Famous Canadian Women Challenge Kit Activities

Craft Overview

• Cornstarch Eye Balls
  • Themed with: Jennie Smillie
• Made for Me Picture Frames and Door Hangers
  • Themed with: Doris Anderson
• Stamps for the World
  • Themed with: Joyce Wieland
• Mountain Climber Shrinky-Dinks
  • Themed with: Urszula Tokarska
• Mountain Climber Snow Globe
  • Themed with: Urszula Tokarska
• My Own Planet
  • Themed with: Helen Sawyer Hogg

Craft: Cornstarch Eye Balls

This activity is themed with Jennie Smillie, Canada’s first female surgeon. In this activity, you will make cornstarch eyeballs that represent her career in health care. You can do this activity alone, or you can have a friend help. This craft can be messy, so make sure you do it somewhere that is easy to clean. Don’t forget to wear a smock!

Materials

• Regular white balloons
• Cornstarch
• Food colouring
• Mixing bowls
• Spoons
• Funnel (optional)

Steps

1. Measure 1 cup of cornstarch and put it in a large liquid measuring cup. Measure ½ cup of water. Slowly mix the water into the cornstarch, stirring while you pour. As the cornstarch dissolves into the water, it will become difficult to mix.
   1. Add enough water so the cornstarch dissolves completely, but there is still resistance when you stir. When you touch the mixture, it should be thick and a bit sticky. You should be able to quickly mould it and watch it melt away.
   2. If you’d like, add a few drops of food colouring to give the goo a tint.
2. When you’re ready, stretch your balloon. Stretch out the body and the airway. Insert the funnel into the airway of the balloon. Wrap the airway up so the funnel pours directly into the body of the balloon. Pour the ooze into the funnel.
   1. Do this slowly so it doesn’t clog. As the balloon fills, the airway will unravel from the funnel. As it does, push the ooze from the airway into the body by pushing it down.
3. When the balloon is as full as you can get it, remove the funnel. Hold the airway tightly at the opening to make sure the mixture doesn’t ooze out. Push all of the remaining mixtures from the airway to the body one last time. Twist the airway closed at the base of the balloon’s body. Tie it as closely to the body as you can, leaving as much of the airway loose as possible.
   1. Once you have cleaned up the balloon, your work area, and yourself, you are ready to colour in detail with a permanent marker. Give your eyeballs irises. If you’re creative, you can make other body parts as well! Once the ink is dry, you’re ready to play with your very own Cornstarch body part!

Craft: Made For Me Picture Frames And Door Hangers

This craft is themed around Doris Anderson, editor of Chatelaine Women’s Magazine from 1957 to 1977. She made sure the magazine reflected the average woman, and under her instruction, Chatelaine became the best-selling magazine in Canada, with one in three women reading each month. Its sales records have yet to be matched by any Canadian publication. For this craft, use pictures from magazines to reflect who you really are.

Materials

• Cardboard bases
• Old magazines
• Scissors
• Glue
• String

Steps

1. Prepare the picture frame and/or door hanger bases. If you are doing this craft as a group, you can use one base per group or let each person choose their own. Use the outlines provided to cut the shapes from cardboard.
2. Next, cut pictures out of magazines and arrange them on the base as a collage. Choose pictures that represent your life goals and current interests. For example, cut out some if you want to be a veterinarian or a soccer ball if you play on a soccer team. Be creative and try writing your name using individual mismatched letters.
3. For this craft, you should consider who you are and what inspires you. For that reason, avoid using celebrity photos or pictures of trendy clothes. You’re more than a celebrity smile or cute shoes—show how individual you are! When your collage is finished, attach a piece of string to the back so it can hang on a wall.

Crafts: Stamps For The World

This activity is themed with Joyce Wieland. She was an influential Canadian artist during the 1960s and 1970s. Most of her art was empowering to women. In 1970, she was the first living female Canadian artist to have her art shown in the National Gallery of Canada. That led her to be commissioned to design a postage stamp for World Health. For this activity, you will get to design your own postage stamp, too.

Materials

• Construction paper
• Markers, pencil crayons or wax crayons

Steps

1. Cut a piece of construction paper to the size of a postcard. 
2. On one side of the paper, design a stamp. Use the whole side. If you would like, it can be themed to an upcoming holiday, like Valentine’s Day or Thanksgiving. It can also be designed to represent your biggest accomplishment, who you are now, or who you want to be when you grow up. Don’t forget to add the price of your stamp!
3. On the back side of the paper, write a short letter to a woman that you look up to. This can be one of the women you learned about from this program, a teacher, or a family member. Tell this person why you look up to her. Tell her what you want to do when you grow up, and one accomplishment that you would like to achieve one day.

Craft: Mountain Climber Shrinky-Dinks

This activity is themed with Urszula Tokarska. She is the first Canadian woman to climb the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents. In this craft, you will make a tiny mountain climber that you can carry with you or put in the Mountain Climber Snow Globe.

Materials

• Shrinky-Dink craft material
• OR clean, clear #6 containers
• Multi-coloured fine-tipped permanent markers
• An oven

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees (177 degrees Celsius). Clean the #6 plastic containers.
   1. You must use #6 plastic, or the craft will not work. Grocery stores often use these containers to pack baked goods or fruit. You can also use Shrinky-Dink craft materials, which are available at any craft store.
   2. Try to use ones without stickers, as they will leave a sticky residue.
   3. Cut the containers. Keep the pieces as large as you can, as they will shrink down to as little as 30% of their original size.
2. Next, draw a picture of a mountain climber. Use multicoloured fine-tipped permanent markers to do this.
   1. If you’d like, you can trace the mountain climber picture below and colour it in.
3. Place the coloured pictures onto a piece of tin foil and place it in the oven, on the bottom rack, for 3 to 4 minutes. You can put the tinfoil on top of a baking sheet.
   1. Do not use a microwave.
   2. The edges will curl up at first, but it will flatten as the plastic bakes.
4. Let them cool for two minutes before you touch them.

