School Tours
Overview
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| Photo: Orange Photography |
We are always pleased to welcome student visitors. SFMOMA offers a variety of free tours designed to appeal to students of various levels and to promote an understanding of modern and contemporary art.
School groups must arrange their visits in advance in order to schedule a tour and receive free admission. Unscheduled groups with a sufficient number of chaperones are welcome to visit SFMOMA independently during regular museum hours, but they must wait in the general admission line. Chaperones pay museum admission; children 12 and under are admitted free. Groups of older students are eligible for a group admission discount.
All school groups must be accompanied by chaperones. See our Tour Procedures for more information about leading students through the galleries.
Types of School Tours
Look, Learn, Create Tours for Grades 3–8
These interactive tours engage students in active viewing, dynamic discussion, and creative projects. Students break into small groups to tour the museum's second-floor permanent collection galleries with a docent. During the tour, students participate in hands-on gallery activities. Each museum tour is preceded by an in-school docent orientation that prepares students for their visit.
Look, Learn, Create tours are offered by prior reservation on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Tours for grades 3 - 5 are conducted from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; tours for grades 6 - 8 are available from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tours are free of charge. We can accommodate a maximum of 35 students per tour. Please note that there must be one chaperone for every 10 students, and that no more than eight chaperones may accompany a group.
To schedule a tour, download an application (PDF) or call the Docent Tour Scheduling Office at 415.357.4095.
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| Photo: Winni Wintermeyer |
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Teen Tours for High School Students
Tours of the museum's collection or special exhibitions can be tailored to complement curriculum topics in the humanities, social sciences, language arts, and fine arts. We recommend that teachers use the theme-based lessons and activities from the museum's online curriculum site, ArtThink, to prepare students for their museum visit.
To schedule a Teen Tour, download an application (PDF) or call the Docent Tour Scheduling Office at 415.357.4095. Teen Tours are offered free of charge. We can accommodate a maximum of 45 students per tour. Please note that there must be one chaperone for every 10 students, and that no more than eight chaperones may accompany a group.
Art Express Outreach Program
The Art Express outreach program is designed for classes in grades 2 and higher that are unable to visit the museum. Docents travel to your classroom to lead a 30- to 45-minute discussion and hands-on art activity that introduces key concepts of modern and contemporary art to your students.
To schedule an Art Express session, download an application (PDF) or call the Docent Tour Scheduling Office at 415.357.4095.
Certified Self-Guided Touring Workshops
Ideal for high school teachers who would like to tour their students through the museum without a docent, this workshop acquaints educators with SFMOMA's collections and touring procedures. Participants receive materials to prepare students for their museum visits and are eligible to schedule self-guided tours for their classes free of charge. Teachers are required to be recertified every three years.
The workshop is offered once per semester. To register, download an application (PDF) or call the School, Youth, and Family Programs Officem at 415.357.4067.
Summer Youth Tours
June 21 - August 31, 2010
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
SFMOMA is pleased to offer summer youth tours of The Anniversary Show and Calder to Warhol: Introducing the Fisher Collection. These tours are designed to engage young visitors through inquiry-based tours and hands-on creation. Participants break into small groups to tour the museum's galleries with a docent and engage in gallery activities. The tour ends with a hands-on art project in SFMOMA's studio classrooms.
To schedule a summer youth tour, call the Docent Tour Scheduling Office at 415.357.4095.
School Tour Procedures
SFMOMA requests that teachers divide their classes into several smaller groups, each with a dedicated chaperone. School groups will be admitted to the museum only if they have the requisite number of chaperones: one adult per 10 students for grades 3 through 12. Chaperones must remain with their subgroups (in the same gallery or in close proximity) throughout the duration of the visit and take responsibility for the group's behavior.
The maximum number of students admitted to the museum at once is 35; groups of more than 35 students may visit the museum in shifts at half-hour intervals. While one group is visiting SFMOMA, the other group may visit the Yerba Buena Gardens across the street until it is their turn to enter the museum.
Students are asked to leave their backpacks at school or on the bus. Otherwise, all backpacks must be left at coat check. Students should observe all general museum rules, including:
- Do not touch the art.
- Speak quietly.
- Walk — do not run — in the galleries.
- Stay behind the black line on the floor in front of artworks.
- Use only pencils in the galleries; pens are not permitted.
Most of all, have fun and enjoy the museum! Thank you for your careful consideration and adherence to these policies.
