A new program designed to show students how soldiers lived is on its way to Grande Prairie schools this fall.
The Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association along with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment Military Museum have unveiled their two new travelling school programs called Operation: The Northwest Alberta Soldier and Operation: Coyote.
Museum Education Coordinator Jade Brazil helped pack each kit and put together the teaching materials. She says when a kit goes to a school, students will be lead through the five stages of a soldier’s service.
“They get to see life on the front, all the battle photos, how they ate, [and] all the medic stuff, then they get to do all the fun stuff so they get to listen to the music, they get to see that they got to play cards and how the men killed some time.”
The boxes are part of the Veterans Memorial Gardens & Educational Centre set to be built around the Afganistan War Monument near ANAVETS Hall. Project Lead Renee Charbonneau hopes this program will get students thinking about the personal side of war.
“This is the thing that’s important, teaching them their roots and making them feel connected to the land through the souls that lived here. That is important because that’s being lost, thats not being taught in our schools these days. Hopefully, this will give them a new avenue to learn that.”
The kits are available to schools and museums from Grande Cache to the border of the Northwest Territories and from the MD of Opportunity to the BC border starting September 5th. To sign up, contact the Canadian Motorcycle Tourism Association.