On April 15, 2015, all Grade 5 students in my school went to the ROM. (The Royal Ontario Museum)

We went to the ROM to learn more about the Early European explorers and the First Nations. I am going to tell you about some of the early explorers that I know of.

  • John Cabot: John Cabot was a European explorer. Between 1497 and 1498, he discovered the province we call Newfoundland. He named it “New Found Land”.
  • Jacques Cartier: Jacques Cartier was an explorer too. Between 1534 and 1535, he discovered what is now known as Quebec and Montreal. Once, he discovered these lands, he went back to France and returned back with 1500 French.
  • Martin Frobisher: In 1578, Martin Frobisher filled 15 ships filled with what he thought was gold but it was really iron pyrite or now known as fool’s gold. He also named what we know as Hudson Bay, Frobisher Bay but something happened to change the name. You will find out later.
  • Samuel de Champlain: Samuel was exploring between 1609 and1616. He spent months exploring the St Lawrence River and the Great Lakes area.
  • Henry Hudson: Henry Hudson spent the years 1610 and 1611 exploring. His ship crew abandoned him at sea. He found land in Frobisher Bay and named it Hudson Bay

I also learned about the First Nations from the ROM and school. Some of the foods that the First Nations would eat were the three sisters, fish and deer, and nuts and berries. What are the three sisters? Well, the three sisters are corn, beans, and squash. Why are they called the three sisters? Well they were called the three sisters because they grew together like sisters would do.

They would also go out and hunt deer and fish. They would use spears and knives. The woman would go out and collect the nuts and berries. As you can see, the First Nations were all about nature. They didn’t have the things that we have today. Life for them wasn’t as easy as you may think.

After we went to the ROM, we went to a church called St Paul’s Basilica. There, Fr. Frank told us all about St. Paul and the church. The church was famous for its pictures showing all about Jesus’s life. Afterwards, we got to have a scavenger hunt within the church. We had to look for objects around the church.

I had fun on my trip and I hope that one day, all of you will get to go to the ROM!

Angela-Acaye.