Earlier this week, we conducted a walking tour of Upper Town in Old Quebec. However, for those at home, you would want full coverage don’t you? That’s why this sharp Blogger decided to show you what Rebecca’s tour group was doing in Lower Town. The group found that it was such a wonderful day to take pictures outdoors, and the kids stopped at nothing to capture their greatest moments.
Rebecca talked to the students about the history of Quebec that would give them a better understanding of this city’s culture. They were told that there was significance to why some buildings had ladders on their roofs. During the tour, a question popped up to puzzle the students’ minds. They had to figure out why the buildings had shutters on the windows at the first level and not the upper levels. After several wrong guesses, Rebecca revealed the answer to the knowledge-hungry students.
Later on, the tour guide directed the group to a rather strange looking present. It was actually a gift from France. This big piece of modern art was called, “Dialogue Avec Histoire.” It had a pretty interesting background, and the students’ reactions could make it obvious that they enjoyed learning its history. They really appreciate this style of education, but time seems so short when you’re having fun. Soon enough it was time for them to head towards the bus to go to their next destination.
Ok eager beavers, have a look at your video and don’t forget to show mom and dad.
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a soldier? Well, wonder no more because you’ll be getting an inside scoop on Marcel’s tour group. Today, the students got a chance to become a soldier for a day. The well animated duo, the presenters at Martello Tower, gave the kids some drills to make them more obedient just like a soldier. However, this friendly group of students was going to make enemies out of their best buddies. Hey! What do you expect they’re soldiers now. Actually, they split up into four groups and they were competing to be the best team. These four groups were symbolic in representing the four towers that the British built many years ago.
One of the first competitions, for the four groups was the procedure of loading a gun. Wow! They were able to hold a great musket that the soldiers used to attack with. The room was full of laughs as the presenters were able to joke about the horrible ways the kids were using the musket. The competition became exceptionally fierce as the next task was revealed to them. This time it was the battle of the brains, they duke it out by solving anagrams. The tricky part was to solve the parts that contained French, which was difficult for the kids to decipher. The teams were able to enjoy time with their friends on this tour where they get to travel, learn and experience.
Amy’s group began their tour in Upper Town of Old Quebec, and WAS the taste of Quebec ever sweet. The Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Québec was one of the places they’ve visited in Upper Town. Our tour guide had a little fun with the group by telling them that they were standing on 900 dead people at the front of the church. The students were a bit shocked and they said, “Whoa!” This was just one factoid that captured the attention of the kids. These kids really got a close and personal look at the City. Boy! Were they super spoiled?
In another part of the tour, the students had a lot of fun reenacting some interesting stories. The fascinating stories were everywhere you see. Every part of this area had amazing tales including a tiny street called rue du Tresor. It involved the story of how soldiers in the past had their hard-earned money stolen by thieves on that particular street. The students seemed very intrigued by the cool things they’ve learned today. They were even shown the first Anglican Church outside of British Isles. This building was just so astonishing to look at, let alone standing right beside it. The weather wasn’t too friendly, but this group was super tough and persevered. They were a joyful group, and they certainly got a good taste of The Great Quebec City.
Kyle, our ground rep in Quebec City spent some time hanging out with some of our groups at Montmorency Falls just outside of Quebec City and shot this fun video.
Yup, you heard right! You’re going to court, The Supreme Court of Canada! Well……at least that’s where THIS tour group was going to visit anyway. Today’s fine and dandy tour was lead by Caylie. During the tour, I was told by some of the students that they had a blast at last night’s dance. However, it was finally time to come back to Earth and rediscover the reason for the trip, with a tour to Parliament Hill. All the excitement began at the Parliament Hill Centre Block Building. The kids got to see some cool things at Parliament, where many great decisions were made right here. The Centre Block isn’t the only thing to check out, they were able to see the amazing statues right on the grounds. One student was quite attracted to the Sir George-Étienne Cartier (1814-1873) monument. It was with good reason because it was the first monument erected on Parliament Hill.
After a few photos, they headed towards The Supreme Court. From the look on their faces, you can tell that they adore going to fancy places like this. The Supreme Court’s tour guide directed us to one of the rooms. He taught the group many captivating facts about the Federal Court. Some students were surprised to learn that the gavel was used only in the United States and not in Canada. This brought about some more questions, and the students wanted to know more about the court room. One of the students asked, “What are the TVs in the room for?” The guide told us that since the lawyers cannot turn their backs to the judge, the TVs help to show a close-up view of the Lawyer’s and et cetera. The most entertaining thing for the students was to have a little role-play of a mock trial. It was absolutely hilarious to see their own friends dress in the costumes and talk about a bizarre trial that wouldn’t exactly make it to the Supreme Court of Canada. All-in-all, they rediscovered the true meaning of educational touring.
Let’s have a little chat with our teachers in the above video.
Wow, how do I even begin? This was one amazing journey for everyone on today’s tour group. Our tour guides, Justin and Dan, were psyched up to meet the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. The kids already liked the look of Parliament Hill as soon as they stepped on the grounds. They gathered into a lobby area near the entrance, and you can instantly see that they were super happy to get an opportunity like this. As a matter of face, they couldn’t stop talking about their adventures on tour and about today’s special event.
After a few minutes, we were heading towards room 237C, The Reading Room. The room was absolutely stunning, and the kids were so overwhelmed by how gorgeous it was. We had to wait awhile for the PM to greet the group, but it was definitely worth the wait. You can actually feel the scent of magic as Stephen Harper walked into the room full of fortunate students. Some of the kids and teachers were lucky enough to get to chat with him and to shake hands. One student was still shaking from the excitement of being face-to-face with the PM. A few people from our group were saying, “I can’t believe we met Stephen Harper!” The entire group even had the chance to take a group photo with The Right Honourable Stephen Joseph Harper. Now, how cool is that? Something like this doesn’t come around everyday, so it was a proud moment for this group.
