School Tours
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National Gallery school tours led by trained docents are designed to introduce students to the museum experience and to the National Gallery's collection. Volunteer docents consult closely with teachers to ensure that thematic tours enhance, support, and extend classroom learning and curriculum objectives. The Gallery hopes tours are only the beginning of a journey toward a lifelong love of art and museums.
Docent-led tours
- encourage careful observation
- foster an open exchange of ideas
- cultivate connections between art and life
The National Gallery aims to
- create a positive and welcoming learning environment
- utilize a variety of teaching strategies, which may include sketching, creative writing, and group activities that meet the needs and interests of diverse learners
National Gallery visits include in-depth study at four to six stops. By focusing on fewer works of art rather than many, students have a richer learning experience.
Preparatory materials are available (online) for some tours; see program descriptions.
Student-Centered Learning in the Art Museum: The Benefits of Object-Based Teaching
The National Gallery's tours for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 immerse students in a uniquely rich and varied learning environment that features one of the country's finest collections of Western art, spanning the 1300s to the present.
Museum tours, tailored to specific grade levels, offer students the opportunity to develop multidisciplinary skills and gain knowledge of content in order to complement and augment their academic studies. Students connect fine art with disciplines such as studio art, history, social studies, and language arts in a setting that supports a variety of learning styles. Below are some of the educational benefits teachers cite for bringing students to the museum.
- Language development and critical thinking skills: As students examine objects and discuss them with educators and peers, they build vocabulary as well as skills in reasoning and debate.
- Seeing original art: Looking at a reproduction is not the same as coming face-to-face with an original work by Rembrandt van Rijn—the ultimate primary source! The art museum offers an extraordinary arena for aesthetic experience, discovery, wonder, and inspiration, as well as practical discussions of the various tools and techniques of making art.
- Object-based learning: Many students are concrete learners and are motivated when educational resources are tangible and physical. Others are more engaged when stimulated emotionally or aesthetically. The art museum is an ideal alternative learning environment for all learners.
- Multidimensional knowledge: Museum discussions about art often lead students to see that there is seldom one definitive answer to a problem and that works of art can possess multiple levels of meaning, each equally valid. In this respect, museum learning emulates the complexities of real life.
- Student-centered learning: Inquiry-based programs allow educators to adapt their teaching to students' interests, observations, and questions. Student-centered museum programs can spark the imagination and capitalize on students' intrinsic curiosity about newly discovered treasures and the museum environment itself.
- Historical and global awareness: Museums with wide-ranging collections can offer students the opportunity to journey back in time and across cultural boundaries. Museum collections can foster powerful discussions about what societies have valued and preserved over time.
- Lifelong-learning and cultural stewardship: Museum programs foster awareness that learning can occur in informal, non-classroom environments. Studies show that museum visitation habits and cultural interests are formed during childhood.
- Tours must be scheduled at least four weeks in advance.
- Foreign-language tours must be scheduled at least eight weeks in advance.
- Tours are offered at 10:15 a.m., 12:00 noon, 1:30 p.m., and 2:00 p.m., except where noted.
- Groups must contain at least ten students.
- Requests for tours in fall 2008 (October 6 to December 12) will be accepted through November 14.
- Requests for tours in winter and spring 2009 (January 12 to May 29) will be accepted from December 1 through May 1.
To begin the scheduling process:
- Browse the school tour themes to decide which tours meet your curriculum needs and consider when you would like to visit.
- Select "request tour" to access the online tour request form.
- Fill out the form completely, then click "submit." You will receive an automatic response indicating receipt of your request.
Alternatively, you may mail or fax the school tour request form.
You will hear from us within seven business days regarding the status of your tour request. You will receive a written confirmation once your tour has been scheduled. Preparatory materials are available (online) for some tours; see program descriptions.Questions about Tours
Our staff scheduler is available to answer questions about tours on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. (September through May). Please contact Jennifer Cross at (202) 842-6249 or schooltourrequests@nga.gov.
Canceling or Changing Your Tour
To cancel or change a tour, please call (202) 842-6249 at least seven days before your tour date so that your slot may be made available to others.
