The School Room

Chinese Canadian Museum
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Recorded inside the historic school room in the Wing Sang Building, The School Room shares stories connected to the Chinese Canadian Museum’s exhibitions and programming. Join host Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum, and a special guest each month as they go in-depth on Chinese Canadian experiences.

  1. 4d ago

    Chad Soon | Larry Kwong: Remembering the NHL’s First Asian Player

    Larry Kwong was the first player of Asian descent to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), but his significance in breaking the colour barrier in North American ice hockey wouldn’t be fully understood until over sixty years later. Born in small town Vernon, B.C., Larry grew up during a time of heightened racial tensions in Canada. When he was just two weeks old, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed on July 1, 1923 – the latest development in decades of anti-Chinese legislation created to stem the flow of Chinese migration to Canada.  Larry would find his freedom on the ice. Spending all his time obsessively practicing hockey, Larry would eventually be scouted to join senior hockey teams like the Trail Smoke Eaters and Nanaimo Clippers. Once Canada joined the Second World War, Larry would be drafted into the Army to show off his hockey prowess and boost troop morale. Post-war, he would get the chance to showcase his talents on the largest stage. On March 13, 1948, Larry Kwong was called up to play in the NHL with the New York Rangers. However, his chance to shine lasted for just a minute’s worth of play. Disappointed, he would leave for teams in Canada and abroad, choosing to forget about his NHL dreams. Sixty years later in 2008, schoolteacher and hockey enthusiast Chad Soon moved to Larry’s hometown of Vernon. Despite his own grandfather being a childhood fan of Larry Kwong, Chad discovered Larry’s name wasn’t widely known – even in his own place of birth. Chad would set out to befriend Larry, then in his 80s, and go on to co-author a children’s book about Larry’s life and legacy called The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey. This is our conversation with Chad Soon on his quest to write Larry Kwong back into the national narrative. Tune in to hear all about the incredible life that Larry led, why Larry’s story is so personal to Chad, and why it should be personal to all Canadians. Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until September 2027. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  2. Aug 28

    Bryan Chiu | Beyond the Game: Football, Mentorship, and Giving Back

    Bryan Chiu has never imagined a life without football. Despite early familial pressure to choose a more conventional professional path, Bryan’s love for the game led him to redefine success within his Chinese Canadian family, as well as in Canadian football history. A three-time Grey Cup winner (2002, 2009, 2016), Bryan Chiu holds the distinction of being only the third player of Chinese descent to be inducted into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame. Today, he spends his days nurturing and training the next generation of athletes as the head coach for his alma mater, Vancouver College. On this episode of The School Room, host Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee sits down with Bryan to discuss how Asian representation in football has changed since his 1996 draft to the Montreal Alouettes, why he says coaching is the most rewarding part of his career, and what Chinese superstition he brings to his game days. Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until September 2027. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  3. Jun 29

    Walter Wu | Paralympic Gold: Swimming Against Stigmas

    When Walter Wu’s parents enrolled him in swimming lessons at age 7, they never thought that a family hobby would launch one of the most successful careers of a Canadian Paralympic athlete. Born with less than ten percent of his vision, Walter Wu is considered legally blind – a diagnosis he only received at 17 years old. As a Class 13 Para swimmer, Walter is a 14-time medalist across four Paralympic Games (1992–2004), breaking records and defying expectations. In this episode, Walter explains how Paralympic swimming classifications are determined based on the degree of visual impairment, reflects on his surprisingly low-key life after retirement, and shares why he believes parents need to stop holding their children with disabilities back from trying sports. Momentum: Power and Identity in Sports is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until September 2027. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  4. Apr 24

