Guided tours are led by experienced gallery educators, or docents, who interact with students to engage them in detailed looking, discussion, and critical thinking about works of art in the collection. Please consult the list of tours below to select the docent-led tour that is appropriate for your students' grade level and your area of interest. Docent-led tours meet all Illinois State Goals in Fine Arts and numerous goals and standards in English, Language Arts, Social Sciences, Science, and Math.
Tour Lengths
Most docent-led tours are one hour in length. Exceptions are tours for younger children such as the ABCs of Art for Pre-K–2nd grade and Museum Introduction tours for grades 1–2, which are both 45 minutes in length. High-school groups may request one and one-half hour European Art, Art of France, Art of Spain, Art Traditions of the United States, and Modern and Contemporary Art tours. Creative Writing and Seeing through Drawing tours always are one and one-half hours in length. Tours that have attached studio sessions are two hours. Consult the tour list below for details.
Tour Times
First-semester docent-led tours will be offered Monday–Friday from October 5, 2008 through January 29, 2010, with the exception of Thanksgiving break, November 25–29, and Winter break, December 18, 2009–January 10, 2010. Tour times are 10:00, 10:30, 11:30, and 12:00 unless otherwise indicated. Please note that not all tours are available at all times. All online applicants receive a registration receipt upon submission and tour applications are processed and confirmed by our scheduling office within five business days. An e-mail tour confirmation is then sent. If a tour is unavailable, applicants will be notified by e-mail and asked to re-apply for a different time or date.
Grades Pre-K–3
ABCs of Art: Early Childhood Education
(45 minutes for pre-K–2; one hour for grade 3; offered at 10:00 only)
These thematic, interactive tours bring works of art to life for young children. Students will discover two to four works of art related to one of the themes listed below by reading a picture book, engaging in looking activities, and doing hands-on projects with such materials as crayons, yarn, pipe cleaners, and wooden blocks. Pre-tour activity bags are available for loan through the Crown Family Educator Resource Center. Limit: 40 students
My Five Senses
We use our senses everyday. When we look at works of art, we can imagine the sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of what we see.
Animals in Art
Animals are everywhere! At the museum, you might discover an ancient ceramic cup in the shape of a donkey's head, paintings with fierce dragons and galloping horses, or penguins made of marble.
Lines, Shapes, and Colors
What happens when you turn a line into a shape and fill it with color? Learn the answer to this question and more about how artists use these elements to create works of art.
Grades 1–5Museum Introduction: Art from Many Places
(45 minutes for grades 1–2; one hour for grades 3–5)
Discover basic art elements and vocabulary and develop looking skills while exploring the making and meaning of art from different cultures. Ideal for first-time visitors.
Stories in Art
(45 minutes for grades 1–2; one hour for grades 3–5)
Every picture tells a story! Some works of art tell the whole story, others might tell just a part. Students will investigate the ways in which artists tell stories through works of art and will discuss subject matter, sequence, narrators, and plot.
Clues from the Past
(45 minutes for grades 1–2; one hour for grades 3–5)
Students sharpen observational and critical-thinking skills as they investigate what art can tell us about the people, lifestyles, and beliefs from other times and cultures.
Self, Family, and Community
(45 minutes for grades 1–2; one hour for grade 3)
Students explore the similarities and differences of individuals and groups around the world through works of art.
Self, Family, and Community with Studio Program
(One-hour tour plus one-hour studio activity; grades 3–5 only; offered at 10:00 on Fridays)
Students explore the similarities and differences of individuals and groups around the world through works of art, and then further investigate the tour theme in an art-making studio session. Limit: 60 students
Grades 4–5Art and Garden Tour
(Two hours, grades 4–12 only; offered on Thursdays at 10:30 through November)
Students investigate the ways in which artists incorporate elements of the natural world in works of art in the Art Institute and then cross the Nichols Bridgeway over Monroe Street to meet Lurie Garden docents. Together, they explore the Lurie Garden to compare and contrast the ways in which both artists and landscape designers use color, line, and shape as compositional elements in their work and discuss design elements in both locations. Limit: 40 students
Introduction to Impressionism
Investigate the subjects, styles, materials, and techniques of Impressionism by introducing artists and comparing Impressionist paintings with earlier and later works of art. Limit: 80 students
Learning about America through Art
Travel in time through American history as works of art introduce students to the people, land, events, and values that have shaped the United States. Limit: 80 students
Grades 6–12
(Tour are on hour unless otherwise noted)
Ancient Worlds
Investigate art from the great empires and early civilizations of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Etruria. Limit: 40 students
Art of Africa
Discover the variety of art developed by the rich and diverse cultures of the African continent. Limit: 30 students
Art of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Etruria, and Rome
Explore the arts and ideas of these four ancient Western cultures and trace influences seen in art of subsequent eras. Limit: 40 students
Art and Creative Writing
(90 minutes; offered at 10:00 only)
Focusing on a limited number of works in the galleries, students create poems and narratives that sharpen verbal skills and visual perception. All materials are supplied. Limit: 30 students
Art of France
(One hour for grades 6–8; 90 minutes for grades 9–12)
Discover historical and cultural changes in French art through the evolution of subject matter, techniques, and in the roles of art and artists in French society. Limit: 80 students
