School Tours
Engage, explore, and connect with artworks on educator-guided or self-guided tours.
School visits may be arranged Tuesday through Friday at 10 am.
Trained museum educators lead our PreK–12 guided school tours. Tours are interactive and filled with activities to help students connect with works of art.
- Phillips Educators are trained in inquiry-based learning and arts integration.
- Visits are 1 hour in duration and free of charge.
- Please plan to arrive 5 minutes early, and factor in additional time if your group will need a bathroom break prior to the tour.
- Visits must be scheduled at least one month in advance.
- School groups cannot be greater than 25. One chaperone is required for every 10 students.
Before your visit, we recommend that you explore the following resources:
- Our educator resources to see some of our arts integration strategies, activities, and lesson plans.
- The Collection page to see which works are currently on view.
- The Visit page and Self-guide pages for additional information and resources.
School Tours Offered
Making Friends
Grades: K-3
Students will discover new friends while looking closely at works of art. The tour will consider how we can use empathy with our friends, activities we enjoy doing with friends, and places we like to spend time with friends.
Color, Line, and Shape
Grades: K-8
For grades K-3, students will explore how artists use color, line, and shape to express ideas, tell stories, and inspire responses from viewers. For grades 4-8, students will explore the choices that artists make, with a focus on color, line, and shape. Depending on the age group, the tour may also explore artistic techniques such as balance, composition, and materials as well as ideas of representational and abstract art.
Celebrating the Natural World
Grades: 3-6
Students will look at artwork through an environmental lens. They will consider the ways we celebrate and enjoy nature, the ways we harness and exploit nature, and the fragility of the natural environment.
Taking a Stand, Making a Change
Grades 7-9
Students will explore artistic expressions of protest, social concerns, and advocacy. Students will discover how the elements of art—including composition, choice of media, and color, line, and shape—enhance the messages of artists.
Shifting Perspectives and Seeing Differently
Grades: 9-12
Students will examine their own personal responses to art, asking themselves why they feel the way they do and what might change their minds. They will consider how each person can reach a unique conclusion and “see” something in a particular way, even when accessing the same visual information as another person. They will contemplate the ways art can change us.
*If you are a from a DC Public School and need funding for a bus, please contact tours@phillipscollection.org. Bus stipends are available on a first come, first serve basis.
*Please review our safety guidelines before your visit.