If you are using purchased Shrinky-Dink craft materials, cook according to the package.

Craft: Mountain Climber Snow Globe

This craft is themed with mountain climber Urszula Tokarska. Using the Mountain Climber Shrinky-Dink craft, make this snowy wonderland that’s fit for a mountain climber as accomplished as Urszula Tokarska.

Materials

• A clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid
• Distilled or boiled and cooled water
• Silver glitter
• Plasticine
• Mountain Climber Shrinky-Dink
• Super Glue (optional)

Steps

1. Clean the glass jars and the lid. Take a large piece of Plasticine and form it into two disks. Model their shapes based on the size of the lid. Each disk should be the same surface size and should be about a centimetre thick.
2. Take the two disks and place them edge-to-edge. Push them together gently so the Plasticine moulds up and makes a peak. This works with the same idea as the tectonic plates, which make real mountains. The peak will be your mountain. Once you are happy with the size of your mountain, smooth the edges together.
3. Place your Mountain Climber Shrinky-Dink on the mountain.
4. Take your sculpted mountain and fit it into the jar lid. Leave a bit of a gap between the mountain and the lid. This is so the jar will fit properly. Test to make sure it will close properly before you continue.
5. Fill the jar ¾ full of water. Add a spoonful of glitter and gently put the lid on.
   1. If it starts to overflow, remove the lid and pour out some water.
6. Close the jar as tightly as you can. If you’d like, before you close the jar, add glue to the tracks all the way around the jar for a stronger seal.
7. Shake it up and enjoy!

Craft: My Own Planet

This activity is themed with Helen Sawyer Hogg. She earned a doctorate degree in 1931, which was an amazing accomplishment for women during that time. With her education, she went on to make great steps in popularizing astronomy. Minor Planet 2917 was named in her honour as Planet Sawyer Hogg. In this activity, you will get to design your own planet, just like Helen!

Materials

• A printout of the colouring page
• Markers, pencil crayons or wax crayons
• Clay (older kids)

Steps

1. Use a copy of the Planet Page. Fill it in using fun colours and patterns.
   1. Does your planet have any moons or animals? Are there mountain ranges or rivers? All of these things can be seen from space, so don’t forget to add them!
2. If you are doing this activity as a group, have a group leader ask the group members about their planets.
   1. Why did they choose those colours? What kinds of animals live there? Make sure each planet has a name!
3. If you are a bit older, or if you’re working with older kids, use clay to make your planet to challenge your artistic talents.
   1. Make a ball with one colour, and add deserts, jungles, rivers, lakes, or mountains in other colours.
   2. If you’d like, use a small amount of wire to make rings around your planet.
   3. Set the craft out overnight for it to harden.

Recipe Overview

• Lady Wafers
  • Themed with: all the women
• Beef Jerky
  • Themed with: Urzula Tokarska
• Blueberry Maple scones
  • Themed with: Rose Fortune and Daurene E. Lewis

Recipe: Lady Wafers

This recipe can be themed with any of the women. This will give you a chance to make a woman you enjoyed learning about.

Note: in order to do this recipe, you will need to purchase a gingerbread woman cookie cutter. You should be able to find this at any craft or baking store. It will look like a cookie cutter for gingerbread men, only it will be wearing a skirt instead of pants.

Ingredients

• Premade, roll-out cookie dough
• Gingerbread-woman cookie cutter
• Vanilla icing
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• Chocolate icing (optional)
• Custard cups or disposable cups
• Food colouring
• Plastic bags

Steps

1. When you are ready to start, roll out the cookie dough. Cut the cookies and place them on a cookie sheet.
   1. If you are doing this as part of a group, it is recommended that each member has a chance to cut out their own cookie.
2. Bake according to the instructions on the package, and allow time for the cookies to cool.
   1. If you are in a group, you can bake the cookies before the meeting to make things simple. While the women are cool, think about how you will decorate your gingerbread woman. One option is to model your cookie after a woman you learned about in this program.
      1. For example, you could decorate one to look like an astronaut, themed after Roberta Bondar. If you’d like, you can decorate it to reflect the job you would like to do one day, like a lady in blue clothes with a white surgical mask for a doctor.
      2. You could even model the cookie after yourself.
3. When you are ready to decorate, put some icing and a few drops of food colouring in each of the custard cups.
   1. If you’re doing this activity alone or with a partner, you can just make the colours you will need to make your gingerbread lady.
   2. If you are in a group, we recommend using these colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, Brown*, and White. If you’d like, use chocolate icing for the colour brown, but you can feel free to just use food colouring. Even though the white icing will not need any colour, it should still be stirred to loosen the texture.
4. Once the icing is mixed, you are ready to spoon it into the sandwich bags. To hold the bag properly when filling it, hold one of your hands so the index finger and thumb make a “C.” Place a corner of the sandwich bag in the center and wrap the edges over your hand.
   1. Spoon the icing into the center (corner) of the bag as far down as you can.
   2. When the bag is full, remove the edges of the bag from around your hand. When you fold the edges back, there shouldn’t be any icing on your hand or on the outside of the bag.
   3. Push all the remaining icing in one corner. Cut the tip off the corner, and you have made a piping bag.
5. Now, you’re ready to make some inspiring, successful, and delicious women.

