McGill.CA / Redpath Museum / Visit / Groups/Tours

Guided Tours

Leopard from the zoology collections.
Zoology collections. Photo by Alex Tran.
Discover the fantastic learning opportunities offered by the Redpath Museum for students and groups of all ages. Explore and learn about the collections guided by our team of museum educators. Our guided tours aim to foster curiosity and passion about the natural and cultural heritage housed at the Redpath Museum.

Guided Tours are...

  • Appropriate for ages 3 and up and available for all levels, from preschool to college students and adults.
  • Offered in French or English.
  • Available Wednesdays and Fridays until March 18. Available Tuesday to Friday from March 18 to June 20.
  • Guided activities are from 60 to 90 minutes long.
  • The maximum number of participants varies according to the tour. Please see below for more details.
  • If you are interested in a tour but your group age doesn’t correspond to the listed ages for it, please elizabeth.emond [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Guided%20Tours%20-%20Information) (contact us).
     

Costs

Student or participant

$12 / student or participant (taxes included).

Minimum fee of $150 (taxes included) for groups of less than 13 participants.
Accompanying person

Free admission for 1 accompanying adult per 15 participants.

Beyond this ratio, a fee of $12 (taxes included) applies for each additional accompanying adult.

Please note that for school groups, the museum requires one supervisor for every 15 participants.

Reservations

elizabeth.emond [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Guided%20Tours%20-%20Reservations) (Contact us) to book a guided tour.

We thank you for your interest, but please note that our calendars are now closed. Please contact us later to book a visit. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Themes and topic

Pre-K to Kindergarten (children 3 to 5 years old)

Storytime Sasha at the Museum and guided tour

Come to the museum and listen to a fun story animated by one of our educators and then visit the museum, guided by our educators, to discover incredible things.

Age:  3 to 5 years old

Duration: 50 minutes of guided tour activity followed by 10 minutes of non-guided exploration of the Museum.

Group Size: Maximum of 30 participants and five accompanying adults.

 

Dinosaur Detectives (preschool)

Visit the museum to learn how to recognize dinosaurs and fossils and become a dinosaur detective. Then go around the museum, first accompanied by an educator and then on your own, to try to find dinosaurs using your new skills as a dinosaur detective. You will get a reward if you find all the dinosaurs!

Age:  5 to 6 years old (preschool version)

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity.

Group Size: Maximum of 30 participants and four accompanying adults.

 

Elementary School

Dinosaur Detectives (Elementary cycles 1 and 2)

Visit the museum to learn how to recognize dinosaurs and fossils and become a dinosaur detective. Then go around the museum, first accompanied by an educator and then on your own, to try to find dinosaurs using your new skills as a dinosaur detective. You will get a reward if you find all the dinosaurs!

Age:  6 to 9 years old (elementary school version)

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity + 15 minutes exploration

Group Size: Maximum of 40 participants and four accompanying adults.

 

Evolution and Extinction (Elementary cycle 3)

Come to the museum and learn about the history of life on Earth, from its origins to the age of the great dinosaurs during the Mesozoic to life as we know it today. In this activity, you will explore the evolution of different forms of life and the role that the great extinctions played in shaping life as we see it today.

Age:  9-12 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 20 minutes of non-guided exploration of the Museum.

Group Size: Maximum of 60 participants and four accompanying adults.

 

Secondary school

Evolution and Extinction (Secondary I to V)

Come to the museum and learn about the history of life on Earth, from its origins to the age of the great dinosaurs during the Mesozoic to life as we know it today. In this activity, you will explore the evolution of different forms of life and the role that the great extinctions played in shaping life as we see it today.

Age:  12 to 16 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 30 minutes of non-guided exploration of the Museum.

Group Size: Maximum of 60 participants and four accompanying adults.

 

Ancient Egypt (Secondary I to V)

Accompanied by one of our educators, explore the Redpath Museum’s Ancient Egypt exhibition while learning interesting things about this extraordinary culture and about daily life in the Nile Valley thousands of years ago.

Age: 12-16 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 30 minutes of non-guided exploration of the Museum.

Group Size: Maximum of 30 participants and two accompanying adults.

 

Adults

General Tour. Discovering the Redpath Museum.

Come and discover the Redpath Museum's collections as you explore the galleries. Guided by one of our educators, you will discover key objects representing the four pillars of the Museum's collections: paleontology, zoology, mineralogy, and world cultures.

Age: From 16 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 30 minutes of self-guided visit.

Group Size: Maximum of 18 participants

 

Ancient Egypt

Accompanied by one of our educators, explore the Redpath Museum’s Ancient Egypt exhibition while learning interesting things about this extraordinary culture and about daily life in the Nile Valley thousands of years ago.

Age:  From 16 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 30 minutes of self-guided visit.

Group Size:  Maximum of 30 participants and two accompanying adults.

 

History and Architecture

Learn more about the amazing history and architecture of the Redpath Museum with one of our educators. Discover why this museum of museums, inaugurated in 1882, represents an important page in Canadian history and how it still stands as a magnificent example of Victorian architecture in the heart of downtown Montreal.

Age: From 16 years old

Duration: 1 hour of guided activity, followed by 30 minutes of self-guided visit.

Group Size: Maximum of 18 participants

 

Cancellation policy

Upon cancellation of your reservation, charges may apply depending on the length of time between your cancellation and your scheduled visit. For full details of our cancellation policy, please click here.

Please do not hesitate to elizabeth.emond [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Tour%20-%20Cancellation%20Policy%20question) (contact us) for further information.

 

 

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.


Rematriation, Repatriation and Restitution Statement

We acknowledge that the return and restitution of cultural and natural heritage to communities of origin is an essential part of reconciliation and of recognizing the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples. As part of wider efforts to activate the standards presented in the Canadian Museums Association Report Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums (2022), the Redpath is working towards pro-active restitution practices. As per our Collections Management Policy (2024), repatriation requests will be received by the Redpath Museum Director and will be treated on a case-by-case basis.

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