What's On

Feature Exhibitions

Untold Oshawa highlights stories that have not been included in previous published history books and works. The aim is to expand the commonly accepted narrative of Oshawa’s history, to develop a local history that includes different points of view, and to examine different aspects of our community’s past.

This exhibit is a starting point of a more inclusive story. Here, you will find stories of some of Oshawa’s early Black settlers, a look into the impact of labour unions in Oshawa, and a focus on the experiences of women and children.

Buy your copy of Untold Oshawa: An Expanded History: https://bit.ly/UntoldOshawa

Launching at the Local History Speaker Series on November 19, at 6pm. All welcome to attend. Copies available at the Oshawa Museum Shop after November 20.

From Ship to Shore: Exploring Oshawa's Relationship with Lake Ontario

Oshawa has a unique maritime perspective that often goes unnoticed and underappreciated. For centuries, the waterways of Lake Scugog, Oshawa Creek, and Lake Ontario have provided Indigenous Peoples and settlers with a natural navigation system and the backdrop for the commercial, agricultural, and residential development that would later become the city of Oshawa. From Ship to Shore: Looking at Oshawa's Relationship with Lake Ontario celebrates the city's port history, the marine industry, and contributes to an overall sense of pride in being part of a port city.

Oshawa’s waterfront has more than two centuries of stories to tell, from hunting and fishing, ship building, trade, railways, steamboats, pleasure crafts and ocean-going vessels. The waterfront and specifically the Oshawa Harbour have played an important role in the settling of our area, and continues that function as a vital element of the City's growth and economic development today.

Visit From Ship to Shore's Digital Exhibit via Digital Museums Canada

Visit the Digital ExhibitVisit the Digital Exhibit

From Ship to Shore is developed with an investment by Digital Museums Canada.

A Carrying Place

A Carrying Place is on display in Robinson House. This immersive exhibit connects our community with their past, embraces the present Indigenous community, and builds towards a spirit of reconciliation and partnership.

A Carrying Place showcases objects recovered from the Grandview and MacLeod archeological sites and interprets the culture of the ancestral Wendat that lived in this area from 1380 – 1450 CE, and it examines the arrival and impact of European immigrants. This exhibition looks at the Indigenous community today, featuring displays from partner organizations, including the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nations, the Oshawa and Durham Region Métis Council, and the Durham District School Board.

Pop-Up Exhibits in 2025

Month of March and March Break

Beyond Words: Dictionaries and Indigenous Languages of Canada

Pop-Up Exhibit, Language Museum of Canada, Verna Conant Gallery

Beyond Words: Dictionaries and Indigenous Languages highlights the complex relationship between Indigenous languages and dictionaries over several centuries, from word lists and dictionaries developed for exploration, colonization, conversion and assimilation purposes, to online language materials being developed by Indigenous communities to transmit the elders’ language knowledge to today’s youth. This exhibit is created by the Canadian Languages Museum.

https://www.languagemuseum.ca/

April and May

CFUW 80^th Anniversary Celebration 1945 - 2025

Pop-Up exhibit, Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), Verna Conant Gallery

After the end of the Second World War, thoughts and energies turned from supporting the war effort to improving life in Canada. In Oshawa, women university graduates came together with the aim of working towards better conditions for women and their families and of encouraging more women to achieve a university education.

An initial organizational meeting in the spring of 1945 saw twelve women from Oshawa, three from Whitby, and two from Brooklin gather to discuss forming a local branch of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW). Community service has always been a goal of CFUW and advocacy focusing on improving the lives of women and girls.

The CFUW activity in Oshawa is centered on raising money to present scholarships to assist women entering university.

Feature Events

Make spirits bright and merry at An Evening of Lamplight!

On Saturday, December 7, from 6–8 pm, the Oshawa Museum will open the doors to our historic homes to celebrate the holiday season. Traditionally Victorian-dressed staff members greet visitors in Henry House, which is lit with oil lamps. Robinson House features our exhibits, A Carrying Place and Untold Oshawa. Don’t forget to visit with Mother Christmas, and stop by Guy House for uniquely Oshawa gifts!

Entertainment for the evening will be provided by the Oshawa Civic Band.

Admission is $5 per person (free for members of the Oshawa Historical Society)

Get your tickets in advance:

https://www.simpletix.com/e/an-evening-of-lamplight-tickets-193397

Dec

December 7 - An Evening of Lamplight

6-8pm; $5/person (free for OHS members)

Get your tickets in advance: https://www.simpletix.com/e/an-evening-of-lamplight-tickets-193397

Jan '25

January 21 – Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Samantha George, Curator, Parkwood NHS: Behind the Scenes as a Film Set at Parkwood

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

Feb

February 17- Family Day at the OM

Drop-in, 12-4pm

February 18 – Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Jill Passmore, Visitor Experience Coordinator, Oshawa Museum: Windfields Farm

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

Mar

March 10-14 - March Break at the OM

Check back for further details

March 18– Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Adam Bunch: Toronto Book of Love

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

Apr

April 15– Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Tony Leah: The Truth About the ’37 Oshawa GM Strike

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

May

May 3 - Doors Open Oshawa

12-4pm - Henry House is open for tours, and Guy House is also open, with a pop-up exhibit about Oshawa's centennial

May 20 – Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Annual Meeting, Oshawa Historical Society

Melissa Cole, Curator, Oshawa Museum: Milk Stories: Dairies of Oshawa

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

For up-to-date information about the Annual Meeting, please visit the OHS Website: https://oshawahistoricalsociety.org/

Jun

June 8 - Walking Tour: Downtown Oshawa History

2pm - $5/person

Meet at McLaughlin Branch of OPL (65 Bagot Street)

June 15 - Centennial Tea & Talk - Oshawa in 1924

1pm, RSVP required - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/907817866677

Friday mornings - Yoga in the Garden

Drop in 9am-10am

Jul

July 1 - Canada Day at the Lake

Check back for more info

2-6pm

Friday mornings - Yoga in the Garden

Drop in 9am-10am

Aug

August 3 - Drive Shed Tours and a look at the Carriage Collection

To celebrate the McLaughlin Day weekend, take a look at our carriage collection, then take a tour of Henry House.