Recipe: Beef Jerky

This recipe is themed with Urszula Tokarska, a Canadian mountain climber who conquered the Seven Summits. Almost every mountain climber, including Urszula, carries beef jerky on their adventures.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of beef
  • Brisket is preferred, but any cut will work
• 1 c. water
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder

Steps

1. Work with the beef when it is partially frozen so it is firm. Cut the beef into strips ¼ (1/2-1 centimetre) inch thick. Trim the fat while you cut.
2. Mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Put the beef strips into a flat container and cover it with the sauce. The strips should be completely covered. Seal the container and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
3. The next day, preheat your oven to 200 degrees. Place strips on a broiler pan or a rack. The strips should not touch each other. Bake for 6 hours with the door slightly ajar.

You can also use a dehydrator by following the instructions in your recipe book.

Recipe: Blueberry Maple Scones

This recipe is passed from generation to generation in Nova Scotia. Rose Fortune and Daurene E Lewis’s town of Annapolis, which they protected and governed, is in Nova Scotia. This delicious recipe is themed with them to honour the place they loved so much.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 c. pure maple syrup
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen

Steps

1. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, maple syrup and buttermilk. 
3. Add the blueberries to the dry ingredients. If you're using frozen blueberries, use them directly from the freezer and dust them with flour.
4. Using a fork, combine the liquid with the dry ingredients. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 10 to 12 times.
5. Roll out the dough or pat it out with your hand to form a square, 1/2 inch (1 cm) in thickness.
6. Cut into squares to the size of your choice. Cut each square to make 2 triangles. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Games and Activities Overview

• Aliens in Space
  • Themed with: Roberta Bondar
• Bike Race
  • Themed with: Clara Hughes
• Careful Packaging
  • Themed with: Rose Fortune
• Conducting the Band
  • Themed with: Ethel Stark
• Cops and Mayors
  • Themed with: Rose Fortune and Daurene E Lewis
• Dancing to the Beat
  • Themed with: Celia Franca
• Fighter Jet Relay Race
  • Themed with: Deanna Brasseur
• Her Words, My Story
  • Themed with: all of the women
• Make Your Own Space Adventure
  • Themed with: Helen Sawyer Hogg
• Popping into Senate
  • Themed with: Cairine Wilson
• Pieces of Herstory
  • Themed with: all of the women
• Planet Puzzle
  • Themed with: Helen Sawyer Hogg
• Running for Office
  • Themed with: The Famous Five
• Soaring Paper Planes
  • Themed with: Deanna Brasseur
• We Are Iconic
  • Themed with: all of the women

Games and Activities: Aliens In Space!

This game is themed with Roberta Bondar, a woman who spent her life looking toward space. She was lucky enough to see her dream come true when she became the first Canadian woman to go into space. This form of tag is a game for a group that can be played outdoors or indoors.

Materials

• A large play area

Steps

1. First, you need to mark two ‘spaceships’ with pylons on opposite sides of the play area. Choose a player to be the Alien; this player is ‘it.’ The remaining players are the Astronauts.
   1. A leader will be Ground Control—they will cue the players when to run by saying, “BLASTOFF!”
2. All players must stay still until Ground Control says the cue. Once the cue has been said, the Astronauts will have to run from one spaceship to the other without getting tagged by the Alien. Once a player is tagged, they are turned into an Alien and will try to tag Astronauts during the next round.
3. Because the Aliens can’t go into the spaceship, the Astronauts are safe when they cross the pylons. Play as many rounds as you need until there are no more Astronauts left.

Games and Activities: Bike Race

This activity is themed with Clara Hughes, one of Canada’s most successful Olympic athletes. She earned medals as a speed skater and as a cyclist. This activity can only be done outdoors and is best for older children. This is an activity that can be done alone or in a group.

Materials

• One bicycle per participant 
• One helmet per participant

Steps

1. With this activity, you will explore the area around you by taking a bicycle ride. If you are alone, map out a route or carry a pedometer. Clara Hughes travelled 20km in the 1996 cycling time trial in just over half an hour. How far can you go?
2. If you are doing this activity as a group, you can have a race. Choose a distance and let the races begin! You can have individual time trials to see who can go the fastest or have everyone race at the same time.

Games and Activities: Careful Packaging

This game is themed with Rose Fortune, Canada’s first female police officer. At her home in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, she started her career making sure packages got safely from the boats in the bay to the warehouses onshore. Can you get your package down safely? The goal of this craft is to build ‘packaging’ for the egg so it does not break when it is dropped from a high point. If the egg is safe after the ‘package’ hits the ground, then the project is a success.

Materials

• Uncooked eggs
• Newspaper
• String
• Styrofoam cups
• Cotton balls
• Straws
• Tape
• Glue
• Markers
• Scissors

Steps

1. Lay the materials out on a table. Each group member will use those ingredients to make a contraption to enclose their egg. Encourage them to be creative and have fun with their design.
2. When everyone is finished, have a leader drop them one by one.
   1. This activity will require a high distance drop. A drop from a window is ideal. If that is not an option, a leader can drop the eggs while standing on a ladder. 
3. If the egg survives, then the package did its job!

Games and Activities: Conducting The Band

This game is themed with Ethel Stark, the first Canadian woman featured as a soloist on a radio show that was broadcast across Canada and the United States. This game is best played indoors. It is a group activity.

