Heritage Fair

The Galt is hosting the Southern Alberta Regional Heritage Fair for students up to grade nine. The fair program encourages students to explore Canadian heritage in a dynamic, hands-on learning environment. Preparing and presenting a heritage fair project helps students develop critical thinking, historical thinking, writing, research, performance, and public speaking skills. These projects are initially shown in the schools and the best are chosen to present at the Southern Alberta Regional Heritage Fair.

Sat MAY 04, 2024 | 9:30–2 pm

Tentative Schedule

• 9:30 am: Registration and Set Up

• 10:00 am: Opening Ceremony and Introductions

• 10:00–2:00 pm: Public Viewing of Projects

• 10:30–noon: Judging of Projects

• noon: Lunch

• 12:30–1:30 pm — Group Activity

• 1:45 pm — Awards and Feedback

• 2:00 pm — Project Take-down/Clean-up

Please note that a lunch is provided for all Regional Fair participants. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Galt Museum & Archives of special diets and allergies to any food products in the registration form below. The Southern Alberta Regional Heritage School Fair is a nut-free event.  Do not bring any food that contains nuts or nut-based ingredients.

Please note that all students involved in group projects must register themselves separately so that we have allergy information and emergency contact information for each participant in the Heritage Fair. Registration closes at the end of the day on April 20, 2024.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Janae Redgrave at Janae.redgrave@galtmuseum.com or 403.320-4248.

Registration Form

Why Participate

• The program supports the Alberta education curriculum and encourages a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning.

• Heritage Fairs give students the chance to share their own ideas and voices, which builds student creativity and initiative. A wide variety of expressive styles are encouraged so that students can tell their own stories in their own ways.

• Creating a project enhances literacy skills. The emphasis on communication skills such as researching, interviewing, writing, editing and speaking will benefit all students.

• The nature of the project topics explored by students often leads to valuable intergenerational dialogue. There are many opportunities for home, school, and community interaction.

• Participation engages citizenship skills. As young people develop stronger roots in their communities, they will have the confidence to become active citizens who shape the future of our country.

Format

For more information and resources to support the development of your project please see What’s the Story? This educational package from Canada’s History includes a digital magazine for students and an educator’s guide for teachers. 

Students choose and research their own topic, then choose a format to present their project, like a backboard display, video, research paper, etc.

If you chose to make a video for your Heritage Fair project you can also submit the video to the Young Citizens competition! See this website for more information: https://www.canadashistory.ca/education/young-citizens-en

Choose a topic related to Canadian history, research and write about the subject, and then decide how to present the project. It’s important for exhibits to show viewers how the topic was developed.  The following key questions will help students create an impressive exhibit by guiding them through key steps that will demonstrate analytical skills and reward viewers with a visually pleasing and insightful history lesson.

• Is it unique, challenging, creative and original?

• Does a local museum or organization have written and visual resources and artifacts to explore the topic?

• Do you need audio-visual equipment to enhance the display?

• Can you interview people for the topic?

• Does your topic promote critical thinking and self-reflection?

• Can you communicate the topic effectively?

• Will viewers learn something exciting and appealing?

• How will the exhibit content be developed, designed and presented?

 General Rules and Criteria

• The program is non-competitive in nature, with an emphasis on the importance of the learning process and the exchange of ideas.

• The students must produce all submissions; it is recognized that teachers or other adult supervisors may have provided assistance.

• Teachers should ensure that projects are historically correct.

• Students may submit their projects in the language of their choice.

• Students participants at the Heritage Fair must be able to discuss their work and provide a summary of their project in either English or French.

• Projects may interpret any aspect of Canadian history or heritage on a   local, provincial, national or international level.

• Students are encouraged to submit projects from all disciplines and in a wide variety of formats.

• All presentations must avoid profanity, racial or sexist remarks, innuendo, negative stereotypes or any other potentially offensive matter.

• Any person or organization clearly identifiable in a presentation must have given permission to the presenter

Evaluation

Judging is divided into grade cohorts: kindergarten and grade 1; grades 2 and 3; grades 4 and 5; grades 6 and 7; and grades 8 and 9. There are two parts to the judging: evaluation of the presentation and an interview with the student. The interview is an opportunity for the student to showcase their work and provide further information to the judges.

The fair is intended to be non-competitive, but students will discover if their project has been awarded a “Heritage Excellence.”  Each project is evaluated in four areas.

Level of Research: Regardless of the medium or topic, projects must be based on historical research.  This category considers

• the level of difficulty,

• the depth of the study,

• the complexity of the project, and

• the degree of completeness or thoroughness of analysis. 

Originality and Creativity: Creativity and originality are open-ended and can include concept, topic, selection, approach, choice, medium, or analysis. This category considers questions like:

• Have you been resourceful in using equipment, resources, ideas, information, sources, etc? 

• What types of choices did you have to make and why? 

• Is the project novel, unique, innovative and imaginative?

Impression: Is your project attractive, eye-catching, interesting, multi-sensory, clear, logical, organized, enthusiastic and self-explanatory?

Interview:  During the interview, judges will ask questions and give students an opportunity to add to the discussion. Students should be prepared to provide specific information on background, procedure, results, conclusions, and acknowledgements. Good speaking skills will be helpful.