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Walker School Tour Program

Young students

An Enriching, Expanded School Day

Broaden learning beyond your classroom through the arts! Walker School Tours are more than just a fun field trip or culminating activity—they’re an impactful source of support for your teaching efforts year-round. Designed by Museum Educators and Curriculum Specialists for students across the heartland and beyond, each tour offers a range of benefits for a unique experience:

  • Aligned with K-12 state curriculum standards, STEAM-friendly, and able to be tailored to your classroom’s needs.
  • Completely free of cost. We’ll even provide reimbursements for transportation and substitute teachers for on-site tours, and free sack lunches for guided tours.
  • Easy for teachers to coordinate and take away new strategies to use in their classrooms.
  • Engaging, accessible, and inclusive of all learning styles, offering memorable moments for students of all backgrounds and abilities to make creative connections with school subjects.All tours focus on four to five works of art and are themed around an essential question. Each tour stop uses a specific guiding question to scaffold the conversation back into the theme and standards of your classroom.

Got questions? Please reach out to School.Programs@CrystalBridges.org.

NEW: Workshop Add-On

Art Educator demonstrates a technique to a group of children
On-site Grades K-12 AUG 14 - OCT 18, 2024; JAN 2 - MAR 14, 2025

In preparation for our upcoming gallery and studio expansion, we are piloting add–on experiences that complement and enhance our K-12 tours. These hour-long workshops are completely free and take place after the guided tour and lunch. Activities will vary depending on your tour, but could include individual or group artmaking as well as age–appropriate demonstrations. Workshops are available August 14-October 18, 2024, and January 2-March 14, 2025, depending on your preferred date and time. Please indicate your interest in a workshop when you book your tour.

Seasonal & Special Tours

Knowing the West

On-site Virtual Grades 3-12 SEP 16, 2024 - JAN 27, 2025

The first major traveling exhibition to focus on the coexistence of art created between 1785 and 1922 by Native American and non-Native American artists, Knowing the West celebrates the American West as inclusive, complex, and reflective of the diverse peoples who contributed to art and life there.

Four black sculptures depicting a family by the artist KAWS.

KAWS Family

On-site Grades 3-12 MAR 15 - JUL 28, 2025

Drawing from the iconic characters that populate his work, KAWS: Family features a broad mixture of works by artist Brian Donnelly (better known as KAWS) including murals, sketches, sculptures, and more. KAWS’s characters invite us to reflect on the many ways their representations of family (biological, chosen, and otherwise) can be complex, familiar, and astonishingly heartfelt.

Career Tour

On-site Grades 6-12

Step behind the scenes with Crystal Bridges staff to look at the variety of careers it takes to keep the museum open and running smoothly. From culinary to accounting, graphic design to horticulture, the career possibilities are endless. Educators will be provided with a list of careers to request from so we can tailor the tour to your students’ interests and career goals.

Abstract art

Mindfulness Tour

On-site Grades 7-12

Today’s fast-paced world often causes students to struggle to slow down and notice the beauty of the world around them. The practice of mindfulness and slow looking at art can help combat this struggle and foster a sense of personal well-being. Crystal Bridges offers students the tools needed to combine the aesthetic appreciation of art with the practice of mindfulness. Students will experience deep looking techniques which help to calm the mind and body and create a connection between art and wellness. The use of art, architecture, and nature can help students learn how to reduce stressors and increase the ability to focus on the present moment.

Looking for more preset and custom tour options available throughout the year?

Explore the Walker School Tours Catalog

Visitor Voices

“What a fabulous experience for our Grade 4 students! They all came back telling me all of the things they saw—so excited!” —School Principal

“I was inspired. I want to go again!” —Student

“The students had a phenomenal experience. Wonderful tour—they are still talking about it!” —Elementary School Teacher

“Muchas gracias por habermos invitado. Fue muy interesante, es un lugar muy bonito.” —ESL Student

Looking for After-School Tours or College Tours?

After-School Tours   College Tours

Sponsored by:

GoGo Squeez, Kimberly-Clark, and BoozmanHof Regional Eye Clinic & Optical Shop