Materials

• Game pieces (pg. 43)
• Music

Steps

1. Before playing, make the game pieces. To do this, print the Conducting the Band game pieces. Print enough copies so that each group will have its own copy. They will have to be colour-coded as well.
   1. You can do this by pasting the game pieces on coloured construction paper or by marking each set with a different coloured marker.
2. Divide the group into teams of two or three. Each group must have the same amount of players for the game to be played fairly. With that in mind, play two rounds to keep the teams even if needed.
3. The play area must be large (think 12ft by 12ft). Spread the game pieces across the play area. They can be placed anywhere, like on or under tables and chairs or in jacket hoods, as long as they are visible. Make sure that each team’s game pieces are spread evenly across the area.
4. Once the game pieces are put into place, designate a nearby area to use as your stage. It should be directly next to the play area, but not a part of it.
   1. Mark the stage entrance if you’d like. This will be the starting point and where the players have to return their instruments.
5. Now, the teams are musicians in a symphony. Each team will have to find all six instruments that match their team's colour and bring them back to the stage. Because instruments are fragile, they must be carried one at a time.
   1. Some instruments will need more than one player to carry them. The players should hold onto a corner of the paper.
6. The trick to the game is that the players can only move when music is playing. Have a leader act as the conductor. They will turn the music on and off periodically throughout the game. When the music is playing, the players are free to move and talk to each other, but when the music stops, they must freeze and be silent.
7. If a player moves or speaks when the music is stopped, one of the instruments already on stage will be moved back to the play area, and that player will have to start the next round from the stage. The first team to bring back all of the instruments and have all players return to the stage wins.

Games and Activities: Cops and Mayors

This game is themed with Rose Fortune and Daurene E. Lewis. Rose Fortune is considered Canada’s first female police officer. Daurene E Lewis, a descendant of Rose Fortune, was Canada’s first black mayor. This game must be played with a group and will work a lot like Capture the Flag. It is best played outside but can be played in a large indoor area.

Materials

• At least six small boxes

Steps

1. The group will be divided into two teams: Cops and Mayors. Each team will be given at least three boxes to hide. The boxes should be colour-coded for easy identification. Each team will also have to designate a Safe Zone and have it clearly marked. Once all of the boxes are hidden, the game begins.
2. The goal of the game is to find all of your team’s boxes. These are the boxes the other team hid. Bring them to your Safe Zone. Players have to find the boxes without getting caught by a member of the other team.
3. At any point during the game, players can tag people from the other team. Once a player is tagged, he/she will sit on the ground. They are frozen like that until another player from their team comes by and taps them on the head three times.
4. If a player is tagged while holding a box, he/she slides it away from them when they sit down. At that point, any player can grab the box. If the team that hid the box gets to it first, they can hide it again. If the recovering team gets it first, they can take it to their Safe Zone.

Games and Activities: Dancing To The Beat

This game is themed with Celia Franca. She founded the National Ballet of Canada and taught many of Canada’s best ballet dancers. This game is designed for a group.

Materials

• Tape or streamers
• 3 strips of paper per player
• Five hats or bowls
• Ten prizes 
• Pens or pencils
• Music

Steps

1. Before you play this game, you have to make five straight perpendicular lines that run from one end of the play area to the other. Do this by laying down tape that is easily removed.
   1. If you’d like, you can use something else, like streamers, just make sure it is secure to the ground so no one can trip on it. Leave enough room between the lines to players can stand on a line with their held out and not touch hands. Make the lines as long as your play area allows.
2. Divide the group into five teams. There must be at least two people on each team for this game to work. If you’d like, you can have fewer teams. You should also choose one person, usually the group leader, to be the Music Master.
   1. Each team will need a bowl.
3. On the strips of paper, write a fun dance move. This can be anything from “take a step then tap the ground” to “disco pointing.” Fold them in half and put them into the hats. Each team will put their dance moves in their hat or bowl.
4. Each team should pass their bowl two teams to the right.
5. When the teams and the Music Master are ready, the game begins. Teams choose who goes first, but every player will have a chance to go. When the Music Master starts the music, the players have to dance down their lane to get the marker at the end of the line.
6. The trick to the game is that the dancer must make the dance move that was pulled out of the bowl by their teammate. As they dance down their lanes, the Music Master will start and stop the music.
7. Each time the music is stopped, the runner’s teammates will pull out a new dance move and tell the runner what it is. The runner can only use that dance move to get down the line. The first team to bring back all of their markers wins!

Games and Activities: Fighter Jet Relay Race

This game is themed with Deanne Brasseur, the first woman in the world to earn her licence to fly fighter jets. This game is played as a group.

Materials

• At least three Hula hoops
• Three buckets
• At least six bean bags
• Two pylons (chairs will work, too)
• One plastic airplane for each girl
• Sand or dirt
  • Shredded paper will work, too
• Two toilet paper rolls (batons)

Steps

1. Divide the group into two teams. Each team will need a toilet paper roll to use as a baton. The runners will go through the course one at a time. They must hold onto the baton the entire time.
2. This game is best played outside, but it can be played in a large indoor area. Spread out the different parts of the relay race as much as your space will allow.

Part One

At least five feet away from the starting point, set two pylons or markers three to four feet away from each other.

After leaving the starting line, the runners will have to run around the outside of the markers 5 times. Have them run with their arms out as though they are a plane. Feel free to adjust the number of laps or the pylon distance for younger children. Have a leader nearby to count each lap. Once runners have completed the laps, they should continue to Part Two.

Part Two

Set up at least four hula hoops a fair distance away from the markers. Choose this distance based on your playing space. The hoops should be placed about one foot apart in a line that alternates from left to right.

