Group Tours & Field Trips

Take a behind the scenes look at the work of museum professionals within your community. We examine the educational pathways to work in a museum, different job opportunities, contributions to the local community and the role museums have to play in social change. For younger grades we discuss what is a museum and things you might discover at your local museum.

Suggested grade level: Grades 1-3, Grades 10-12

Discover how simple machines can increase force by reducing the amount of effort needed to perform work. Examine authentic historical examples of levers, pulleys, wedges, screws, planes, wheels and axles used in the early oil industry to harvest petroleum and make the fortunes of the oil barons. 

Suggested grade level: grades 2-4

Learn about a day in the life of an early settler in Canada from sun up to sun down. Together we will examine the clothing, houses, work responsibilities, transportation and food that characterized this period of history. 

Suggested grade level: grades 2-5

What is energy and where does it come from? Students will learn about the different types of energy. You will contrast and compare renewable and non-renewable resources and the role they play in the global energy market. The tour will look at the different perspectives between the historical treatment of the environment and today's environmental protections.

Suggested grade level: grades 4-6

Students will learn about the local geology that gave birth to the modern oil industry. Students will see the gum beds where the raw crude oil oozes to the surface and look at core samples. Students will investigate the geologic resources such as oil and salt found in Lambton County.

Suggested grade level: grades 4-9

Students will examine the history of the first commercial oil well in North America. They will learn about the problems that oil pioneers faced, to start this new industry in the wild swamps of Lambton County. Students will explore the rags to riches stories of the dreamers, scoundrels, and innovators as they rush to harvest and process Black Gold.

Suggested grade level: grades 6-12

Science and chemistry have revolutionized the way we use raw crude oil resources. See how the process of refining crude has changed from James Miller Williams days in 1858 to how the modern refineries of Sarnia-Lambton process the crude oil into the greener fuels and products used today.

Suggested grade level: grades 7-11

Examine the petroleum industry in Oil Springs, from its humble beginnings in the mid-1800s to the large multi-national industry that operates today within our local communities. In this case study we look at the attitudes of these oil industry pioneers towards the environment, economics and society in the 1800s through the lens of sustainability. After this historical look at the industry we discuss how the industry has evolved over time to what we see today. How have attitudes shifted over time within the industry and outside the industry in regards to the environment, economics, and society in regards to sustainability.

Suggested grade level: grades 7-9

Suggested grade level: grades 9-12

Step back in time and experience winter festivities from the mid-19th century. Students will play with wooden toys, make a candle, visit the train station, taste warm wassail and create a holiday craft. Listen to stories about Uncle Harry as he travels around the world drilling for oil and learning about the different local holidays. You will see some of the cultural artifacts collected on his trips.

Available in November and December.

Recommended grades: Kindergarten to Grade 4

Learn about the most valuable non-renewable resource in the world at the place where it all began. Students will see how early drillers harvested oil, refined it, and sold it to the world. You will be amazed by how many items are made from crude oil. See the working jerker-lines that have been pumping oil in Oil Springs since 1863. This technology uses simple machines and local materials.

You will learn about the local geology that gave birth to the modern oil industry. You will see the gum beds where the raw crude oil oozes to the surface and look at core samples. Investigate the geologic resources such as oil and salt found in Lambton County.

What is energy and where does it come from? Students will learn about the different types of energy. You will contrast and compare renewable and non-renewable resources and the role they play in the global energy market. The tour will look at the different perspectives between the historical treatment of the environment and today's environmental protections.

Visit our historic Langbank log cabin, Canadian Drilling Rig, and blacksmith shop. Discuss the different duties between genders during the black gold rush. See how early settlers used simple machines and local resources to shape their environment and start the modern oil industry. Students will get time to make a craft and play with historical wooden toys.

Science and chemistry have revolutionized the way we use raw crude oil resources. See how the process of refining crude has changed from James Miller Williams days in 1858 to how the modern refineries of Sarnia-Lambton process the crude oil into the greener fuels and products used today. 

Black gold is oozing out of the fields of Oil Springs, attracting both fortune seekers and scoundrels. The modern oil industry was born in the muddy fields of Oil Springs. A person can be poor in the morning and rich in the afternoon. See the first oil well in North America. You can touch the gum beds and jig on the spring pole-drilling rig.

Available in July and August.

Recommended ages: all ages

Step back in time and visit the Langbank log cabin. Take part in activities such as fetching water, washing laundry, and other farm chores. See how different types of work were divided by gender in the mid-1800s. You will explore many of the historic outbuildings on the museum grounds and play traditional games on the lawn. Make a pioneer themed craft as a souvenir.

Available in July and August.

Recommended ages: 5-12