Chaperones
Tour groups must be accompanied by one adult chaperone for every 10 students. Chaperones must remain with the group at all times. It is the responsibility of chaperones to maintain orderly student behavior at the Gallery. Chaperone information cards outlining Gallery visitor policies will be distributed on the day of your tour.
Number of Students
If the number of students in your group exceeds the number permitted for your desired school tour theme, you may consider:
- scheduling the same tour theme at different times on the same date
- scheduling different tour themes at the same time
- scheduling the same tour theme on different dates
Museum Visits for Pre-Kindergarten and Elementary School Students
These tours engage our youngest viewers through a multisensory approach involving discussion, imagination, creative dramatics, and visual aids.
Art Tales: "Matthew's Dream" by Leo Lionni
Art Tales provides an engaging three-step process for exploring works of art. Children's literature is used to introduce themes in art; students are then encouraged to apply these themes when observing and discussing the works of art in the galleries. An art activity at the end of each program helps students make hands-on connections between the themes discussed and the works observed.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Art Tales: "The Cow Who Fell in the Canal" by Phyllis Krasilovsky
Art Tales provides an engaging three-step process for exploring works of art. Children's literature is used to introduce themes in art; students are then encouraged to apply these themes when observing and discussing the works of art in the galleries. An art activity at the end of each program helps students make hands-on connections between the themes discussed and the works observed.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Children in Art
What was childhood like long ago? On this tour, works of art teach young visitors about children from the past. Students also learn about artists' materials. Participants are encouraged to make their own personal connections and interpretations using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Color, Line, and Shape
How are color, line, and shape used to make works of art? This tour uses careful looking exercises to help students understand the basic elements of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Nature in Art
How does an artist paint the movement of the wind or the texture of a dog's fur? On this tour, students explore the ways that artists paint and sculpt the natural world. By carefully observing works of art, participants discover creatures great and small as well as the outdoor environment. Please note: This tour replaces the Animals in Art and Weather in Art school tours.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Exploring the Elements of Art
What are the different elements that make up a work of art? This tour explores the elements of color, line, shape/form, space, and texture. Guided looking, art making, writing, and discussion activities help students understand how artists consciously manipulate these elements—often in combination—to achieve particular results.
Through "looking, making, and discussing" activities, students increase their appreciation and understanding of art. This two-hour tour starts with a short film to introduce students to the elements of art and is followed by four to six stops in the galleries.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Every Picture Tells a Story
How are works of art like works of literature? This tour looks at paintings through a narrative lens, as unfolding stories with multiple perspectives. Students connect with works of art to create dialogue, discover dramatic tension and foreshadowing, and look for ambiguity. Participants are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Mythology
Which dramatic moment in a mythological story did an artist choose to depict, and why? This tour unravels Greek and Roman myths, which were captured with heightened drama by artists through the ages. Students explore representations of character, plot, and setting as well as the underlying message that the artist conveys.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Sculpture and Sketching
What are some of the characteristics of sculpture? Looking at works ranging from figurative bronze and marble sculpture to objects that challenge the traditional definition of the medium, students investigate the sculptors' use of materials and techniques as well as the sculptures' subject matter, function, and effect on the viewer.
This two-building tour (with six stops) includes careful observation, sketching, and discussion, as participants are encouraged to develop their own ideas and interpretations.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Museum Visits for Middle School Students
Every Picture Tells a Story
How are works of art like works of literature? This tour looks at paintings through a narrative lens, as unfolding stories with multiple perspectives. Students connect with works of art to create dialogue, discover dramatic tension and foreshadowing, and look for ambiguity. Participants are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Exploring Modern Art: Breaking the Rules
What is modern about modern art? Students explore the ways artists "break the rules" when they depart from realistic representation, use innovative techniques, and engage the viewer as a partner in the creation of meaning. Through careful looking and conversation, students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
French Art
How did French art develop over three hundred years? This tour gives students a taste of French art, culture, and history by exploring a variety of themes, such as artistic styles, portraits of historical personalities, scenes from everyday life, and images of patronage and power. Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Mythology
Which dramatic moment in a mythological story did an artist choose to depict, and why? This tour unravels Greek and Roman myths, which were captured with heightened drama by artists through the ages. Students explore representations of character, plot, and setting, as well as the underlying message that the artist conveys.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Portraits and Personalities
How does a portrait reveal the life and time of its sitter? This tour explores portraits and self-portraits from multiple points of view, examining works of art that reveal the sitters' personality, mood, status, and social and historical environment.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Renaissance Art
What radical changes in art and life marked the period known as the Renaissance? Students explore new artistic developments of the period and learn how they were based on scientific discovery—as seen in the representation of the human figure—and on the rise of humanist philosophy.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Sculpture and Sketching
What are some of the characteristics of sculpture? Looking at works ranging from figurative bronze and marble sculpture to objects that challenge the traditional definition of the medium, students investigate the sculptors' use of materials and techniques as well as the sculptures' subject matter, function, and effect on the viewer.
