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In partnership with

Time travel with historical picture book tales and real local, historical content! Stories are read to you by Sonia Zagwyn from the Powell River Public Library and afterwards, Joëlle Sévigny from the qathet Museum and Archives talks about local history via archival photographs and artifacts.

Book a time for Sonia and Joëlle to bring Portal to the Past to your classroom! 

• ideal for grades 1-5
• program length: approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour long​
• no cost! this is a free school program
• ​only available for booking on Fridays
• minimum of a 2 weeks notice is required
• please submit a program booking form using the online form to the left of this page

Ideal Technical Requirements

• projector with an HDMI port (used for our document reader)  
• & a computer connected to the projector with a USB port (for our history presentation)  

If you do not have these items please let us know in advance and we will make arrangements.

Program overview

• Introductions (5min)
• Storytelling (10-15 min)
• History Lesson (5 min)
• Guess the Object Game (5-10 min) 
• Questions/Prompts (5-10 min)

Learning Outcomes

• ​Foster community knowledge of the region's history.
• Forge a connection between learned material and lived environment(s).
• Showcase library and museum collections through a curated selection.
• Further education and facilitate access to information.
• Encourage lifelong learning.

Available Portals: 

Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein & the Patricia Theatre

• The story of Mary Shelley
• Townsite & Patricia Theatre History
• Key words: female author, filmmaking, monsters, townsite, picture house

On the Trapline: The Coast Salish & Living off the land

• Indigenous Culture & Tradition
• ​Coast Salish & Tla'amin Nation History
• Key words: intergenerational connections, natural resources, oral histories and narratives

Marja's Skis & Old Time Logging

• Set in a 19th-century Canadian logging town, where Marja skis to school 
• Local Forestry History
• Key words: logging, skids, oxen, steam engines, railroads, trucks

Watercress & Chinese History in qathet

• Chinese Immigrants & Heritage
• Local Chinese History 
• Keys words: immigration, watercress, head-tax, mining, railroads, shingle camps, Sam Sing

Captain Rosalie and the Impact of War at Home

• ​War seen through the experience of Rosalie, whose father is away at war
• Local World War History
• Key words: WWI, WWII, soldier, rations, internment camps, labour shortages