Grades 6 to 12

Museum Introduction Tours

Art from Many Places

An encyclopedic museum encompasses art from many geographic locations, historical eras, and varied cultures. Students will develop looking and critical thinking skills as they explore the differences and similarities among works of art throughout the museum.


Limit: 90 Students
60 minutes for grades 6–12

Specialized Tours

American Art: Themes and Ideas

This tour incorporates late 19th- and 20th-century American art and 18th- and 19th-century folk art. The galleries that contain American art from the 17th through early 19th century will be closed January 2 through April 12, 2013. The tours Learning About America through Art (grades 4-5) and Art of the United States”(grades 6–12) tours will resume April 15.

Art of Ancient Greece, Etruria, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire

Students explore the art and informing ideas of the ancient cultures of Greece, Etruria, Rome, and the early Byzantine Empire.

Limit 60 students
60 minutes for grades 6–12

Classical Mythology in Art

On this tour, students explore the mythology of the ancient Mediterranean world and trace its influence in later European and American art.

Limit 60 students
60 minutes for grades 6-12

 Art and Garden

Offered in partnership with the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park across the street from the museum’s Ryan Education Center, this tour enables students to investigate ways in which artists depict the natural world in works of art. They then cross into the Lurie Garden over the Nichols Bridgeway, discovering similarities and differences in landscape design with Lurie Garden docents. Students will investigate the ways in which both artists and landscape designers use color, line, and shape as compositional elements in their work and will discuss design elements in both locations.

Limit: 40 Students
60-minute museum tour followed by a 45-minute garden tour for grades 6–12 

Thursdays in April and May, 10:30–12:30

 Arts of Africa

The diverse cultural traditions and worldviews that objects from Africa embody are the focus of this tour. Students will explore a variety of objects in order to compare and contrast the ways in which they functioned originally and to consider how aesthetic properties communicate cultural values.

Limit 60 Students
60 minutes for grades 6–12 

 Asian Art

On this survey tour students will explore the aesthetics, related spiritual beliefs, and philosophical ideas of eastern and south Asian cultures through engagement with works of art from China, Japan, India, and Korea, and other Asian cultures. A variety of objects will be discussed including ceramics, cast metals, works on silk or paper, and textiles.


Limit: 60 Students
60 minutes for grades 6–12

European Art 

Art of France

Through intensive investigation of subject matter, artistic styles, and techniques, students will discuss historical and cultural changes in France as exemplified by
French art.


Limit: 90 Students
90 minutes for grades 9-12

Art of Spain

Through intensive investigation of subject matter, artistic styles, and techniques, students will discuss historical and cultural changes in Spain as exemplified by
Spanish art.


Limit: 90 Students
90 minutes for grades 9-12

European Art (1300–1800)

This survey tour provides an overview of cultural changes in Europe from medieval times through the dawn of the 19th century. Students will discover the changing nature of European cultures and some of the overarching ideas of the times through their examination of subject matter and artistic, technical, and aesthetic perspectives in painting, sculpture and decorative arts.

Limit: 90 Students
60 minutes grades 6–8

90 minutes grades 9–12 (10:00 and 10:30 only)

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

Students will discover how Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art reflected new attitudes toward nature and 19th century life. They will examine the artists’ stylistic innovations and note how their outlooks represented a radical change from the past as well as critical portents for the future.


Limit: 80 Students
60 minutes for grades 6–12

Modern and Contemporary Art

Contemporary Art and Design

This tour explores work produced from 1950 to the present, including painting, sculpture, installation art, new-media work, design, and architecture.


Limit: 90 Students
60 minutes for grades 6-8
90 minutes for grades 9-12

Modern Art

What does it mean to be “modern”? Students will explore the great variety of styles and “isms” that comprise 20th-century modern art and connect these works to subsequent artistic styles.


Limit: 90 Students
60 minutes for grades 6–8

90 minutes for grades 9–12

Writing and Drawing Tours

Art and Creative Writing

Students will enhance their visual perception skills by engaging with works of art through writing short pieces including narratives and poetry. All materials are supplied.


Limit: 30 Students
90 minutes for grades 6-12

Seeing through Drawing 

Students will hone their looking skills by exploring the composition and style of works of art through drawing. Visceral understanding is stressed rather than drawing expertise, so no experience is required! All materials are provided.


Limit: 30 Students
90 minutes for grades 6–12