This two-building tour (with six stops) includes careful observation, sketching, and discussion, as participants are encouraged to develop their own ideas and interpretations.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Museum Visits for High School Students
Every Picture Tells a Story
How are works of art like works of literature? This tour looks at paintings through a narrative lens, as unfolding stories with multiple perspectives. Students connect with works of art to create dialogue, discover dramatic tension and foreshadowing, and look for ambiguity. Participants are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Exploring Modern Art: Breaking the Rules
What is modern about modern art? Students explore the ways artists "break the rules" when they depart from realistic representation, use innovative techniques, and engage the viewer as a partner in the creation of meaning. Through careful looking and conversation, students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Exploring Modern Art: Materials and Techniques
From latex and lead to burning and dripping, this tour examines how modern artists and sculptors have responded to a variety of influences through their innovative use of materials and techniques. Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
French Art
How did French art develop over three hundred years? This tour gives students a taste of French art, culture, and history by exploring a variety of themes, such as artistic styles, portraits of historical personalities, scenes from everyday life, and images of patronage and power. Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas using the works of art.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Portraits and Personalities
How does a portrait reveal the life and time of its sitter? This tour explores portraits and self-portraits from multiple points of view, examining works of art that reveal the sitters' personality, mood, status, and social and historical environment.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Renaissance Art
What radical changes in art and life marked the period known as the Renaissance? Students explore new artistic developments of the period and learn how they were based on scientific discovery—as seen in the representation of the human figure—and on the rise of humanist philosophy.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Sculpture and Sketching
What are some of the characteristics of sculpture? Looking at works ranging from figurative bronze and marble sculpture to objects that challenge the traditional definition of the medium, students investigate the sculptors' use of materials and techniques as well as the sculptures' subject matter, function, and effect on the viewer.
This two-building tour (with six stops) includes careful observation, sketching, and discussion, as participants are encouraged to develop their own ideas and interpretations.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
Spanish Art
How did Spanish artists respond to their artistic, cultural, and political surroundings? Students explore and compare the style, subject matter, and technique of artists ranging from El Greco to Picasso. Such influences as patronage, the role of the church, and politics are also presented.
For more information and to request this tour, click here.
French and Spanish Language Tours
Tours conducted in foreign languages by native speakers are intended for advanced high school language students. Owing to a small number of qualified docents, this tour has limited availability. If a foreign-language docent is not available for your requested time slot, the National Gallery can make an English language tour available as an alternative. Please check this option on your tour request form if you are interested. Please choose one of the following topics:
- French Art
- Spanish Art
For more information and to request a foreign-language tour, click here.
We are happy to work with you to customize a tour that meets the needs of your class, adapt an existing tour theme, or create a tour that closely connects to your curriculum. Please provide as much detail as possible on the Tour Request Form. Please note that tour content focuses on the Gallery's permanent collection only. However, self-guided print and online resources for children related to some temporary exhibitions are also available.
School tours with religious art themes can be requested using the special request tour form. Please note that the Christmas Story and Stories from the Hebrew Bible tours are limited to 30 students.
Teachers are welcome to guide their students through the museum independently. Please complete the self-guided group form at least four weeks prior to your visit. This assists museum staff in preventing overcrowding in the galleries. Be sure to indicate whether you would like to receive information describing teaching resources at the Gallery.
Before Your Visit
Thousands of images, art information, and tour planning tools can be accessed on the Gallery's Web site. Learn about the collection, search the collection, take online tours, see what exhibitions will be on view, explore floor plans, read visitor information, check the calendar of events, browse online educational materials, and borrow free-loan teaching resources.
