Educational Programs text and image of the Diefenbunker's War Cabinet Room.

Emergency Preparedness

Educational program description

What did people do to stay safe during the Cold War? To find out, students watch a primary source: the 1973 government-issued 11 Steps to Survival video. Looking at emergency preparedness today, students then will decide what to put in their survival kits and see how prepared they are in an emergency scenario.

Includes an informative tour component and an interactive activity with discussion.

Grade Level:
> Ontario - Grade 6–12
> Quebec - Elementary 6, Secondary I–V

Format:
> On-Site
> Virtual

Duration:
> On-Site - 2 hours
> Virtual - 1 hour

Cost:
> On-Site - starting at $13.00 per student
> Virtual - $75 per group

Language:
> English
> French (available by request)

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Review details on scheduling, pricing, and other logistics before you book.

On-site Program Registration Form

Virtual Program Registration Form

Learning goals and curriculum connections

This program is great for social studies, geography, history, science, and language classes.

Some skills students will learn in this program are problem-solving, organization, collaboration, critical thinking and innovation.

ONTARIO - Elementary (Grades 6–8)

Grade 6–8 Language (English or French): Explore different media created during the Cold War to convey messages about emergency preparedness and compare these with the information being presented today.

Strand: Digital Media Literacy
Strand: Oral and Non-Verbal Communication

Grade 6 Social Studies: Learn about how people prepared for emergencies during the Cold War, then reflect on the different emergencies faced throughout the world today, how Canada helps, and how to prepare for one.

Strand A: Heritage and Identity, Communities in Canada, Past and Present
Strand B: People and Environments, Canada's Interactions with the Global Community

Grade 6 Science and Technology: Learn about emergency preparedness historically, then consider how current climate change emergencies impact biodiversity and create a plan of action for climate emergencies.

Strand B: Biodiversity

Grade 7 Geography: Learn about how nuclear bombs affected the environment and reflect on how climate change has created different emergencies today, while learning how to prepare for them.

Strand A: Physical Patterns in a Changing World

Grade 7 Science and Technology: Learn about structures built during the Cold War to prepare for emergencies, and consider how human activities continue to create different emergencies today.

Strand B: Interactions in the Environment
Strand D: Form, Function, and Design of Structures

Grade 8 Geography: Learn about how people prepared their homes for emergencies during the Cold War, then think about emergencies today and the way these impact human settlement around the world.

Strand A: Global Settlement, Patterns, and Sustainability

Grade 8 Science and Technology: Learn about the systems in place in case of emergency both during the Cold War and now, and create systems to protect themselves from emergencies today.

Strand D: Systems in Action

ONTARIO - Secondary (Grades 9–12)

Grade 9–12 Language (English and French): Explore different media created during the Cold War to convey messages about emergency preparedness and compare these with the information being presented today.

Strand: Digital Media Literacy
Strand: Oral and Non-Verbal Communication

Grade 9 Geography: Learn about how Canada encouraged citizens to respond to emergencies during the Cold War and reflect on how disasters today impact Canada's population and communities.

Strand B: Physical Geography and Physical Processes in Canada
Strand D: Changing Populations
Strand E: Liveable Communities

Grade 10 History: Using a primary source from 1972, learn about how citizens were told to prepare for nuclear war during the Cold War and compare this with emergency preparedness today by creating an emergency kit.

Strand D: Canada, 1945–1982
Strand E: Canada, 1982 to the Present

Grade 10 Civics: Learn about the government's Emergency Preparedness Canada (now Public Safety Canada) and the different media created by the government now and then to protect citizens from emergencies.

Strand B: Civic Awareness
Strand C: Civic Engagement, Service, and Action

Grade 9–10 Science: Comparing with emergency preparedness media from the Cold War, analyze the way that the government currently prepares for environmental disasters related to climate change.

Grade 9 Strand B: Sustainable Ecosystems
Grade 10 Strand D: Climate Change

Grade 11 Forces of Nature: Analyze the response of the federal government to possible emergency, comparing the response during the Cold War period to the response of the current government.

Strand C: The Physical Environment, Sustainability and Stewardship
Strand D: Systems, Interaction and Interdependence
Strand E: Impacts of Change

Grade 11 World History since 1900: Using primary sources from the Cold War, examine the ways that governments encouraged citizens to prepare for emergencies and the fear around this.

