We provide a variety of engaging programs, tours and special events throughout the year for people of all ages that pertain to the museum's mandate, collection, as well as its exhibits for CK Museum, Ridge House Museum and Milner Heritage House.
Register for Kids Club Nov 16 - Gnomember Fun
Noon Years Countdown
Tuesday, December 31, 2024 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm | Imagination Station, CK museum | No Fee
Ring in the Noon Year with the CK Museum! Spend a fabulously fun morning in the Imagination Station creating a festive New Years eve banner to decorate your home. Sponsored by Waste Connections of Chatham-Kent.
Register for Kids Club Dec 31 - Noon Years Countdown
PA Day Camps
Let's Celebrate
Friday, September 20, 2024 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre | Age: 6-12 | Cost: $45
Travel through the seasons to celebrate some of our favourite holidays and learn about some new ones. Get ready for loads of festive fun!
Register for Let's Celebrate PA Day Camp
Spooky Science
Friday, September 20, 2024 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre | Age: 6-12 | Cost: $45
Double, double, toil and... bubble! Join in an incredibly fun day in our Eccentric Scientist's Lab! Make some jack-o-lantern slime and a bubbling witch's brew, and get your hands messy with some oobleck science!
Register for Spooky Science PA Day Camp
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Friday, November 15, 2024 | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre | Age: 6-12 | Cost: $45
Explore all the ways you can get from one place to another with games, crafts, and experiments.
Register for Planes, Trains and Automobiles PA Day Camp
Gingerbread House Workshop
Candy Canes, Gumdrops and Icing, Oh My!
Thursday, December 12, 2024 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Studio One, Chatham Cultural Centre | Age: 6-12 | Cost: $25
This December let your child's confectionary imagination run wild at our Gingerbread House Workshop. They'll have a blast planning, designing, and decorating their very own pre-built gingerbread house. Our Gingerbread House Workshop is the perfect treat to start to this holiday season!
Register for Gingerbread House Workshop
Creative Kids
Mornings in Santa's Workshop
Saturday, December 7 & 14, 2024 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am | Discovery Den, Ridge House Museum | Age: 6-12 | Free
Spend a fun-filled festive morning with Santa's Elves at the Ridge House Museum. Decorate your own Christmas cookie, create some holiday decorations, and visit one on one with Santa's Head Elf, so that they can pass on your requests to the jolly man himself. Then gather around to hear a classic tale and sing some festive songs. Sponsored by Salus Mutual.
Register for Creative Kids Dec 7 - Mornings in Santa's WorkshopRegister for Creative Kids Dec 14 - Mornings in Santa's Workshop
Festive Days at the Ridge
December 7, 8, 14, 15, 2024 | 11:00 am - 4:00 pm | Discovery Den, Ridge House Museum
This holiday season, drop by the Ridge House Museum to learn how Christmas was celebrated in the 19th century. String some popcorn, play some parlour games, and make a traditional holiday craft.
Escape the Milner House
Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 11:00 am - 7:00 pm | 1 Hour Time Slots | Milner Heritage House | Cost: $35 per team
The year is 1906 and the Milner family is hosting a soiree at their home. A swell time is being had by you and all that are attending. But when you attempt to leave at midnight, you find that all doors and windows won't budge. One brave soul explores the foyer and finds a note that says you're doomed unless you can retrieve the key from the cryptex. One problem, you need to know the code to open it. Now it is up to you and your friends to save the partygoers and the Milner family. Guided only by your wit and working with your team, you must find clues, solve puzzles, and reveal the secret word to make it out before the clock runs out.
Register for Escape the Milner House
School Programs
Want to book a field trip? Let us help you plan and create a day of cultural education and creative play for your students. Each program can be geared toward any age group. Call 519.360.1998 or email ckcccmuseum@chatham-kent.ca
- $35 per student. Full-Day Program (pick two programs)
- $20 per student. Half-Day Program (pick one program)
- $5 per student. Add one hour of free play in the Imagination Station
- $55 flat fee. One hour of stories and artifacts in your classroom
Unable to come visit us? Let us come to you! Adventures delivered straight to your classroom!
Yesteryears, A Child's Life (Ridge House Museum / Milner Heritage House)
Travel back in time and discover what life was like for children in the 19th century. Topics covered during the program include food, clothing, education, recreation, work and the role of children. Students will have the chance to compare and contrast how their lives are different as well as do a craft, learn a 19th-century dance (weather permitting) and play fun engaging games.
A Journey into the Past: Sensory Adventures (Ridge House Museum / Milner Heritage House)
What was lifelike in the 19th century? Go on a treasure hunt of new sounds, smells, and sights and discover what life was like for children in the 19th century. The program includes fun interactive components such as story time, an eye spy game and a craft.
Escape Room (Chatham-Kent Museum / Ridge House Museum)
Do you have what it takes to escape? Solve puzzles, find clues, decipher secret codes and work as a team to find the correct code to escape and win the game! Escape rooms are available at all three Municipal Museums – take on the challenge at the CK Museum, Milner Heritage House and the Ridge House Museum.
Imagination Station: Full STEAM Ahead (Chatham-Kent Museum)
All aboard! Let us customize our Imagination Station to bring STEAM learning to life. Let your students' imagination run free as they create art on our Giant Lite Brite, construct with our Giant Magna Tiles, design on our LEGO Wall, and lots more as you roll through our activity stations and then engage in Free Play.
Once Upon A Christmas: Victorian Traditions - December Only (Milner Heritage House)
Celebrate the Season with us! Journey into the past and learn about 19th-century Christmas traditions. Students will engage in a variety of different traditional activities, such as games, stories, crafts and more. Topics covered during the program include traditions, food, music, gifts, decorations, and what life was like for a child during the Holiday Season.
Create Your Own Project!
Have a special workshop or content in mind for a workshop? Collaborate with us and create a program that fits YOUR specific needs. Give us a call to begin the conversation. Call 519-360-1998 or email ckcccmuseum@chatham-kent.ca.
"Let us March on till Victory is Won" Traveling Exhibit
Looking for a way to explore CK's rich Black History in your school? Book the CK Museum's newest traveling exhibit! "Let us March on till Victory is Won: The Struggle for Racial Equity in CK and Ontario" traveling exhibit traces the courageous story of the National Unity Association's crusade for justice, their determination to end practices of segregation within Chatham-Kent and Ontario, and the ongoing fight for equity in Canada.
This easy-to-assemble exhibit comes with twenty panels with stands. These include twelve content panels and eight incredible portraits of individuals significant to our community's history. The exhibit is available in both French and English panels. Interested in educational materials and programming options to accompany the exhibit? Contact the Chatham-Kent Museum to find out more! Fee: $100.00 per week.