When the runners run through this part of the course, they should continue to keep their arms up as though they are airplanes. When they step to either side, they will make a swooping motion with their upper bodies so their outside arm is down and their inside arm is held high.

The challenge here is that each player on the other team will have a paper ball to throw at the runners. If a runner is hit, he/she will start this section again. Runners will have to swoop and duck to avoid getting hit, much like a flyer of a fighter jet.

Part Three

Next, runners will have to throw three bean bags into a bucket. Mark a stop line that the runners cannot cross while they throw. In set up, place the bucket at a distance suitable for the age group and have leaders test the distance with a few tosses.

If runners miss the target, they will run up and retrieve their bean bags when they run out. The ones that have already landed in the bucket should stay where they are. If you do not have bean bags prior to the meeting, fill up the toes of socks with rice or dry beans. Leave up to five bean bags at each post.

Part Four

The last portion of the race will involve a large bucket or bin. Fill this bucket with small toy airplanes—you can buy these at a dollar store. Bury enough toy planes for each runner on the team. If you’d like, put some placeholder toys—like coins or people—to make it more confusing.

Have the runners dig through the bucket to find one of the toy planes. To make things interesting, have the runners use their ‘wrong hand’ (right-handed children should use their left hand and vice versa).

Games and Activities: Her Words, My Story

This activity is themed with several of the women in this program. You will have the chance to act out a story based on the words of one of the famous Canadian women you have learned about so far. This is an activity that you can do alone or in a group.

Materials

• One print out of the Quotes pages

Steps

1. Choose one of the quotes that inspires you. Write a song, make a dance, or write a play about what that quote means to you.
   1. You could stay within the historical context quote, and think about how that woman felt when she said that.
   2. You could think about how that quote directly affects your life or how different life could be if these words had never been said.
2. If you are doing this activity as part of a group, each member can do this activity individually or they can work together in groups. It will be up to the group leader whether the group member should choose their quote or if they will have to draw it out of a hat. Once all the teams have made a short sketch or song, have them present their final product.
3. If you do this alone, make sure to show someone what you ended up with!

Quotes

“What I have to do now is figure where my passion is, and follow my heart; I’ve proven that if I have the passion for something then I can succeed. I haven’t been listening to my heart in the last little while.” - Clara Hughes

“She inspired generations of dancers by her example and her devotion to the art of ballet. And most importantly, she made us believe in ourselves and that no goal was ever out of reach.” - Karen Kain, At Celia Franca's Funeral

“Each goal attained was like a new badge. Guides taught me to see goals and achieve them.” - Roberta Bondar

“We sought to establish the personal individuality of women." - Henrietta Muir Edwards

“What, after all, is the purpose of a woman’s life? The purpose of a woman’s life is just the same as the purpose of a man’s life: that she may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she is living." - Louise McKinney

“I’ll skate on concrete if I have to. I’m not worried about how fast the ice is. I’m worried about how fast I can go on the ice.” - Clara Hughes

“The iron dropped into the souls of women in Canada when we heard that it took a man to decree that his mother was not a person.” - Journalist Mary Allen Smith's Reaction To The Supreme Court Ruling In The Person's Case

"Society needs heroes to rejuvenate, re-energize, and renew itself with visions of the possible. That’s what heroes do." - Robera Bondar

“It was one continual fight for money, for support, for approval.” - Celia Franca On Founding The National Ballet Of Canada

“I am a firm believer in women—in their ability to do things and in their influence and power. Women set the standards for the world, and it is for us, women of Canada, to set the standards high.” - Nellie McClung

“I remember my first solo [in the CF-18 Horner]. There I was taxiing out to the end of the runway thinking to myself, ‘Can you imagine this? Look at me driving this $35 million jet!’” - Deanna Brasseur

“Whenever I don’t know whether to fight or not, I fight.” - Emily Murphy

“I first met the man I was to marry many years later, in 1898, while I was teaching school. At that time, I was planning for medicine, not marriage, and I didn’t think I could have both.” - Jennie Smillie, Canada's First Female Surgeon On her Marriage At 70 Years Old

"The very first editorial I wrote was about how we needed more women in Parliament. And as a matter of fact, I could run that editorial almost word for word today. It’s changed, but not enough.” - Doris Anderson

“If politics mean….the effort to secure through legislative action better conditions of life for the people, greater opportunities for our children and other people’s children…then it most assuredly is a woman’s job as much as it is a man’s job.” - Irene Parlby

"Reason over passion." - Joyce Wieland

“I believe that never was a country better adapted to produce a great race of women than this Canada of ours, nor a race of women better adapted to make a great country.” - Emily Murphy

Games and Activities: Make Your Own Space Adventure

This activity is themed with Helen Sawyer-Hogg. This activity can be done alone or with a group.

There are two versions of the story. One is for younger girls, and the other is for older girls. Older girls have a sheet at the beginning where they can fill out the blanks. Once this sheet is filled, they can transfer the answers into the story.

Materials

• One printout of the Make Your Own Space Adventure story

Steps

1. If you are doing it alone, fill in the blanks without reading the story. This will create a more adventurous story.
2. If you are doing this with a younger group, the leader will ask individual group members questions using the prompts in brackets. Fill in the blanks using their answers. When it is done, read it aloud. Act it out if you’d like!
3. If you are doing this with a group of older girls, let them fill in the blanks alone. Give a few girls a chance to read their stories to see how different they are!
   1. Another option for older kids is to divide them into small groups of two or three and have them fill out the story together. Once it is done, they can act it out for the group.

Blast Into Space!