Strand D: The Cold War Years, 1945–1991

Grade 12 Canada: History, Identity, and Culture: Examine the government's messaging around emergency planning, comparing the culture of these from the Cold War to now.

Strand E: Canada since 1945

Grade 12 World History since the 15th C: Learn about the Cold War and how Canada urged its citizens to prepare in case of an emergency and see how technologies and trends have developed since then.

Strand E: The World since 1900

Grade 12 Adventures in World History: Through primary sources, examine how emergency preparedness became a social trend of the Cold War and compare emergency planning from then to now.

Strand D: Since the Early Nineteenth Century

QUEBEC - Elementary (Grade 6)

Geography, History, and Citizenship Education (6): Compare how Canada and Quebec’s society and government responded to emergencies during the Cold War and compare that with their responses today.

Competency 1: To understand the organization of a society in its territory
Competency 2: To interpret change in a society and its territory
Competency 3: To be open to the diversity of societies and their territories
Specific Focus: Quebec society around 1980

Science and Technology (6): While examining emergency preparedness recommendations from the Cold War and now, use scientific language and examine how science and technology has changed over time.

Competency 3: To communicate in the languages used in science and technology

Language English or French (6): Explore different media created during the Cold War to convey messages about emergency preparedness and compare these with the information being presented today.

English - Competency 3: To represent her/his literacy in different media
English - Competency 4: To use language to communicate and learn
French - Compétence 3 : Communiquer oralement

QUEBEC - Secondary (Grades 7–12)

Geography (I–II): Learn about the government's media about emergency preparedness, both from the Cold War and now, seeing how climate change is creating global disasters and issues.

Competency 1: Understands the organization of a territory
Competency 2: Interprets a territorial issue
Competency 3: Constructs his/her consciousness of global citizenship

History and Citizenship Education (I–II): Look at the social phenomenon of nuclear anxiety and the government's response to this and compare it to how we prepare for climate emergencies today.

Competency 1: Examines social phenomena from a historical perspective
Competency 2: Interprets social phenomena using the historical method
Competency 3: Constructs his/her consciousness of citizenship through the study of history

History of Quebec and Canada (III–IV): Using a primary source from the Cold War, see how the government responded to nuclear threats and learn how to prepare for an emergency today.

Competency 1: Characterizes a period in the history of Quebec and Canada
Competency 2: Interprets a social phenomenon
Specific Periods:
- 1945–1980 The modernization of Quebec and the Quiet Revolution
- From 1980 to our times: Societal choices in contemporary Quebec

History of the 20th Century (V): Learn about the Cold War and Canada's response to it and compare how we prepare for an emergency now with a primary source from the 1970s.

Competency 1: Characterizes a historical turning point
Competency 2: Interprets a social phenomenon using the historical method
Specific Timeline: A Divided World

Cultural Geography (V): See how a cultural area responds to emergencies and disasters, comparing historical advice from the Cold War and emergency kits created today.

Competency 1: Interprets a contemporary world problem
Competency 2: Takes a position on a contemporary world issue
Specific Concepts: Population, Power, Tensions, and Conflict

Contemporary World (V): Look at the world issue of climate change through learning how to prepare for an emergency today, seeing how much emergency planning has changed from the Cold War period.

Competency 1: Interprets a contemporary world problem
Competency 2: Takes a position on a contemporary world issue
Specific Concepts: Population, Power, Tensions, and Conflict

Science and Technology (I–V): Look at the issue of climate disasters, using the perspective of emergency preparedness in the Cold War to learn how to prepare for an emergency today.

Competency 2: Makes the most of his/her knowledge of science and technology
Specific Focus: Diversity of Life Forms

Language English or French (I–V): Explore different media created during the Cold War to convey messages about emergency preparedness and compare these with the information being presented today.

English:
- Competency 1: Uses language/talk to communicate and to learn
- Competency 2: Reads and listens to written, spoken, and media texts
French
- Compétence 1 : Lire et apprécier des textes variés
- Compétence 3 : Communiquer oralement selon des modalités variées

The Diefenbunker is one of the most unique educational sites in Canada, offering an experiential learning environment, 75 feet underground. Students can immerse themselves in the Cold War and experience Canadian history from a perspective unlike any other. Explore our themed programs with links to elementary and secondary school curriculum.

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