VICTORIA, BC—Recognizing that educators—particularly parents now teaching their children at home—may be struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, today the Royal BC Museum launched an online support program called RBCM@Home (Office Hours), to provide examples of activities and lessons highlighting learning resources from the museum, respond to questions and support educators.
“Cultural institutions, school boards, teachers and parents are all rising to the challenge of identifying and sharing the best resources to teach children,” said Royal BC Museum CEO Prof. Jack Lohman. “The Royal BC Museum’s learning team is here to help teachers navigate the museum’s online resources, explore curriculum connections and provide a welcome online community space to exchange ideas.”
“I know parents like myself are looking for exciting ways to engage our kids in learning at home,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “The doors of the Royal BC Museum might be closed but access to museum experts is wide open through these online resources. This is a great way to bring our lessons to life - wherever you are in the province.”
RBCM @ Home (Office Hours) is a virtual meeting just for educators (including parents at home!). Royal BC Museum learning staff will be on hand at each session to walk educators through the museum and archives’ online resources and answer questions, offering live support through Zoom and by phone.
RBCM @ Home (Office Hours) takes place every second Monday and Friday. The first sessions are:
- Monday April 6 (4-5pm).
- Monday April 20 (4-5pm) & Friday April 24 (10-11am).
To learn more about these sessions and join the Zoom meetings, visit the museum’s event calendar at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/visit/calendar.
RBCM @ Home (Office Hours) will also host a Monthly Educator Webinar. The first, on Tuesday April 21 at 4:00 pm, focusses on Sikh Heritage Month. Registrants to this 40 minute session will join author Steven Purewal to explore ways to link Sikh heritage to curriculum and weave it into learning experiences. Join the Zoom meeting at zoom.us/j/568750548.
RBCM @ Home (Office Hours) joins three new webinar series—RBCM@Home, RBCM@Home (Kids) and RBCM@Outside—that the museum launched last week to help British Columbians stay connected while staying apart. Each is accessible to people anywhere in the province, for free.
RBCM @ Home is designed for youth and adults, and features members of the curatorial and collections staff who are working from home. RBCM @ Home (Kids) is much like an online museum playdate. RBCM @ Outside is a series of themed virtual fieldtrips to local outdoor destinations.
If attendees miss a livestream, they may catch the recorded session on the Royal BC Museum’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/RoyalBCMuseum.
To explore the full range of the Royal BC Museum’s online programs, from genealogical research resources to videos, online art galleries to museum and archives highlights, visit royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/engage-us-home.
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About the Royal BC Museum: The Royal BC Museum explores the province’s human history and natural history, advances new knowledge and understanding of BC, and provides a dynamic forum for discussion and a place for reflection. The museum and archives celebrate culture and history, telling the stories of BC in ways that enlighten, stimulate and inspire. Located in Victoria on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen (Songhees and Xwsepsum Nations), we are a hub of community connections in BC–onsite, offsite and online–taking pride in our collective