Art and Garden
(One-hour museum tour plus one-hour garden tour)
Explore works of art in the museum to discover ways in which artists incorporate the natural world and then cross the Nichols Bridgeway into Millennium Park's Lurie Garden where, along with Lurie Garden staff and docents, students will compare and contrast the ways in which landscape designers use color, line, and shape as compositional elements in their work. Limit: 40 students
Art of Spain
(One hour for grades 6–8; 90 minutes for grades 9–12)
Enhance the study of Spanish culture and history by exploring the development of the arts of Spain from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Limit: 80 students
Art Traditions of the United States
(One hour for grades 6–8; 90 minutes for grades 9–12)
Explore the extraordinary variety of the histories and cultures that make up our country's past and present. Limit: 80 students
Asian Art
Explore the art history, belief systems, and cultural values through the art of China, Japan, India, and Korea. Limit: 60 students
Classical Mythology in Art
Examine classical myths and trace the revival and reinterpretation of these myths in art of subsequent eras. Limit: 60 students
European Art, 1300–1800
(One hour for grades 6–8; 90 minutes for grades 9–12)
Provides an overview of historical and cultural change in Europe from medieval times through the dawn of the 19th century. Students will explore the changing nature of art through an examination of subject matter, art techniques, and the function of art and the artist's role in society. Limit: 90 students
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Learn how Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art reflected new artistic attitudes toward nature and modern life. Limit: 80 students
Modern and Contemporary Art
(One hour for grades 6–8; 90 minutes for grades 9–12)
Students will discover myriad styles, "-isms," and many new and different ways of perceiving the world around us that comprise modern and contemporary art. Limit: 120 students
Modern and Contemporary Art with Studio
(Fridays only)
A one-hour tour of modern and contemporary art in conjunction with a one-hour studio session in which students further explore one of the tour's thematic elements in depth. Limit: 60 students
Museum Introduction: Art from Many Places
Discover basic art elements and vocabulary and develop looking skills while exploring the making and meaning of art from different cultures. Ideal for first-time visitors. Limit 90 students
Seeing through Drawing
(90 minutes; offered at 10:30 only)
Sharpen observational skills and gain insight into the creative process by exploring composition, style, and technique through drawing. No prior drawing experience is necessary. All materials are supplied. Limit: 30 students
Studio Programs, Special Programs, and Special ExhibitionsThis fall, we are offering two new studio-based programs and a special program in partnership with the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park. We're also incorporating the special exhibition Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago, described below, into select student tours.
Self, Family, and Community with Studio
For grades 3–5
Fridays, 10:00–12:00
This tour introduces students to the Art Institute's collection through the themes of self, family, and community. Students will discuss works of art from different cultures and time periods that touch upon the relationships between individuals and their cultural surroundings and then create a work of art that relates to their own family and community.
Modern and Contemporary Art with Studio
For grades 6–12
Wednesdays, 10:00–12:00
After participating in a docent-led tour of the modern and contemporary galleries, in which student groups will discuss how artists of the 20th and 21st centuries have seen and represented the world around them in new, often personal, and always surprising ways, students will engage in a hands-on, multimedia studio activity that allows them to express their own ideas.
Art and Garden Tours
For grades 4–12
Thursdays, 10:30–12:00
In partnership with the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, we are offering a new tour that connects the Art Institute's collection with its garden neighbor. Students will investigate the ways in which artists incorporate elements of the natural world in works of art and then cross the Nichols Bridgeway over Monroe Street to meet docents in the Lurie Garden, where they will compare and contrast the ways in which artists and landscape designers use color, line, and shape as compositional elements in their work. Students will discuss design elements in both locations. Please be aware that this program will run rain or shine; students and teachers should be prepared to tour the garden in inclement weather, blizzards and thunderstorms expected.
Special Exhibition: Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago
This special exhibition highlights the Art Institute and Chicago collectors' outstanding collections of Arts and Crafts furniture, metalwork, ceramics, paintings, photography, and textiles. One or two stops in this exhibition can be included on most Art of the United States tours. If you are interested, be sure to tell the docent who contacts you prior to your tour that your class would like to visit Apostles of Beauty.
Questions? Please call the Student Tours office at (312) 443-3679.
Illinois Learning StandardsAll tours meet Illinois Learning Standards in Language Arts, Social Sciences, and Fine Arts. See below for details.
Language Arts
Goal 1 Reading—All tours
Goal 2 Literature—All tours
Goal 3 Writing—Art and Creative Writing
Goal 4 Listening and Speaking—All tours
Social Sciences
Goal 16 History—All tours
Goal 18 Social Systems—All tours
Fine Arts
Goal 25 Language of the Arts—All tours
Goal 26 Creating and Performing—Seeing through Drawing; Really Big and Really Small; Me and My World; and Lines, Shapes, Colors
Goal 27 Arts and Civilization—All tours
Foreign Languages
Goal 29 Culture and Geography—Arts of France, Arts of Spain, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Introduction to Impressionism
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