The Joseph Schneider Haus Museum and Gallery is a dynamic community museum in downtown Kitchener. The heart of the complex is the fine Georgian frame farmhouse built by one of the area's first pioneers, Joseph Schneider, a Pennsylvania-German Mennonite. A local landmark and Kitchener's oldest dwelling, the c. 1816 homestead was restored and furnished to period and opened as a living history museum in 1981.
Adjacent to the Museum is a modern wing which houses administrative support areas, exhibit galleries, programming space, artifact vault and resource library. Among the Museum's stored collections is the prestigious Canadian Harvest Collection of German-Canadian Folk Art which preserves significant artifacts from areas of Germanic settlement across Canada. The museum offers a wide range of programs and professional services designed to educate and to entertain. Special events take place throughout the year.
The Museum has an active exhibition program and annually more than 9000 school children participate in curriculum-based education programs. In addition, regular lectures, workshops and "discovery days" are presented to appeal to the adult learner.
The Joseph Schneider Haus is located in downtown Kitchener on the edge of beautiful Victoria Park. Most of the Museum is handicapped accessible and free parking is provided for visitors across from the site. Our parking lot is accessed by driving along Queen Street South from either Highland Road West or Courtland Avenue East. As well, the museum is easily accessible using public transit on Routes 2, 8, 24 and 25.
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