Smart Summer Fun: Historical Day Trips for Grade Schoolers

Help them discover the origins of that device they’re always glued to by visiting Bell Homestead National Historic Site, where they can learn about the telephone, one of history’s most groundbreaking inventions and how the one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies was founded.

Westfield Heritage Village is an amazing place to visit to give kids a great sense of what life was like for pioneers. There are over 30 carefully restored heritage buildings, costumed interpreters and fun events throughout the summer.

Dundurn Castle is a 40-room castle that tells the story of the family who lived above stairs and the servants who lived and worked below stairs to support their affluent lifestyle in the late 1850’s. Be sure to check out the Hamilton Military Museum, also on site, so the kids can see original uniforms from the War of 1812.

Head for the Hamilton Harbour and climb aboard the HMCS Haida for a tour of Canada’s most decorated war ship.

For children eight and up, it doesn’t get any more exciting than the behind-the-scenes access of African Lion Safari’s Wake Up The Wild experience. One of the park’s game wardens will guide you on an unforgettable open-air truck tour where you’ll watch lions devour their breakfast, hand-feed a giraffe and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Mountsberg Conservation Area’s Douglas G. Cockburn Raptor Centre is home to two dozen different birds of prey, each with their own unique story. Learn about native birds of prey, ask questions and see Mountsberg’s raptors up close at daily shows.

Let them explore a 15th Century Reconstructed Iroquoian Village and learn from hands-on displays, exhibits and seasonal demonstrations at Crawford Lake Conservation Area.

Take them on a journey through living medicine by walking through the Royal Botanical Garden’s Indigenous Plant Medicine Trail. Discover how the Anishinaabe people cultivated healing relationships with the natural world for generations.

Get them to dig into their roots by discovering plants native to Ontario at the Kayanese Greenhouse in Six Nations, Oshweken. Learn together how Indigenous plants are grown, from seed progressing, seed propagation, planting, monitoring to eventually flourishing in their native habitats.

Introduce train fanatics to a steam engine that puts Thomas the Tank Engine to shame at the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology.

Give them the ultimate lesson in physics and a thrill. Visitors to Hamilton’s Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum can navigate the World War II P-51 Mustang or a modern F-18 Hornet through their VR Fly Zone.

The Grand River’s gentle currents make it a great choice for first-time paddlers. Area outfitters such as Grand Experiences and Grand River Rafting make it so easy to gear up and go.

Forget indoor climbing gyms. Take a family lesson on the limestone cliffs of Milton’s Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area. Read about some outfitter suggestions.

Cool off and splash the day away in one of Canada’s largest wave pools at Wild Waterworks.

Learn the ins and outs of mountain biking at Kelso Conservation Area’s Mountain Bike School, which features wooden bridges, rollers, rocks, and logs to help riders learn how to properly tackle technical features in a controlled environment.