The Gardiner Museum is open seven days a week. Explore our permanent collection, discover special exhibitions, get hands-on with clay in our studios, dine, shop, and more.
Enter an immersive world created by Montreal-based artist Karine Giboulo, brought to life by over 500 miniature polymer clay figures that tell stories about our most urgent social issues, from the pandemic to the climate crisis. It will delight visitors of all ages!
Spring Clay Classes are open for registration and filling up fast! Secure one of the remaining spots and get creative with clay in our studios this season.
Experience the Gardiner's world-renowned collection, in person and online. From Chinese porcelain to contemporary Canadian ceramics, discover the people and histories behind the objects.
Everyone can love clay! Become a Gardiner Friend and enjoy the benefits, including unlimited admission, advanced clay class registration, invitations to exhibition previews and special events, discounts on lectures and classes, and more.
Our school programs, designed by professional educators, engage with the Ontario Curriculum in fun and creative ways using clay. All school workshops are led by experienced artist-educators who specialize in ceramics. Schools can choose between a tour, a hands-on activity, or a combination of both. See the list of program themes below.
Tour only: $6 per student Clay activity only: $12 per student Half-Day Program (Tour and Activity): $15 per student Firing Fee: $3 per student
Important Information:
We require a two-week minimum notice to book a school workshop. In the booking form, please provide as much detail as possible, including whether you wish to have your works fired.
Payment is due on the date of the visit. Schools paying by Purchase Order are recommended bring a copy of the PO on the day of the visit.
A $5 processing fee is charged for all bookings.
Program Themes:
Myths and Symbols
Discover the Gardiner’s collection of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, which features a variety of real and mythological creatures. Students will learn about the symbolic meaning behind these creatures and consider the symbols we all encounter in our daily lives. Using this imagery as inspiration, students will then make their own creatures and discuss what these creatures symbolize to them.
Curriculum Links: Visual Arts, History, Social Studies
Animals and Habitats
Students will discover the many representations of animals in the Gardiner Collection, from Ancient Americas to contemporary ceramics. We’ll discuss how different animals have cohabitated with humans and how artists have represented them in pottery across time and geographies. For their hands-on activity, students will create their own pinch-pot animals.
Curriculum Links: Visual Arts, Geography
Contemporary Ceramics
This program begins by engaging students in a close-looking exercise of the Gardiner’s collection of contemporary ceramics, which features Canadian and international artists. Students will discuss how contemporary artists have used the ceramic medium in novel ways and critically analyze selected works. The class will then create their own works in clay inspired by the contemporary collection.
Curriculum Links: Visual Arts, Social Sciences and the Humanities, Canadian and World Studies
Ancient Americas
Students will begin by exploring the Gardiner’s world-renowned Ancient Americas collection, learning about the diversity of cultures by region. This is followed by a hands-on workshop in which students create objects influenced by their own social and cultural experiences and inspired by the visuals they encounter in the galleries.
Curriculum Links: Visual Arts, History, Geography, Social Studies