12-4pm, Henry House

Friday mornings - Yoga in the Garden

Drop in 9am-10am

Sep

September 16 – Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Dani Crosby: The Warren Mill Mural

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

September TBD - Scenes from the Cemetery

2-4pm, Union Cemetery; tour times: 2pm, 2:20pm, 2:40pm, 3pm

Ticket link: TBD

September 30 - Truth & Reconciliation Day

A Carrying Place open for free admission

Times TBD, Robinson House

Friday mornings - Yoga in the Garden

Drop in 9am-10am

Oct

October 21– Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Mike McDonnell: European Battlefield Photography

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

October TBD- Halloween at the Harbour

6-8pm, Oshawa Museum

$5/person or FREE for OHS Members

Nov

November 19– Speaker Series, in partnership with Oshawa Libraries

Oshawa Museum Staff: Book Launch: Untold Oshawa: An Expanded History

6pm, McLaughlin Library Auditorium

Preorder your copy of Untold Oshawa: https://bit.ly/UntoldOshawa

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Plan Your Visit

The Oshawa Museum is open year round for tours - learn more about how you can experience the Home to Oshawa's History!

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Programming at the OM

Featured Education Programs

The Oshawa Museum is proud to offer educators a number of programs and workshops, available for elementary and secondary levels, and we can work with teachers in offering these programs to best meet your needs.

Elementary - Meet the Museum

Students gain insight into the various roles that contribute to a museum’s functioning and the special rules we use. The museum tour includes exploring the different homes and engaging in a fun craft activity inspired by the Victorian era.

Teachers can enhance their learning experience by scheduling the Visitor Experience Coordinator to visit their classroom with 3 to 4 Education Kits to create different stations.

You can choose from various Education Kits, including ‘School Days,’ ‘Around the House,’ ‘Bonnets and Breeches,’ and ‘Toys and Games.’ Obtain a complete list by contacting the Visitor Experience Coordinator.

Elementary - Day in the Life...

Compare the roles and challenges of being a Victorian Child to those of a modern day child through a number of hands-on activities, which include candle or butter-making, planting, and washing laundry (Spring/Summer). Classes tour through Henry House and learn about the Henry family and how the Henry children would have spent their time over 150 years ago!

Later, the students will use educational items from the museum’s School Days kit to gain a unique perspective on schooling in Oshawa during the 1900s. Finally, teachers can choose between demonstrations on candle-making or butter-making to complete the program.

Secondary - Intro to Primary Sources

In this workshop, students learn the different between primary and secondary sources, they learn to think critically about what can be learned from these sources, and they learn about difficulties they can present to researchers. Students are given examples of primary sources from the archival collection of the Oshawa Museum and they go through a worksheet, helping them use the skills they learned about.

Secondary - First World War

Using a collection of letters written by a young man from Oshawa, we will learn about the experiences of those on the front lines during WWI from 4 very different sources. The talk will follow along with William Garrow Jr., the author of the letters, Albert Pankhurst, a young Black soldier, Victoria Donevan, a Nursing Sister and George Finigan, a young man conscripted to fight. After hearing about these experiences and how the fit into the larger picture of the First World War, the students will be tasked with writing their own letter home from the front.

Email for more infoEmail for more info

Download the Oshawa Museum Education Brochure

Oshawa Museum Education Catalogue.pdf

Groups and the Oshawa Museum

Special group tours (special interest groups, retirement residences, Guides/Scouts, etc.) must be booked in advance so we can best meet the needs of your group and offer you the best experience possible. We cannot accommodate drop-in tours for special groups and/or groups of 10 or more.

To book, contact Jill Passmore: 905-436-7624 x 106 or email

programming@oshawamuseum.org.

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Teachers

We offer a number of workshops suitable for elementary and secondary classes, and they can be offered virutally or in-person. These include Critical Thinking Using Objects, Working with Primary Sources and a World War I Timeline.

Curriculum based local history programs are also available, and most are adaptable to any grade level, from JK to Grade 12.

Email to learn more about how you can incorporate local history into your classroom.

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Download the Oshawa Museum Education Brochure

Oshawa Museum Education Catalogue.pdf

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Leaders

The Oshawa Museum offers badge based experiences for all levels of Guiding and Scouting. We do the work for you, the kids do the learning for themselves.

We have different program options available - to learn more, view our Guiding and Scouting Brochure:

View the Guiding / Scouting BrochureView the Guiding / Scouting Brochure

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Lectures

The Oshawa Museum has developed over fifty lectures that pertain to various aspects of Oshawa's immense cultural history. Lectures are $50 each, plus mileage if your facility is located outside of Oshawa. Lectures are approximately one hour long and are often accompanied by associated artefacts. An experienced staff member of the Oshawa Museum delivers each lecture.

OM Presentation List.pdf