Water Ways!
Public Health and the Environment in Montréal, from the 17th tu the 21st Centuries.
We’ve come a long way since people used to draw their drinking water straight from the St. Lawrence and dump their wastewater in the street! Water has a whole history of its own… Your students will follow the ancient waterway from the old sewer to the pumping station and discover the ingenious ways Montrealers have managed this precious resource since the 17th century. They’ll get straight answers to some key questions about drinking water and wastewater, from the past to the present day!
Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, was built atop the Little St. Pierre river, which was turned into a sewer in the 19th century, so the Museum knows something about the subject. Especially since it is also home to the city’s first electric wastewater pumping station!
Learn about how Montrealers have found ingenious ways to manage their water all the way back to the 17th century, through a multidisciplinary interactive workshop. Immerse your students in some vital issues – access to drinking water and wastewater management through the years, right up until today.
What will the students do during the workshop?
- Examine authentic objects and remains illustrating the evolution of water management technology in Montréal.
- Recognize changes that occurred from one historical period to another and make links with the present.
- Try to solve problems related to water management during different periods, by coming up with their own hypotheses.
- Take part as a group in technical demonstrations and role-playing exercises, to understand the operation of the Youville Pumping Station.
Concepts covered during the workshop
Natural resources (water), urbanization, interaction between people and their environment, wastewater treatment, access to drinking water, development of materials, public health, pumping system, environment.
Competencies developed
The activities on this interpreted tour are in line with the aims of the Quebec and Ontario education programs and help develop the following competencies.
They are in keeping with general educational concerns about raising environmental awareness, in that they encourage the students to create a dynamic relationship with their surroundings, while maintaining critical judgment concerning the exploitation of the environment and technological development.
By examining the urban territory of Montréal and its development from the 17th to the 20th centuries, the students will have a chance to learn about issues surrounding water supply and wastewater management, by applying the following subject-specific competencies:
In Quebec
Geography, History, and Citizenship Education
- Interpret change in a society and its territory:
- Recognize the main changes in the organization of a society and its territory;
- Establish causes and effects of the change.
Science and Technology
- Propose explanations for or solutions to scientific or technological problems.
Geography
The urban territory (the metropolis)
- Build civic responsibility on a global scale (based on information gathered on the management of drinking water in Montréal from the 17th century to the 20th century).
Science and technology
- Seek answers or solutions to scientific or technological problems.
- Make the most of their knowledge of science and technology.
In Ontario
Social Studies
- Heritage and identity: the Canadian experience, yesterday and today (development of communities in Canada: First Nations, the French, the British)
- Analyze the physical, social, and cultural characteristics of these communities.
History
- The Conquest and the transition to the English regime (1713-1800); conflicts and challenges in Canada (1800-1850)
- Use a process of investigation to explore the transition from the French regime to the English regime.
Science and Technology
- Make connections between science, technology, society, and the environment:
- Analyze the long-term societal and environmental repercussions of various practices and current uses of energy and natural resources.
Partner
Information and reservations
Hours and rates of visits and group activities 2019-2020
September 2020 to April 2021
Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 5 pm
+ Mondays October 26 and December 14, 2020
May-June 2021
Tuesday to Friday, 9:30 am to 5 pm
+ Mondays June 7, 14 and 21, 2021
Rates in effect as of September 1, 2020
One-day package
Add an interpreted tour and enjoy a full day at Pointe-à-Callière:
- Building Montréal interpreted tour or;
- Here’s to Progress — 19th-Century Style! interpreted tour.
Lunch room
A lunch room is available for groups.
Reservations required.
Access to the Museum
Consult instructions.
There is free bus parking on de la Commune Street, at the corner of Place Royale.
Other activities
Building Montréal
Elementary
Secondary
College
Educational booklet
Renewed
Here’s to Progress — 19th-Century Style!
Elementary Cycle 3
Secondary cycle one
Educational booklet
Growing Up in Ville-Marie in New France
Elementary cycles 1 and 2
Educational booklet