Preview the museum in person or online, identify learning goals, and plot your tour route. Be sure to relate the visit to classroom curriculum and your students' personal experiences. Remember that exploring a few works of art in depth can be more rewarding than quickly surveying many works. Also, please be aware that works of art may be moved or removed from view before the Web site can be updated.
Students learn more during a museum visit when the novelty of the setting has been reduced. Prepare your students with a virtual tour of the museum and pre-visit activities. Reviewing key vocabulary terms and introducing an artist or theme from the tour can help students come to the museum ready to explore.
During Your Visit: Suggested Strategies for Exploring Art
Pick up a museum map or get help finding your way at an information desk (located near each entrance). As you explore the museum, give students time for quiet and careful observation. Try the thirty-second looking activity: Have students look silently at a work of art for thirty seconds, turn away from it and tell you everything they remember, and then look at it again to see what else they can find.
Engage students in dialogue about art. Encourage them to tell you what they see, ask questions, and debate opinions. Ask open-ended questions to encourage participation and help focus student observation and discussion. Have students support their answers and opinions with evidence from the work of art. Paraphrase and summarize student responses.
Sample looking questions include:
- What is going on in this work of art?
- What are the clues that tell you this?
- Who sees something else?
- What questions do you have about this work of art?
- If you could ask the artist one question, what would it be?
In a single gallery, you might ask: "Why do you suppose these works are hung together in the same room? How are they similar; how are they different?" Or, "If, together, these works told a story, what would it be? What title would you give this room?" After exploring a work of art, ask students to finish the sentence, "I still wonder . . ."
Create opportunities during your visit for students to make choices about what they see or do:
- Have students choose the work of art they find most intriguing (or most confusing, most beautiful, etc.) and explain why.
- Discuss a particular theme or idea, such as innovations in subject matter, materials, or methods in modern art. Ask students to choose an object that seems the most innovative and explain why.
- Students may also help sequence parts of the visit. For example, in the East Building Alexander Calder Gallery, ask "Should we begin with a sculpture that is still or one that is moving?"
Use wall labels, brochures, and this Web site to help answer student questions and find additional information.
During Your Visit: Museum Policies
Adequately supervise your students. Groups must have one adult chaperone for every ten students. Chaperones are responsible for monitoring and accompanying students at all times during the visit.
Please share the rules with your students and chaperones both before and during your visit.
- Do not touch works of art. A helpful guideline is to remain at least twelve inches away from any work of art.
- Do not lean drawing or note-taking materials on walls, display cases, or pedestals.
- Do not block doorways or aisles.
- Self-guided groups may be asked to yield to tours given by school docents or staff; only one group may be in a gallery at a time.
After Your Visit
- Continue the museum experience back in the classroom using online or free loan materials.
- Send us student pictures or letters describing your visit, and ideas on how we can further support you.
Resources and Tips for Planning
Audio Tours
The Director's Tour and Adventures
in Art: A Family Audio Tour of Seventeenth-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings
(appropriate for children ages 7 to 12) are
available for rental at the West Building Mall entrance. Exhibition-related
audio tours are available for rental at the entrances to many exhibitions.
For group reservations for audio tours (ten or more), call (202) 842-6592.
NGA Classroom
Access NGA Classroom, our online compendium of electronic teaching resources. Here you'll find dynamic in-depth studies on individual works, artists, and periods as well as printable worksheets and classroom lesson plans. Teachers may search by artist, topic, or curricular theme to find information on subjects ranging from ancient Chinese art and archaeology to Dada, the World War I–era art movement.
NGA Loan Materials
View a searchable library of 120+ teaching packets, videos, and DVDs on various periods, artists, and the art of specific cultures available on loan, free of charge, to educators, institutions, community organizations, and individuals. Teaching packet titles include Picturing France: 1830–1900 and Islamic Art and Culture. Packets may include in-depth, illustrated booklets; large color reproductions, suitable for posting in the classroom; slides and image CDs; and timelines. Submit requests for loan materials online. Please allow one month for delivery of loan materials.
