Tired of the beach?
Check out these summer destinations where kids will have fun and may even learn a thing or two about the world around them.
From a small stone church in Amherstburg, Ontario, to a fish cannery in Steveston, B.C., these attractions will open kids' eyes to the past and to what people in the developing world endure today.
1. Nazrey African Methodist Episcopal Church, Amherstburg, Ontario.
Let your child learn what it's like to be a refugee escaping slavery in this church built in 1848. This small stone chapel is representative of the Underground Railroad, which helped thousands of African-Americans flee slavery in the United States during the 18th and 19th century. Today, millions of people around the world continue to be enslaved in factory work, agricultural labour and the sex industry.
2. Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Saskatoon.
At this First Nations' park children will get a look into the traditional lives of the Northern Plains Peoples and a place where First Nations people came to hunt bison, gather food and herbs and find shelter. At this park, you'll find summer and winter camp sites, bison kill sites, tipi rings and artifacts such as pottery fragments, egg shells and animal bones. In a world with many different cultures and beliefs, this site will help kids become more understanding of people from various backgrounds.
3. Biosphère, Montreal.
Help your children become more environmentally aware with a trip to the Biosphère, home to Canada's environment museum. Highlights include a special hands-on exhibit for kids about the St. Lawrence River ecosystem including ways they can help protect it. Kids also learn about green architecture, sustainable transportation and renewable energy products.
4. Gulf of Georgia Cannery, Steveston, B.C.
Get a glimpse into a life of hard and dangerous labour at the Georgia Cannery that opened its doors in 1894. Its diverse workforce included Japanese, Chinese and First Nations people who imported their skills with a gutting knife. Conditions in this cannery were brutal and many people lost fingers as they worked long hours gutting salmon. The cannery highlights working conditions that many people in the developing world still face—workplaces that are unsafe and demanding.
5. Folk festivals.
Experience sounds from around the world and show your children how music is an integral part of storytelling and history. Canada is rife with cultural and folk music festivals that celebrate the best of independent music. From the Folk on the Rocks Music Festival in Yellowknife to the Celtic Colours International Festival in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, young music lovers are bound to find something to enjoy.
6. Museum of Anthropology (MoA), University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Help your kids better understand HIV and AIDS and the devastating impact it is having on many communities in Africa. An exhibit at the MoA entitled The Village is Tilting: Dancing AIDS in Malawi runs until September 3 and features a series of masks, photographs and videos documenting the cultural repercussions of this disease on one rural Malawi community.
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