Have a leader fill in the blanks by asking the group questions. Read it aloud, and act it out if you’d like.

There was once a group of girls who loved to learn new things. One day, they wanted to learn about Outer Space. So what did they do? They all piled on (A Group Member)_________________ ’s (Something You Can Use To Travel)_________________________ and started to go as fast they could. Then, they all jumped at once, and the (Same Vehicle As Above)_______________________ went into the air too! Everyone kept jumping, and it flew higher and higher. It didn’t stop until they were in Space! They could even see Earth behind them!

“We can go anywhere!” said (Another Group Member)_________________________. “Let’s go to Sawyer-Hogg, the planet we learned about last week!”

So they started their trip. Along the way, the Sparks saw a (Colour)_________ (Something From Space)_______________________ fly by. There were planets that were (Kind Of Weather)_________________, and some that were (Shape)________. Stars glittered everywhere.

Then they saw a planet! It had to be Sawyer-Hogg! It was (A Word That Describes Your Favourite Stuffed Animal) ____________________________________________. It had (Number)__________ moons. The trees were (colour), and the sky was a bright (Colour)________. Everyone wanted to look a little closer.

They landed on the planet by a (Something In Nature)_____________________________. Close by stood an animal that looked like a(n) (Animal)_________ with (Number)__________ legs! It’s teeth looked like a(n) (Animal)_________’s. It smiled walked up and said, “(Way To Say Hello)__________________! My name is (Favourite Toy's Name)_____________________. Welcome to planet Sawyer-Hogg. What brings you here?” 

“We are looking for something fun to do,” someone said.

“You came just in time! I’m going to the pond to catch Space (Favourite Food) ________________. Please, come with me.” He said.

Well, it wasn’t what anyone expected. On planet Sawyer-Hogg, they are actually really tiny (Favourite Animals)__________________ with (Texture Word)________________ skin! It had (Number)_________ eyes, and (Size Word)___________ toes. Everyone caught at least one. Then, they set them free and watched them (Fun Way To Move) ___________________ away.

It was (Time Of Day)____________ on planet Sawyer-Hogg. Soon, it was time to go home. Everyone (Past-Tense Action Word)_________________________ as they flew away from Sawyer-Hogg. When the spaceship landed in/on (Favourite Place) ________________, everyone went home, feeling (A Feeling)____________ about their day in space. It was a crazy day.

Fill In The Blanks

Fill in the story with the proper parts of speech. At the bottom of the page, there’s a list of the blanks from the story. Fill them out on this page, then move them over to make your story as silly as it can be.

Here’s a list of definitions:

Noun: a person, place, or thing
Example: fishing rod, bicycle, me, the park
Verb: an action word
Example: run, dance, swim
Adjective: a descriptive word
Example: purple, bright, glittery
Adverb: word that modifies a verb. Usually ends in –ly.
Example: slowly, quickly, strangely
Plural: more than one
Example: cats, flowers, bags
Past tense: something that happened in the past
Example: flew, saw, met
Superlative: the highest degree possible. Usually ends in –est.
Example: least, most, happiest

Word List

1. Adjective: ______________________________________
2. Past tense verb: _______________________________
3. Past tense verb: _______________________________
4. Colour: _________________________________________
5. Noun: __________________________________________
6. Verb: ___________________________________________
7. Noun: __________________________________________
8. Animal:_________________________________________
9. Adjective: ______________________________________
10. Verb:__________________________________________
11. Past tense verb: ______________________________
12. Plural noun: __________________________________
13. Body of water: _______________________________
14. Adverb: _______________________________________
15. Colour: _______________________________________
16. Adjective: ____________________________________
17. Animal: _______________________________________
18. Adjective: ____________________________________
19. Plant: _________________________________________
20. Superlative adjective: ________________________
21. Favorite colour: ______________________________
22. Adjective: ____________________________________
23. Something from space: ______________________
24. Animal: _______________________________________
25. Foreign nationality: __________________________
26. Popular saying: _______________________________
27. Plural noun: __________________________________
28. Colour: _______________________________________
29. Animal: _______________________________________
30. Favorite song: ________________________________
31. Adjective: ____________________________________
32. Verb:__________________________________________
33. Noun: _________________________________________
34. Verb:__________________________________________
35. Adjective: ____________________________________
36. Sound: ________________________________________

Planet Sawyer-Hogg

I had a dream I went into space, and it was (Adjective)_______________. I (Past Tense Verb)________________ to the stars and (Past Tense Verb)_____________________ on the moon. I saw a (Colour)_____________ (Noun)_____________________. It was (Verb)______________ around a space (Noun)__________________. I couldn’t believe it!

I went to planet Sawyer-Hogg, too. You’ll never guess what I found there! It was a(n) (Animal) _____________ that looked (Adjective)___________________. I tried to catch it, but it was too (Verb)_____________________. As it (Past Tense Verb)________________ away, (Plural Noun)_______________ trail behind it.

I walked around Sawyer-Hogg until I found a (Body of Water)________________. The water was a(n) (Adverb)_______________ (Colour)________________. Right under the surface (Adjective)_____________________ (Animal)_______________s swam around the (Adjective)______________________ (Plant)__________________s. It was quite the sight!

The (Superlative Adjective)_______________________ part was my spaceship. It had my name written on the side in (Favourite Colour)__________________ paint, and there were (Adjective)___________________ (Something From Space)_______________________s all over the sides.

Instead of an engine, there was a(n) (Animal)__________________ running on a wheel. When it saw me looking at him, he looked up and said, with a(n) (Foreign Nationality)______________________ accent, “(Popular Saying)_________________________!”

