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School Visits

Engaging educators and students in the study of the Holocaust is a primary part of our work at the THM. School group visits to the Toronto Holocaust Museum are in high demand. Bookings for Spring 2025 are now open.

What You Need to Know as a Teacher

The Museum offers tailored experiences and age appropriate content for different demographics of students. From the immersive theatre space to our Augmented Reality Storyliner tablets, educators are empowered to select streams of learning that best suits the needs of their students. Learn more about the recommended experiences for different ages and courses below.

    • A school visit to the Museum is approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on group size
    • A welcome and orientation to the Museum
    • Customized films in our immersive theatre
    • A self-guided visit through the Museum with our Augmented Reality Storyliner tablet that features the personal story of one survivor
    • A debrief reflection discussion for your class in our Learning Lab with a THM educator

Inquiry Based Approaches to Education

The Toronto Holocaust Museum was designed for the learner of today. Framing questions guide the experience and showcase inquiry at the core of the ways in which people and especially students learn and process knowledge. At THM a shift in the learning dynamic occurs – encouraging students to respond to questions and make choices personalizing their learning experience, encouraging discovery, evoking curiosity and inspiring further learning. Visitors are encouraged to choose how they would like to engage with the history and the study of the Holocaust.

 

Storyliners

Storyliner tablet tours are custom and interactive augmented reality experiences developed for the Toronto Holocaust Museum. Storyliners provide a chronological, survivor-focused structure for students’ self-guided exploration of the Museum. The THM offers four Storyliner tours for school groups.

  • Born Gisela Spier, Yael and her family lived in Germany, where she experienced persecution by the Nazis and was deported to concentration camps. As the sole survivor of her family, she came to Canada in 1952 and became involved in Holocaust education. Yael’s story is available in English and French for Grade 6-8 students. 

     

    Features:

     

    • Testimony, primary resources, and questions that provoke critical thinking
    • Age-appropriate reading level
    • Connections to Grade 6 curriculum
  • George Brady and his sister Hana grew up in Czechoslovakia before being deported to Theresienstadt in 1942. George was assigned to slave labour in Auschwitz and was liberated during a death march in 1945. George started a new life in Canada, where he co-founded a business and built a family. George’s story is available in English for Grade 9-12 students. 

     

    Features:

     

    • Testimony, primary resources, and questions that provoke critical thinking
    • Connections to the novel Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine
    • Stories of resilience and emotional/spiritual resistance
  • Faigie Libman was born in Kovno, Lithuania in 1934. She survived the Kovno Ghetto, Stutthoff concentration camp, and three other labour camps with her mother. In 1948, Faigie moved to Canada with her mother and her aunt. In Canada, Faigie built a family and became a kindergarten teacher. Faigie’s story is available in English for Grade 9-12 students. 

     

    Features:

     

    • Testimony, primary resources, and questions that provoke critical thinking
    • Women’s stories from the Holocaust
    • Discussions of post-war justice
  • Edith Gelbard was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938. Edith and her family were forced to flee from Austria to Belgium, and then to the south of France. To keep her safe, Edith was hidden in the town of Moissac and later assumed a false identity while in hiding at a boarding school. After the war, Edith reunited with her surviving family. She moved to Canada in 1955 with her husband and son. Edith’s story is available in French for Grade 9-12 students. 

     

    Features:

     

    • Testimony, primary resources, and questions that provoke critical thinking
    • Connections to the novel Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer
    • Holocaust survivor stories involving rescuers
What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again. I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.

Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl

2024/2025 School Visit Information

Teachers can request to book their classes using our online booking system. Admission to the Museum for students, teachers and chaperones is complimentary. We greatly appreciate a contribution to the Museum in lieu of admission to help us continue our work in Holocaust Education. Pre and post visit materials are available online here. When booking school groups, teachers can choose from a variety of age and content appropriate programs and themes in our Theatre and Storyliner experiences. To learn more about the tailored programs offered visit our exhibition highlights page. We look forward to welcoming your classes to the Toronto Holocaust Museum.

 

For the optimal learning experience, the Museum is best experienced in groups of up to 40 students in one timeslot. If you are seeking to bring a larger group to the Museum, groups may need to be split into a morning and afternoon booking or book on different days.

 

Please contact schoolbookings@thethm.org should you have questions about reserving a spot for your school group in the upcoming school year.

School Group Bookings

Small Groups | Up to 45

When requesting to book a small group, please indicate the number of participants that will be attending.

