K–12 Tours

The Nasher Museum of Art offers guided gallery tours for K-12 students that address various learning styles through purposeful looking, collaborative investigation, engaging conversation, and thoughtfully planned gallery interactions. Students are encouraged to use visual evidence to construct their own interpretations about objects of art and develop critical thinking and communication skills. Tours and activities are designed to reinforce classroom objectives and promote arts integration across the curriculum.

Guided tours are available Tuesday – Friday and typically include five to seven works of art and feature longer interpretative conversations and small group activities. Schools may bring 60 students to the museum at a time unless otherwise noted. For groups larger than 60, our staff will work with you to schedule multiple visits. Tours for PK-2 are 60 minutes in length, grades 3-12 are 90 minutes.

Art Odyssey

Recommended for grades PK-2
Limited to groups of 30 or less for PK groups
Available through June 1
The perfect tour for first-time art museum visitors! Students will explore the Nasher’s building and art collection with imaginative conversation, playful movement, and fun hands-on activities.

Double Exposure: Connecting Science and Art at Duke Gardens and the Nasher Museum

Especially for 2nd grade classes
10 AM – 1:30 PM (students bring their own lunch)
Available through June 1

Students will sharpen observational skills, practice collecting data, discover connections between science and art, and engage in hands on discovery. This program includes 80 minutes of guided tours at each venue with a 50 minute lunch break.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Recommended for grades K-5
Available through June 1
Explore the relationships between art and storytelling while building on classroom literacy skills. This playful and interactive tour reinforces the English Language Arts Common Core standards.

Art and Society

Recommended for grades 6-12
Available through June 1
Consider the role artists throughout the ages have played in describing and shaping their society. Students will look critically and engage in conversation that promotes media literacy. Participants will take part in small group activities that address a diverse array of topics, from social justice to creative reuse, which can also be adapted to your group’s needs and interests. This tour invites students to draw connections between art, their lives, and the world around them so they can become more empathetic citizens.

Español en el Museo

Recommended for grades 6-12
Available through June 1
Using the Nasher’s collection, students will explore the artistic legacy of Spanish art and culture, as well as native cultures before Spanish conquest. Tours will be interactive and discussion based, and include a hands-on activity and a Spanish language written activity.

Request a K-12 Guided Tour.

Before requesting a K-12 Guided Tour, please check this calendar for tour availability. Tour times listed on the calendar are currently available for the number of students listed in parenthesis.

This calendar will be updated as often as possible, but it does not reflect a “real-time” schedule of K-12 tour reservations.

Self-guided groups or teacher led tours are welcome in all of our galleries. Teachers should preview exhibitions to assure the content in each gallery is age appropriate. Self-guided tours must be schedule in advance.

Self-guided visits must be scheduled in advance. Complete this form. to schedule your self-guided visit or call 919-684-1169.

What to Expect

• Inquiry-based tour approach where students and Gallery Guide discuss artworks.
• Opportunity to practice critical thinking skills.
• Focused discussions on a selected group of about 6-10 works of art.
• All guided tours meet multiple North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Standards.
• Tours engage multiple learning styles.

Special Needs

Help us create an inclusive program. Please inform us in advance of any students with cognitive, emotional or physical disabilities in your group. We will do our best to adapt the program to best meet everyone’s needs.

Class Size

Classes will tour the museum in groups of 10 -15 students. Usually we can accommodate a maximum of 60 students per tour time.

Chaperones for Guided Tours

Grades K-5: 1 chaperone for every 5 students.
Grades 6-8: 2 chaperones for every 15 students.
Grades 9-12: 1 chaperone for every 15 students.

Chaperones for self-guided groups: We require 1 chaperone for every 5 students.

Lunch

K-12 school groups may eat lunch or snacks in the Community Classroom only if this space is reserved in advance. The Community Classroom seats a maximum of 32 people. Weather permitting, school groups may picnic on museum grounds in designated areas only. Outside food and drink are not permitted anywhere else in the museum or on museum grounds.

Bus scholarships are available for a limited number of K-12 guided field trips to the museum. Please contact nashered@duke.edu, or call 919-684-1169, to find out if your school qualifies.

Please contact the Education Associate by emailing nashered@duke.edu or calling 919-684-1169.