| What do we know about Mary Augusta O'Reilly? | She died in 1867 |
| What do we know about Kathleen Charlotte O'Reilly? | She was young and active, and a devoted daughter. She was in a presentation dress in one picture, and wrote and was mentioned in many letters. |
Have the class summarize what they learned from their detective work. Explain that this is the kind of work historians and curators do in museums all the time.
Generate class discussion around the following questions:
- what is a museum?
- what is a Repository?
- what is an acquisition?
- what is research?
- what does it mean to educate/exhibit?
- what does "rare" mean?
As the children answer, write the relevant words down in order, and introduce vocabulary.
For example:
Student: "A museum stores old things"
Teacher: "Yes, a museum does store a lot of things. Another word for a store house is a 'repository' - a museum is a repository for old objects"
Student: "A museum collects things"
Teacher: "Yes, a museum collects 'artifacts'"
And so the exercise proceeds until you have the following vocabulary words written down on the blackboard:
Teacher: "What do the first letters of the four words spell?"
Answer: "RARE!"
Teacher: "You can always remember that objects in a museum are rare -- special, unique and important.
Have the students write a short story or draw a picture of the sisters' activities on an afternoon in 1876.
Print out a Point Ellice House poster, brochure and invite the class to visit Point Ellice House, when in Victoria.
If possible, visit the grave of Mary Augusta and Kathleen at the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria.
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Canada's Digital Collections Team