Discovery for Every Child

Steven Darby / IMG2012-0198-0008-Dm

It’s a weekday at the Canadian War Museum. The lobby is teeming with school children. Outside, orange buses line Vimy Place. It’s just an average day during an academic year that will see thousands of students visit the Canadian War Museum or the Canadian Museum of History. But for more than 3,000 school children, this trip isn’t possible on their own. They’re here because of the Shaw Communications School Access Program.

Shaw is now the official sponsor of the School Access Program, which has been helping students for 12 years. As part of its Canada 150 initiative, Shaw has provided a $75,000 donation to give students from lower-income neighbourhoods the ability to visit both Museums free of charge during the 2017‒18 school year. Both Museums launched new programming in 2017 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, so there’s more reason than ever for young Canadians to visit and learn more about the history of Canada.

Shaw’s support for this program makes a museum outing possible for elementary and high school students from economically disadvantaged schools across Canada’s Capital Region. The visits take place throughout the school year and include guided tours, hands-on demonstrations, curriculum-linked workshops, programs and performances that bring Canada’s history and heritage to life.

Back at the War Museum, children peer excitedly through the entrance doors, anxious for their first glimpse of a First World War tank. At the History Museum, they may see a Haida totem pole or Canada’s first maple leaf flag. They are ready, and the Museums are too.