 

Medium Groups | 45 – 71

 

Large Groups | 71+

 

Please be advised that groups larger than 71 visitors will need to be split over multiple sessions.

 

Chaperone Ratio

 

Grades 6–8: 1/10 (one chaperone for every 10 students)

 

Grades 9–12: 1/15 (one chaperone for every 15 students)

Survivor Speaker Programs

In conversation with Holocaust survivors, designed for school groups

Speakers Speakers
In conversation with Holocaust survivors Rose Lipszyc and Paula Goldhar. Photo by Liora Kogan for the Toronto Holocaust Museum, 2023.

As we face a challenging crossroads in Holocaust education, with fewer Holocaust survivors able to tell their personal stories, the THM is committed to sharing firsthand, live testimony of survivors for as long as possible. Through testimony, Holocaust survivors are able to offer unique perspectives on the world and remind us of the strength and resilience of the individual spirit, when faced with the most difficult circumstances. Hearing directly from a witness allows us to better understand how the history of the Holocaust impacted individuals and offers us deeper insight into one person’s experiences.

 

During the 2024/2025 school year, the Museum will be hosting survivor speaker programs for school groups. This exciting initiative allows students to connect with Holocaust survivors in person. The opportunity will be available to classes visiting the Museum on the day of the survivor speaker program.

 

This supplementary program is $180 for a group of 50, and an additional fee of $3 per student beyond 50 plus HST.

 

Speaker dates:

 

  • March 5, 2025
  • March 26, 2025
  • April 9, 2025
  • April 23, 2025
  • May 7, 2025
  • May 21, 2025
  • June 4, 2025
  • June 18, 2025

 

School visits cancelleation and modification policy

The Toronto Holocaust Museum Education team strives to welcome as many students to our site as possible. Any cancellations or major group size modifications must be received in writing to schoolbookings@thethm.org two (2) weeks prior to your scheduled visit date. We require two (2) weeks’ notice to allow us to replace your group’s visit in the event that you are unable to attend your scheduled visit. Cancellations made less than two (2) weeks before your scheduled visit date will incur a cancellation fee of $75 invoiced to the school.

 

We do understand that last minute changes happen. Schools will not be charged for cancelling due to inclement weather.

Accessibility for school visits

The Toronto Holocaust Museum is committed to providing an inclusive museum experience and accessibility for all school visitors. Some accessibility features of the Toronto Holocaust Museum include elevator access, interactives and spaces that adhere to accessibility standards, and text using high-contrast, readable font sizes and colours. All videos are captioned.

 

As part of our commitment to accessibility, the THM offers sensory kits that are designed to provide auditory and tactile resources for students who may benefit from sensory support during their visit.

School Group Hours

  • Sunday

    Select Sundays available

  • Monday

    10:00 AM–3:00 PM

  • Tuesday

    10:00 AM–3:00 PM

  • Wednesday

    10:00 AM–3:00 PM

  • Thursday

    10:00 AM–3:00 PM

  • Friday

    Closed

  • Saturday

    Closed

Location

4588 Bathurst Street Sherman Campus, North York ON, M2R 1W6

Located on the Sherman Campus in the Sheff Family Building, Charlotte & Lewis Steinberg Family Cultural Pavilion.

Directions by car

The Toronto Holocaust Museum is located on the Sherman Campus in the Sheff Family Building, Charlotte & Lewis Steinberg Family Cultural Pavilion at 4588 Bathurst Street, west of Bathurst between Sheppard Avenue and Finch Avenue. At the stoplight, turn onto the campus. See directions below for parking or drop-off.

 

Parking

Once you have entered the campus, turn left and follow the road. Check in at the security booth and inform them you are visiting the Museum. You may be asked to verify your proof of ticket purchase. After security has admitted you, visitor parking will be available.

 

Drop-off

Once you have entered the campus, make a right and follow the road to the security booth. Inform the security you are dropping off for the Museum and they will direct you to the drop-off layby to your left.

 

Directions by TTC

  • From the Bathurst subway station: #7 Bathurst North bus.
  • From Wilson Station: # 160 Bathurst North bus.
  • From Sheppard Station: #84 Sheppard West, then transfer to a Bathurst North bus.
  • From Downsview Station: #84 Sheppard West, then transfer to a Bathurst North bus.

 

Buses will drop you off on Bathurst Street, just south of the Bathurst Street entrance to the building. Proceed onto the campus by foot on the west side of the street and enter through the main doors of the Prosserman JCC facing Bathurst Street.

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