    Rochelle Kwan (yiuyiu 瑤瑤) | Chinatown Records: Sonic Memories and Oral Histories

    Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 is a homegrown collective and archive based in New York City’s Manhattan Chinatown. Started in 2018 by DJ historian yiuyiu 瑶瑶, Chinatown Records has evolved into a collective effort to preserve and bring to life the memories and histories that come with our favourite songs. Tune in to learn more about the work Chinatown Records has been doing in New York Chinatown and beyond. In this episode, Rochelle Kwan, aka yiuyiu 瑶瑶, sits down with host Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee to discuss how Chinatown Records has evolved from a way to reminisce with her dad to a community collection of sonic memories, why she believes Chinatowns are cultural homes for all immigrant groups, and how, you too, can use music to spark personal family conversations and record memories across generations. "Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000" is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until August 2026. Monthly curator tours are available in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  5. Feb 13

    Wing Noodles: Montréal Chinese Legacies

    If you’ve ever wandered through Montréal Chinatown, you’ve likely seen the glowing neon sign of Wing Noodles.  Founded from an import/export shop in 1897 and later reimagined as a noodle factory during WWII, Wing’s became the last remaining Chinese food manufacturer in Montréal Chinatown — and the first producer of fortune cookies in eastern Canada. The Lee family’s business nourished generations through segregation, war, and peace.⁠ In November 2025, the Lee family made the difficult decision to retire from Wing Noodles, ceasing operations forever of their iconic family business. On this episode, join Vivian Lee Orr and George Lee as they reminisce about their family’s illustrious history inside and beyond Wing Noodles, share the efforts underway to preserve Wing’s legacy, and reveal what the numbers in your fortune cookie might actually mean. "Montréal Chinois: The Lost Decades / Les décennies perdues Photography 1945–1960s" is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver Chinatown until May 10, 2026. To learn more about the Chinese Canadian Museum and book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  6. 12/23/2025

    A Lookback on The School Room: Stories That Shaped Us

    As 2025 comes to a close, host Melissa Karmen Lee and producer Rosalie Gunawan join forces for a special episode reminiscing on the last two years of The School Room podcast.  Tune in for a journey across Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Australia to look back on some of our favourite stories about overseas Chinese communities that stuck with us. To learn more about the Chinese Canadian Museum or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  7. 10/07/2025

    Ann Hui | Timeless Cinema: Capturing a New Age of Hong Kong

    Ann Hui (Hui On-wah) is one of the leading figures who ushered in the Hong Kong New Wave – a new age of Hong Kong cinema that began in 1979. With a career spanning more than 4 decades and 28 feature films, Ann has cemented her name as one of the greats of Chinese language cinema. Her work often focuses on ordinary people and their daily lives, speaking to themes of human consciousness, politics and migration, and national identity. Tune in to this episode of The School Room to hear about the ways Ann recreates authentic scenes in her films, her philosophy on giving back to society, and her concerns about Maggie Cheung playing the leading role in “Song of the Exile” (it’s not what you think!). “Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000” is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until May 2026. Monthly curator tours are available in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

  8. 08/27/2025

    Rainbow Chan | Ancestral Songs: Revitalizing Weitou Culture

    Rainbow Chan is an award-winning vocalist, producer, and multi-disciplinary artist. Since moving to Australia with her family in 1996, Rainbow has built a celebrated career while tracing her maternal roots to Weitou people—one of Hong Kong’s indigenous groups who settled in the region prior to British colonization in 1898. Her creative practice, deeply informed by ideas of homeland and diaspora, has earned her recognition as one of Australia’s most innovative contemporary musicians. In this episode, Rainbow shares how she weaves her maternal Weitou heritage into song and performance, reflects on what her mother’s heritage language has meant for her identity and its role in broader cultural revitalization, and discusses which Cantopop artists from her childhood continue to inspire her practice today. Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s-2000 is now on view at the Chinese Canadian Museum in Vancouver’s Chinatown until May 2026. Monthly curator tours are available in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. To learn more or book tickets, visit https://www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca/.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Recorded inside the historic school room in the Wing Sang Building, The School Room shares stories connected to the Chinese Canadian Museum’s exhibitions and programming. Join host Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum, and a special guest each month as they go in-depth on Chinese Canadian experiences.

Information

  • Creator
    Chinese Canadian Museum
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The School Room