This is a must-see video, OUR students with the Prime Minister.
Early afternoon, the group that Eli lead, was checking out all the marvelous things at Rideau Centre. Some of the students were scratching their heads wondering who I was. Fortunately, Eli was there to explain to the small group of kids that I was the Media/Blogger member of Impact. Some of their reactions were, “Ohhhhh, cool,” and “Will I be in the blog?” I replied, “Of course, as long as I take a picture and you say cheese.” In an outburst of kids yelling, “Cheese!” I had no choice, but to take their photos. They certainly had a lot of fun trying to create the fanciest poses. The students wanted nothing more than having their picture shown on Impact’s Blog. To them, it was like getting a first place trophy to tell their friends how much fun they had while on tour.
It was another lovely-warm day outside, so why not have a Historic Walking Tour of Ottawa. Eli challenged his group to see if they could walk The Walk. The group had a few struggles, but they pulled through in the end. They walked around the downtown area of Ottawa where history was in every corner.
Another group also had the chance to check out places like the Chateau-Laurier. This group was lead by Emily, and she gave them some interesting facts about the hotel’s relation to the Titanic. They even had time to sit by the locks at the Rideau Canal to get to know the city a little better. Some of the kids were so excited to be this close to history. Also, the students felt the true meaning of sacrifice when they were told about the National War Memorial. This was an experience like no other, and the kids loved every moment of it.
A great video of the teachers explaining how much fun they and the kids are having.
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Bonjour!
My name is Kyle and I am the Impact Tours ‘Ground Rep’ in Quebec City. This is my first post from beautiful QC, and I was thinking, what better event to highlight on my maiden post then one of our group’s adventures to the L’Erabliere Du Cap Sugar Shack!
Tonight the students began with a wagon ride through the woods, and saw with their very own eyes, where Canada’s most famous liquid MAPLE SYRUP comes from!… Afterwards, they headed inside the building where they actually process the maple sap into maple sugar, to get a little lesson. Following lots of talk of maple sugar and sugary foods, they made their way inside to the cabane to wolf down their traditional Quebecois meal, which included… Yes, you guessed it! Loads of maple syrup!
Quickly following their introduction to an ‘old time’ Quebecois meal, they were whisked off to the dance floor to join “Tour guide Rob” in some good ol’ fashioned folk dancing! Rob needed no help getting the students to hit the dance floor, as some of them jumped up even before their desert arrived! To finish off their fantastic night, they returned outside to cool down from all the dancing and yes, once again, had more sugar, when a taffy pull was waiting for them outside! All in all, it was a fantastic night that these students will likely remember for a long time!
Welcome world, to another episode of Impact Educational Tours! Today’s show…I mean tour, contains quite the suspense. I will be showing you what Miles and Catherine’s group was up to. After their meal at Tuckers Marketplace, they went on a visit to Parliament Hill’s Centre Block. The tour started with a short meeting with an MP from St. Catharines. His name was Rick Dykstra, and he gave the group a lot of information about Parliament. One of the things we learned was that the East and West Parliament Blocks were connected to the Centre Block through tunnels. Therefore, it would be easier to travel during the cold winters and it would be much safer as well. The students found all this info to be quite useful, especially if they wanted to become the future MPs.
When the meeting was over, they were given the good fortune of taking a closer look at the inside of Parliament. They were shown around with one of the Parliament’s tour guides. She told us the many wonders of this neo-Gothic structured building while guiding us towards the Library. We were ever so lucky to be able to take a photo in the famous Library because usually it’s a thumbs down. One of the students pointed out that the flooring on the higher levels of the library was made of glass. The guide explained that the glass floor’s purpose was because of lighting problems during the night. This building was spectacular and one of the kids said, “This building is amazing! There’s GLASS FLOORS!!” The group was discovering different aspects of Parliament and enjoying the new things that they’ve learned.
This was the moment they were waiting for, the time for LASER QUEST!!! For those at home that don’t know what I’m talking about, it was a game of laser tag. Laser Quest combines the classic games of tag and hide & seek with a high-tech twist…LASERS! The kids were so pumped up and were more than ready to show their friends how tough they were. As you will see in the video, I was in the middle of some crossfire action between the teachers and principal. Everyone was willing to give it their all to come out on top. A member of Laser Quest decided to give the kids a warm up drill to get them prepared for the game. The warm up was a mini-game called “Zap,” which really tested out your reflexes.
Soon the group was truly ready for the big leagues, the real game of laser tag. First, they were given a few rules to abide by in the preparation room. The member of Laser Quest got a few giggles from the kids because of his great sense of humour. The students, teachers and tour guides were all frantically trying to get their gear on to quickly plan out their strategy. The competition was fierce, the inside maze was a mix of laser fire, heart-pounding music, swirling fog and non-stop sound effects from the laser guns. It was 10% luck, 90% skill and 100% fun! There were a total of two games. In the first game, the principal, Dan Trainor, came out in first place. One of the teachers, John Riddell along with another teacher, played again in the second game to try and beat Dan’s awesome score. The second game first place goes to one of the other teachers, Stephanie aka Icer. She got a whopping 1,149 points. You can hear all the, “Whoohoos,” and “Yippees,” as the teachers and students get their, “Report Card.” In other words, they get a little card that tells them the score they received from the game. Miles was very pleased with his impressive 4th place finish. Everyone did a fantastic job at the game, but it was time to go back to the hotel to take a good rest.
Wow! You gotta see the Laser Quest Action in the video above!
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