Guided Group Tours for Pre-K–12 Students

Guided Tours for Groups of Pre-K–12 Students (COVID)

Groups of 10+ pre-K–12 students are invited to schedule a tour of the Museum's Collection or one of our special exhibitions. Our inquiry-based group tours, led by volunteer docents or Museum staff, challenge students to hone their observation skills.

Guided tours for students take place Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 10am–5pm; at least two weeks' advance booking is required, with credit card payment made in full at least one week prior to the tour (checks may be delivered on tour day). Museum staff will work with each group contact to subdivide the group as necessary to comply with state and county capacity guidelines. Our current capacity is a maximum of 60 students per K–12 group. Student groups of larger sizes may be subdivided into multiple days.

Group admission for students is $5/pre-K–12 student; one chaperone is free per 10 students, with additional chaperones charged the student rate. Some restrictions apply.

Visitors on all guided and self-guided tours follow the Museum's temporary COVID-19 safety precautions; for more information, click here. Museum staff will work with each group contact to subdivide the group as necessary to comply with state and county capacity guidelines. As a safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, guided groups of up to 20 participants may choose to use a Tour Mate digital group-guide system (personal audio transmitters and receivers) to help with social distancing in the galleries; there is an additional $2/person charge for personal earbuds and sanitization of equipment.

On the group-tour request form, pre-K–12 teachers may choose a topic from among four curriculum-based tours (see below), or a special-exhibition tour; teachers may also add a related hands-on studio activity at no additional charge.

  • Discovering Art: This tour focuses on looking at artworks through the lens of the elements of art and principles of design, using visual-arts and museum vocabulary. This tour visits the Collection Hall and selected special exhibitions.
  • Intersections in American Art: This tour focuses on the Museum’s Collection of American art of the 20th and 21st centuries, exploring the connection between art and artists of WNC/Southern Appalachia and the US at large. This tour visits the Collection Hall.
  • More Than Math: This tour uses mathematical concepts to explore visual art, identifying similarities and differences in lines, shapes, and patterns. This tour visits the Collection Hall and selected special exhibitions.
  • See & Say: This tour uses language arts and communication skills to explore visual art, making connections to descriptive and narrative writing techniques and parts of speech. This tour visits the Collection Hall and selected special exhibitions.

College and university student groups: Click here for more information.

Self-guided pre-K–12 groups: Click here for more information.

To request a guided tour for a group of pre-K–12 students, click on the button below.

Request Tour Now