Or, request a free printed catalogue of loan materials:
E-mail: EdResources@nga.gov
Fax: (202) 842-6937
Mail: Education Resources
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
NGAkids
Take an animated tour through the sculpture garden or visit a Dutch dollhouse. This hands-on treasure trove of interactive, "learning to look" online activities and projects is based on works of art in the National Gallery of Art's collection and from temporary exhibitions, with links to other Gallery resources and program offerings for children and families. Tailored for preschool through grade 6 students, NGAkids may also be enjoyed by children of any age.
Online Tours
Explore an artist, specific work of art, or theme in depth. More than 50 features are available online. Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, Paul Cézanne, and Julia Margaret Cameron are among the featured artists.
Student Lunches
Sack lunches may be stored in the checkrooms. Groups may not eat sack lunches in the cafeteria as there are no special lunch facilities for school groups. Groups may purchase their lunches from the full-service cafeteria. Group meal plans can be arranged by submitting an order form or by calling (202) 712-7454 72 hours in advance. View group meal plan menus and ordering information.
Cameras and Backpacks
Handheld cameras, pencils, and pads are allowed in the permanent collection areas but not in special exhibitions. Students may not wear backpacks in the galleries. Backpacks must be checked at a checkroom. We recommend that students leave all backpacks at school or on the bus to prevent entry delays. Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the Gallery.
The use of tripods, easels, and ink and chalk drawing materials is prohibited without special advance permission. See also museum policies.
Location and Hours
The National Gallery of Art, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. See also area
map, public transportation, parking.
Floor Plans: West Building | East Building
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, located on the National Mall at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, is bounded by Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive and by 7th and 9th Streets NW.
Accessibility
The 6th Street entrance to the West Building at Constitution Avenue and the 4th Street entrance to the East Building have ramps to accommodate visitors in wheelchairs. Please inform the tour scheduler and docents of any special needs before your tour. A Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) is available at (202) 842-6176. A TDD for use by visitors is located at the public telephone adjacent to the stamp machine near the Concourse Level Sales Shop. This TDD is situated to accommodate wheelchair users.
Parking
Metered street parking for cars and vans is available along the Mall. Buses
may let students off at the entrance noted on your confirmation sheet. Parking
for buses is usually allowed only on Independence Avenue near the Washington
Monument.
Public Transportation
The nearest Metro stops are Judiciary Square on the Red
Line, Archives on the Yellow/Green Lines, and
Smithsonian on the Blue/Orange Lines. Metro bus stops
are located on 4th Street and 7th Street NW. DC Circulator bus stops
are located at 4th Street and Madison Drive and at 7th Street
and Constitution Avenue NW.
Further information about Metrobus and Metrorail routes and schedules is available at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Web site. The WMATA RideGuide Web site provides a fast and easy way to plan your visit to the Gallery.
Security
Visitors will be asked to present all bags and parcels for inspection. All backpacks,
luggage, oversized bags, parcels, and umbrellas must be left in the checkrooms.
These items will be subject to x-ray screening prior to acceptance. We regret
that we are unable to accommodate any items larger than 17 x 26 inches (43
x 66 cm) into the Gallery or its checkrooms. Checkrooms located at the entrances to both the East Building and the West Building are provided free of charge.
We recommend that students leave their backpacks at school or on the bus to
prevent entry delays. See further information about cameras, art supplies, and backpacks.
Museum Shops
Reproductions, exhibition catalogues, and books on the collections are available to educators
at a 20 percent discount by mail order only. For more information, call
(202) 842-6002 or (800) 697-9350.
Calendars of Events
Find out what's happening this month at
the National Gallery of Art. The current bimonthly Calendar of Events is available in PDF format (PDF 1.1 MB) (Download Acrobat Reader)
To obtain a free bimonthly calendar of events by mail, call (202) 842-6662, or contact us by e-mail at calendar@nga.gov.
To receive a free quarterly film calendar by mail, contact us by e-mail at film-department@nga.gov. Please include your mailing address.
Subscribe to Our Free E-mail Newsletters
Stay up to date with the National Gallery of Art by subscribing to our free e-mail newsletters: Web, educators, family programs, fellowships/internships, films, gallery talks/lectures, music programs, and teen programs. Select as many updates as you wish to receive. To edit your subscriber information, please go to our subscription
management page.
Has your class or organization taken a National Gallery of Art school tour? Please take a moment to share your experience and comments with us by completing our online feedback form.