Artventure: A collector's challenge

Melanie Brown, Library and Archives Canada, Canada
http://collectionscanada.ca/education/art/index-e.html

Demonstration: Demonstrations - Session 1

The Artventure: A Collector's Challenge is an on-line education tool developed by Library and Archives Canada to accompany the virtual exhibit of the Peter Winkworth collection. This collection is a source of rich historical art through which we can learn about life in Canada before the wide-spread use of the camera. The challenge of this project was to make the collection appealing to school-age children across Canada.

In this site, students take the role of a famous art expert who is challenged to travel to a virtual art shop in London to collect pieces of the Winkworth collection. The site leads the students through various steps before they "Go to London." Students then enter a virtual art shop, browse through artwork and collect artwork according to a theme. The site contains a "for Teachers" section with curricula-based activities organized into three main themes: Life, Work and Play in Early Canada, European Settlements, Industry and contact with Aboriginals and Portraits.