School Programs

Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre is the perfect destination for any school trip. Whether it is for a guided tour or a curriculum-based program, Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre can provide your class with an educational and fun environment. Educational tours include a guided tour of the museum, as well as fun activities such as a scavenger hunt quiz, or a trip aboard a steamship. The Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre has developed curriculum based programming for any grade level and most subject area is available upon request.
Several of our popular curriculum based programs are listed below.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS for 2011 SPRING - School Program PDF

school group map of muskoka

McCabe’s Landing Program – Grades 2/3
Discover the role of James McCabe and his family in establishing his business and resulting early tourism during the early days of settlement. Explore Sawdust City and the arrival of AP Cockburn with his growing fleet of steamships and the accompanying sawmills. Experience what life was like almost 150 years ago.

School group activity

Trails, Maps & Waterways Program – Grades 4/5
An integrated program encouraging students to study the impact of natural and human elements on the Muskoka water systems. Activities highlight the importance of water systems during the early days of settlement. Students will discover the human reliance on the lakes from before the steamship era through to the present day.

We Are All Connected Program – Grades 7/8
While highlighting the unique roles of various communities bordering Lakes Muskoka, Rosseau and Joseph, students will discover the special features of cities, towns and villages as they travel through Bala, Beaumaris, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Minett, Port Carling and Port Cockburn. The contributions of these communities are seen from both a contemporary and historical perspective on the “Life in Muskoka”.

learn about our boat builders workshop

Pack Your Bags Program – Grade 11
Learn about the origin of the tourist industry on the “Big Three” lakes and its environs. Activities introduce the students to specific attractions, historical sites, and landmarks, recreational activities and accommodations in the Muskoka area. Discover unique features that characterize specific cities, towns and villages in this geographic area, and explore the economic impact of tourism locally and provincially.

Did you know?

The R.M.S. Segwun continues to be recognized by Canada Post as a "Royal Mail Ship" and that mail can be hand-franked or cancelled from the ship as they did more than 100 years ago.
In 1974, the Segwun was recommissioned by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
In 1996, the Wanda III Steam Yacht was recommissioned by Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
The Segwun's coal comes all the way from Kentucky.
Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre opened in 2006 and celebrates Muskoka's steamship era, grand resorts and hotels and the region's rich boat-building history.
Wenonah II is Canada's newest passenger vessel combining turn-of-the-century charm with modern conveniences such as air-conditioning and an on board elevator.
The Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre is home to North America's largest in-water display of antique and classic boats.
The ship's private label wine is one of the few given permission by the LCBO to be sold in stores throughout Ontario.
In 2001 and 2002, the Segwun won the award of "Best Large Attraction" by Attractions Canada.
In 1988, the Segwun won the prestigious "Phoenix Award" presented by the Society of American Travel Writers. Recipients are chosen for their outstanding efforts in preservation and conservation.
In years past, a steamship purser used to take tickets as passengers boarded. Today, our Purser is responsible for all guest services on board including your dining experience.
The Segwun used to carry passengers, freight and mail to a variety of ports on the Muskoka lakes before the days of the automobile.
Each year, the Segwun and Wenonah II host upwards of 30 memorable wedding ceremonies and receptions.
In recent years the shift to air transport for mail has left only three ships with the right to the prefix; RMS Segwun, which serves as a passenger vessel in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada, RMS St Helena, which serves the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic,^[9] and RMS Queen Mary 2. QM2 was conferred "RMS" by Royal Mail when she entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route as a gesture to Cunard's history – The RMS Segwun is the oldest Royal Mail Ship in the world.