing archery skills and developing some physical skills through playing traditional games to develop hunting skills and physical stamina.
(FULL) May 15-19 – Amazing Race Tour (Grades 5 and up, $7.00 per student)
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with Daily Dance Performance at 2 p.m.
In the summer of 2015 we had the honor of being one of the host locations to one of Canada’s most popular tv shows. Join us at the park for a special program that offers a similar experience but with added pit stops and challenges that include hunting games, archaeology, and medicines found in Opimihaw Valley.
Specific Outcomes: Fun and competition, roles and diversity, efficient team work, focus, lateral thinking, problem solving, goal setting, improving communication, boost camaraderie while learning about First Nations Cultures. The team that has the quickest time will be the winners.
The day will end with a Hoop Dance Performance
(FULL) June 7-9 – Waskimisiwin – Cultural Awareness & Mother Earth Walk (Grades Pre-K – 3, $5.50 per student)
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with Daily Dance Performance at 2 p.m.
This series explores Plains First Nation culture and how they interact with their environment through stories and hands on activities. The tour will include a garden tour to visit the compost and learn the story of the 7 Sisters. Students will also visit the Indigenous Pollinator Garden and take part in a walk as they learn the story of how the plants have come to help the humans with illness.
Learn about First Nations peoples and culture through storytelling, music, pow wow dancing, and hands-on activities. Students will learn Pow Wow dances and their meanings. This program discusses Plains First Nation worldviews, their social and cultural activities, and how they interacted with their environment.
View our Tour Booking Request Form
Please fill out a Tour Booking Request Form, or contact our Tour Coordinator for more information at tours@wanuskewin.com
Regularly Offered Tours:
Step back in time with one of our interpretive guides on the Path of the People. This walk incorporates the archaeological story of Wanuskewin and will give you a glimpse of what life was like on the prairie long ago.
*Outdoors – Spring, Summer, Fall – 45 minutes – 1 hour – All Ages
Imagine having all the medicine you needed right outside of your tipi door! This trail walk introduces participants to the medicines of First Nations people. From medicine that gave relief to the common cold or acted as a bug repellent. The Opimihaw Valley has it all!
*Outdoors – Spring, Summer – 45 minutes – 1 hour – All Ages
Enjoy one of Wanuskewin’s most popular programs! Learn how Cree people had traditionally set up their homes with an indoor 8 foot tipi demonstration. This hands-on program discusses the practical purpose of each tipi pole and the associated meanings that each pole represents for each stage of life. Come and try it yourself!
*Indoors and Outdoors – Available year round – 45 minutes – 1 hour – All Ages
Traditional games provided the teachings and skill development required for survival on the Northern Plains. The traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle was incredibly demanding and required superb levels of physical fitness. Come learn how games played an important role in educating the young by cultivating physical skills and encouraging social development.
*Indoors and Outdoors – Available year round – 45 minutes – 1 hour – Adaptable for all ages
Millions of bison once roamed the Central and Northern Plains, and First Nations peoples depended upon them for survival. Learn about the bison, its place in the centre of Plains cultures, and how it was processed for food. Understand and see examples of how every part of the bison was used to provide food, tools, shelter, weapons, toys, and even glue.
*Indoors and Outdoors – Available year round – 45 minutes – 1 hour – Suited for Grade 4 – Adult
Over 200 years ago bison roamed the prairies by the millions and were the single most important animal to First Nations peoples in this area. Students will experience the thrill and skill that accompanied a hunt as they try their hand at using the atlatl (spear-thrower) and the bow and arrow.
*Outdoors – Available year round – 45 minutes – 1 hour – Suited for Grade 5 – 8
Learn about First Nations peoples and culture through storytelling, dancing, and hands-on activities. Students will learn some Cree words and their meanings. This program discusses Plains First Nation worldviews, their social and cultural activities, and how they interacted with their environment.
*Indoors – Available year round – 45 minutes – 1 hour – Pre-K – Grade 3
Experience one of the gifts given to the Ojibway People, adopted by many nations around the world. Learn the purpose and legend of the dream catcher while learning how to fashion its intriguing design. Take your very own design home as a gift for yourself or someone close to you.
*Indoors – Available year round – 1 hour – Grade 3 to Adult $3.50 per person for material fee
A home is the centre of all life. Create an ornamental canvas tipi while learning about this iconic Plains First Nations home. Discover the tipi’s history and its importance, how it was made and transported, and learn about the contributions men and women made to create a healthy, happy home.
*Indoors – Available year round – 1 hour – Kindergarten to Grade 3 – $2.50 per person for material fee
This program is designed to illustrate the history of pottery and its use by Northern Plains First
Nations peoples. Participants will learn how pots were made, why they were made the way they
were and how they were used. The information will be presented informally while the students
are making their pots.
*Indoors – Available year round – 1 hour – All Ages – $3.00 per person for material fee
Students will be amazed when they learn about the history of bannock, its Scottish roots, and its place in First Nations communities today. Participants will also have the opportunity to try their hand at cooking bannock over a fire.
*Outdoors – Available year round – 1 hour – Grade 3 to Adult – $3.50 per person for material fee
View our Tour Booking Request Form
During the months of May – June students from the University of Saskatchewan participate in an archaeological excavation here at Wanuskewin. We are home to the longest running dig site in Canada – with over 6,000 years of history waiting to be discovered you never know what you might witness! Dig sites are closed during rainy or disruptive weather. Visit here for more information
Over 6km of hiking trails criss-cross the Opimihaw Valley. On your journey you can discover 19 unique points of interest along the way. The trail includes a bison pound, two buffalo jumps, Opimihaw Creek and the world’s most northerly Medicine Wheel. The valley is also home to numerous animals such as deer, muskrat, beaver and over 140 different species of birds. Ask the visitor services desk for a copy of the indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, and a detailed trail map. Teachers can make this exploration extra special with a journal project that is sure to inspire and engage students.
Within the Interpretive Centre, Wanuskewin boasts two art galleries that host a mixture of contemporary and traditional First Nations and Metis artists.
View the new Thundering Ahead short films, and a variety of educational vignettes in our theatre, located at the entrance of the interpretive centre.
Beginning after the May long weekend – September long weekend Wanuskewin has a daily dance performance at 2:00pm for visitors.
View our Tour Booking Request Form
A traditional story of how the beaver got his flat tail told through a puppet performance incorporating the Cree language with song and hands on programming tools.
*Available Winter Only *Suited for Pre-K – Grade 3 *Maximum per session 30 students
Learn all about the fur trade and how the First Nations and Metis people traded and survived in the wilderness. This educational session ends with a fun and exciting relay race that turns you into the Voyageur!
*Available Winter Only *Suited for Grade 5 – 8 *Maximum 30 students