I wandered through a forest of (Plural Noun)__________________ that grew right out of the ground. (Colour)_______________ birds with tails like (Animal)__________________s flew all over my head. They sang the strangest thing: (Favourite Song)____________________________! It sounded pretty (Adjective)____________________.

All of a sudden, the ground started to (Verb)_______________________. I looked behind me and saw a (Noun)______________________ running right in my direction! I started to (Verb)____________________ away, but it was faster than me. Soon, it was right behind me! I opened it mouth where there was (Adjective)___________________
teeth. I thought I was going to be swallowed up until… (Sound)______________________!!!

I woke up in my bed.

Games and Activities: Pieces of History

This trivia activity is themed with all of the women in this package. This is a group activity.

Materials

• Pieces of Herstory Trivia Questions
• Whiteboard or paper

Steps

1. If you are with a group, use the Rounds questions. Divide the group into two teams and call up the players one by one.
2. Use a whiteboard or a piece of paper to keep score. Round One is worth 100 points; Round Two is worth 200 points, and so on.

Games and Activities: Planet Puzzle

This activity is themed with Helen Sawyer Hogg. Before the meeting, print off enough of the Planet Puzzles so each participant will have one. You may want to print off a few extras, too.

Materials

• Planet Puzzle printouts
• Markers or pencil crayons
• Glue
• Scissors
• Cardstock or construction paper
• Envelopes

Steps

1. In the meeting, supply the participants with markers or pencil crayons, glue, scissors, and cardstock or construction. Each participant will need an envelope as well. Have the participants colour their pictures to show off their personalities.
   1. To make the rest of the activity as fun as possible, encourage the participants to spread out across the area but keep the markers and pencil crayons in the center of the room.
2. When everyone is finished colouring, have each girl cut her picture into smaller pieces. The pictures should be cut into at least fifteen pieces, but the pieces should be larger than a quarter. Have each girl put the pieces into an envelope. Make sure none of the participants write their names on it.
3. Once everyone is done, have the participants trade envelopes. They can either choose a partner, or the leader can collect all the envelopes and hand them out blindly. Choose whichever option will work best with your group.
4. Once each participant has a new envelope, she should put the puzzle back together. This is where the glue and cardstock/construction paper will come in handy. Have the participants put the picture back together.
5. Once they have the image placed properly, have them glue it piece by piece onto the cardstock. Make sure the participants try to match the lines as closely as they can.
   1. If you’d like, supply the participants with a large enough piece of cardstock so there is a border which they can decorate for their friend.
   2. If you choose to do this, make sure the picture is glued back on before they start drawing a border.
6. After all of the puzzle pictures are completed, have the participants try to guess whose puzzle they put back together. Do this individually, and have the participants guess why they think the picture belongs to a particular participant. At the end of the meeting, each participant should have their original picture.

Games and Activities: Running For Office

This game is themed with the Famous Five, a group of five inspiration women who launched the Person’s Case. The Person’s Case asked the question if women were considered Persons under law, which meant they could sit in Senate. This activity will allow players to run for office, just like the Famous Five wanted. It must be played in a group and is played a bit like the game ‘Mother May I?'

Materials

• Large play area

Steps

1. Have a leader take on the role of Prime Minister. The Prime Minister will stand on one end of the play area while the group members, playing as Senators, line up on the other end.
2. One by one, the players will ask, “Prime Minister, may I take (number) of steps.” As with the classic game, the steps can be varied by asking to take baby steps, twirling steps, giant steps, etc. The Prime Minister will then either approve or disapprove of the request.
   1. For example, a player might ask: “Prime Minister, may I take three giant steps forward?” The Prime Minister may then say, “Yes, you may,” or “No, but you may take one giant step forward.”
3. At the end of the round, after each player has asked one question, the Prime Minister will make a demand. This request can be made to all the players (“Senators, you may all take three baby steps forward.”) or to certain participants (All of the Senators with black shoes may take one twirling step backward.”)
   1. All players will have to follow the Prime Minister’s request.
4. The game continues in this way until all of the players have made their way to the Prime Minister. The first player to reach the finish line will become the next Prime Minister if you choose to play more than one game.

Games and Activities: Soaring Paper Planes

This activity is themed with Deanna Brasseur, the world’s first female fighter pilot. This fun, easy, and quick activity can be done alone or in a group.

Materials

• Paper 
• Markers

Steps

1. Each person will need a few pieces of paper. Let them fold each one into a paper plane. Each plane should be folded differently.
   1. If you’d like, you can decorate your planes with markers. This can be done before or after it has been folded.
2. The purpose of this is to fold the paper plane that flies the longest. When everyone has folded their planes, have them line up and throw their planes.
   1. To avoid any mid-air collisions, you may want to have them throw their planes one at a time.
   2. To keep the competition fair, mark a line which they have to stand behind while they throw.
3. You can also have a contest to see who can make the nicest plane. Group members can vote, either by placing their votes in a hat or by raising their hands, for a plane that is not theirs.
   1. If you’d like, bring in a small treat for the winners to bring home.

Games and Activities: We Are Iconic

This game is themed with all of the women in this package. It is a group game of Charades.

Materials

• Print out the We Are Iconic names
• A hat or bowl

Steps

1. Print off one of the We Are Iconic names list. Cut out each of the women’s names and fold them in half. Put the folded names into a bowl.
2. Players choose a name from the hat when it is their turn. They will have to identify two traits of women on their sheet. Players should act out the profession of the lady they picked, as well as one other trait. This trait can be their name, a fact, or an organization she was involved with.
3. If someone guesses the woman’s name, it is that player’s turn. If no one guesses her name, it is up to the last player to pick who goes next. Have each player read their sheet out loud when their turn is done.

