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.

Program Themes

Grades K – 3

Indigenous Americas

Discover the narrative power of clay across the Americas. In this program, students will explore ancient pottery from Mesoamerica and South America, as well as modern and contemporary ceramics made by Indigenous artists working in Canada. This is followed by a hands-on clay workshop in which students can create decorative vessel inspired by the works on display and connected to their own lives.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Social Studies; Language; The Kindergarten Program

Animals and Habitats

How is a ceramics museum like a zoo? In this program, we will explore unique depictions of animals made with clay and think about their natural habitats and relationships with humans. This is accompanied by a hands-on clay activity where students create their own pinch-pot animals.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Social Studies; Language; Science and Technology; The Kindergarten Program

Myths and Marvels

Discover mythological figures and supernatural creatures represented in clay. Students will explore myths and symbolic meanings embedded in works from Mesoamerica, China, and more. This is followed by a hands-on clay workshop in which students make mythical figures or creatures of their choice and discuss what these works symbolize to them.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Social Studies; Language

Grades 4 – 8

Indigenous Americas

Discover the narrative power of clay across the Americas! In this program, students explore ancient pottery from Mesoamerica and South America, as well as modern and contemporary ceramic artworks made by Indigenous artists working in Canada. In the hands-on clay workshop, students will create decorated vessels inspired by the works on display and connected to their own lives.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; History; Geography; Language

Food and Medicine

Explore art and science with a journey into ancient kitchens, Renaissance pharmacies, and royal pantries! In this program, students learn about the ways in which ceramic wares were used for food and medicine in different parts of the world. In the clay workshop, students hand build their own miniature containers inspired by the collections.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; History; Geography; Language; Science and Technology

Trade, Travel, and Ceramic Treasures

Learn about the global value of clay over hundreds of years and discover how technologies, ideas, and ceramic works moved across the world. In the hands-on clay workshop, students make their own ceramic wares inspired by the popular styles and designs they encounter in the galleries.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; History; Geography; Language

Grades 9 – 12

Ecology and the Indigenous Americas

Join us in exploring the relationship between land and culture in the Americas. In this program, students  explore stories of human relationships with nature told through ancient pottery from Mesoamerica and South America, as well as recent ceramic artworks made by Indigenous artists working in Canada. This is followed by a hands-on clay workshop in which students build vessels inspired by their relationship with nature.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Geography; First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

Sculpted Identities

How do ceramic artworks of the past and present reveal the personal, cultural, and political identities of the artist and subject? This program invites students to uncover the stories told by the diverse works in our collections and peel back the layers of identity embedded in them, while contemplating questions of equity and social justice. Students will extend their exploration in our studios, sculpting unique works of art that express their own identities.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Canadian and World Studies; First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

Clay, Culture, and Commerce 

What role did clay play in international trade and economics over thousands of years? Students will look closely at works that showcase the global value of clay throughout history and how innovations, artistic styles, and ceramic wares moved across the world. This is followed by a hands-on clay workshop where students make their own ceramic treasures inspired by popular global styles and designs.

Curriculum Links: Visual Arts; Canadian and World Studies

Special Exhibition

 Linda Rotua Sormin: Uncertain Ground

Experience the multi-sensory exhibition Linda Rotua Sormin: Uncertain Ground. Raised in Thailand and Canada, artist Linda Rotua Sormin creates an immersive world of clay, video, hand-cut watercolour painting, and more, reclaiming symbols of her ancestry from the Batak people of Sumatra in Indonesia. Students will be guided through a vivid landscape created using recycled forms and materials, encounter hidden creatures and magical texts, and reflect on their own identity. In the clay workshop, students will build playful and creative forms inspired by the exhibition.

Please note: This exhibition contains a video projection with flashing lights.