Redpath Museum Discovery Boxes

Discover the new Redpath Museum Discovery Boxes (RMDB), to use in your classroom with your students!

The Redpath Museum Discovery Boxes are designed to provide a hands-on educational experience that is inquiry-based to encourage scientific curiosity. The content included in these boxes can be adapted to different levels of expertise, so educators can easily tailor the learning activities to fit their teaching needs.​

All specimens and props included in the box have been carefully curated. The scientific information provided for each activity has been co-developed with experts in the field to make sure it is accurate and up to date according to the most recent scientific understandings and data. Additionally, the pedagogy of this box has been co-developed with professional educators and content developers. Our educational materials and activity sheets are designed in an engaging manner aimed at young learners so that they can learn scientific facts in an accessible, user-friendly and fun way.​

We hope you and your students enjoy this box as much as we enjoyed creating it for you. Happy learning!

Redpath Museum Discovery Boxes logo

Requesting a box

Please fill out the Request Form to reserve your box.

The boxes are available for two weeks at a time. Additional weeks may be purchased, however, we recommend you discuss your need at the time of reservation as they may not be available for a prolonged period and/or might be reserved by another school.

redpath.museum [at] mcgill.ca (Contact us by email) with any special requests. 

Pick-up

Generally, boxes will be picked up directly from the museum on Monday and returned on the second Friday. Details will be confirmed at the time of booking.

Payment

The payment of your rental is expected once the box is returned. An invoice will be sent to your school/institution once we have received the box and ensured all materials were returned and are in good condition. Additional fees may be levied for any broken, damaged or lost item, or if the box is returned late.

Payment will be made by check, sent to the museum.

Fees

box topic

As stand alone

One-time event with museum guide

  Basic 2-Week Rental Additional weeks  

Dinosaurs and fossils

$ 150 $ 75 Coming soon!

Mineral Rock On kit

$ 150 $ 75 Coming soon!

Lateness fee

Discovery boxes that are not returned on the second Friday between 9 am and 3 pm will be charged a lateness fee of $150

Dinosaurs and Fossils

Dinosaurs are the most successful group of land animals to have evolved on Earth. They have inhabited the planet for over 230 million years and continue to thrive.

Explore and learn about ancient and present-day dinosaurs with our Dinosaurs and Fossils Redpath Museum Discovery Box.

The box highlights a selection of Canadian dinosaurs and includes

  • Real fossils;
  • Museum-quality replicas, specimens and props;
  • Educational materials (teacher's manual, activity sheets, PPT presentations, etc.) and
  • Structured group activities for you to enjoy with your students. With the contents of the box, you can easily create an engaging hands-on learning experience for everyone to learn about fossils, paleontology, dinosaur characteristics and Canadian dinosaurs. Your students will be surprised to find dinosaurs in the most unexpected places.

The Teacher’s Guide includes two age-appropriate lesson plans.

  • Lesson 1, suitable for Grades 4 – 6, is a fossil discovery activity where students learn to identify fossils using shells.
  • Lesson 2, suitable for Grades 1 – 4, is an identification activity called Identifying dinosaurs. In this activity, participants will learn about the physical characteristics that distinguish dinosaurs from other animals.

Number of Participants: 20 to 25 participants

Box Type: Standalone.
The box comes with all the information and didactic materials that the teacher will need to carry out the activity with the students, without the visit of a museum educator.

Possible addition: The museum's fossil guide!

Redpath Museum gallery guideTeachers who wish to know more about the Redpath fossil collection can purchase the "The fossils' tale - A gallery guide" by the Redpath Museum and keep it for future references. This fully illustrated book will give you in-depth information on the fossils that are currently on display at the museum.
Available for $15.50 - the item will be added directly to your invoice.

Content of the dinosaur and fossils box

Minerals

This box supports your teaching related to Geology and Earth science.

Contents:

  • 14 mineral sample boxes
  • 3 rock sample boxes
  • Teacher's guide
  • Periodic table print-out
  • Rock cycle print-out
  • Ceramic plates
  • Hand lenses
  • Magnets

Each sample box contains 2 – 3 specimens from the Redpath Museum’s Mineral collection that have been identified and labelled bilingually. Each one of these sample boxes also includes a bilingual introduction to the contents on the card cover.

The Teacher’s Guide includes two age-appropriate lesson plans.

  • Lesson 1, suitable for Grades 2 – 5, is a discovery activity called My favourite mineral.
  • Lesson 2, suitable for Grades 5 – 10, is an identification and testing activity called Mineral Properties. Using tools such as hand lenses and magnets that are supplied in the box, students closely examine and test a selection of minerals and make notes of their observations on an identification chart.

Number of Participants: 20 to 25 participants

Box Type: Standalone
The box comes with all the information and didactic materials that the teacher will need to carry out the activity with the students, without the visit of a museum educator.

Possible addition: The museum's gallery guide!

Cover of the Minerals bookTeachers who wish to know more about the Redpath minerals collection can purchase the "Minerals - A gallery guide" by Peter Tarassoff and keep it for future references. This fully illustrated book will give you in-depth information on the minerals that are currently on display at the museum.
Available for $15.50 - the item will be added directly to your invoice.

 

 

The content of the mineral box

Land Acknowledgement

McGill University is on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. We acknowledge and thank the diverse Indigenous peoples whose presence marks this territory on which peoples of the world now gather.

The Redpath Museum's director EDI statement.

Back to top