Names List

Roberta Bondar

Roberta Bondar was the first female Canadian astronaut in Space. Astronaut is one of many things that she did with her career: she is also a landscape photographer, an author, a doctor, and a researcher! She trained for eight years for her trip. She was allowed to bring one thing into Space with her: she chose Girl Guide cookies.

Helen Sawyer-Hogg

Helen Sawyer-Hogg was an astronomer. She received the Rittenhouse Silver Medal and was president of the Royal Canadian Institute, an organization that is dedicated to the advancement of science. To honour her contributions to astronomy, Minor Planet 2907 was named after her and is known as Planet Sawyer-Hogg.

Clara Hughes

Clara Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to win medals in the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. She is one of four athletes in all of Olympic history to achieve this. Clara won two bronze medals in cycling in the 1996 Summer Games. After nearly ten years away from the sport, she competed in the 2002 Winter Games as a speed skater. She won Bronze in the 5000-meter event. During her time away from speed skating, she focused on cycling.

Joyce Wieland

Joyce Wieland is an artist and a filmmaker. At the time, her art was considered to be edgy and groundbreaking, which led to a great deal of media attention. On July 1, 1971, she became the first female Canadian artist to see her work featured in a showcase at the National Gallery of Canada when the doors opened to her exhibit, which was called “True Patriot Love.” The widest circulated piece of her work was the postage stamp she designed to honour World Health.

Ethel Stark

Ethel Stark was the first Canadian woman to play as a soloist in a radio program that was broadcast across Canada. She played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. She also founded the Women’s Symphony Orchestra, Canada’s first symphony comprised entirely of women.

Deanne Brasseur

Canadian pilot Deanne Brasseur is the first woman in the world to earn her license to fly a CF-18 fighter jet. She did this in 1988. Later in her career, she became Canada’s first female Aircraft Accident Investigator. When she received her wings with the Canadian military in 1981, she was one of three women in Canadian history to accomplish the feat.

Nellie McClung

Nellie McClung was a member of the Alberta Legislature. She campaigned for dental and health care for school children, property rights for women, and regulations for safe working conditions. Because of her work toward women’s rights, she became known as a Suffragette, a woman who fought for suffrage and the right to vote. She was a member of the Famous Five, who asked if women were considered “Persons” under Section 24 of the British North America Act (1897), which stated who could run for office.

Irene Parlby

Irene Parlby was the first female Cabinet Minister of Alberta and the second Cabinet Minister of all of Canada. She was president of the United Farm Women of Alberta from 1916 – 1919. While she was with the United Farm Women of Alberta, she pushed to improve public health care by establishing city hospitals and dental clinics. She was a member of the Famous Five, a group that fought for women’s rights to run for Senate. None of the Famous Five became Senators.

Henrietta Muir Edwards

Henrietta Edwards spent her entire life fighting for women’s rights. She founded the Working Girls’ Association in 1875 to provide women with equal job training. In 1897, she co-founded the Victorian Order of Nurses with Lady Aberdeen. She was the last member of the Famous Five, a group that started the movement that was passed by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, one of the highest courts in the British Empire.

Doris Anderson

Doris Anderson was the editor of Chatelaine Women’s magazine in 1957. She gave the average woman a place to look for practical advice on life. She became the chair of the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women in 1979, which fought for Section 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”

Cairine Wilson

Cairine Wilson was Canada’s first female senator. She was the first woman elected after the Famous Five’s petition was passed by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. She was given the Cross of the Knight of the Legion of Honor from France for her work with immigrant children. In 1949, Cairine Wilson became Canada’s first female delegate to the United Nations General Assembly.

Urzsula Tokarska

Urzsula Tokarska was the first Canadian woman to climb the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents. She has climbed Mount Aconcagua in South America, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Elbrus in Europe, Mount Vinson Denali in North America, Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, and Mount Everest in Asia. She was the third woman in Canadian history to scale Mount Everest.

Jennie Smillie

Jennie Smillie is Canada’s first female surgeon. She made the decision to be a doctor when she was five years old. She spent her life working toward the goal, earning money as a teacher to pay her way through medical school. She studied at Ontario Medical School for Women and interned in Philadelphia. She performed her first surgery on a kitchen table because she was denied proper medical facilities.

Celia Franca

Celia Franca is the founder of the National Ballet of Canada. She followed her dream of being a ballerina and taught some of Canada’s best dancers. She constantly fought for her company to find sponsors, audiences, and talent.

Rose Fortune

Rose Fortune is Canada’s first female police officer. She was sold into slavery in Virginia during the early 1800s. She fled to Canada with her family during the Black Loyalist Movement. They settled in Annapolis, Nova Scotia. There, she started a business moving cargo as it came into the bay. Eventually, she started to protect the cargo from vandals. Soon, she was protecting the property all over Annapolis.

Louise McKinney

Louise McKinney was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1917. She was the first woman elected to any legislature in the British Empire. She believed in the Dower Act, an act that fought for women’s property rights. She was also a member of the Famous Five, who petitioned for women to run for Senate and help shape their country’s policies.

Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy was the British Empire’s first female judge. She accomplished this feat in 1916. She was also a heavy motivator behind Alberta’s 1916 Dower Act, which gave married women the legal right to the property they owned with their husbands. Emily Murphy was one of the Famous Five political women who are honoured with a statue on Parliament Hill.