K–12 Programs
Calling all K–12 educators: come to Princeton University for a tour of the Art Museum, campus art or a visit to Art@Bainbridge—or let us bring the Museum’s collections to your classroom. The Art Museum works with individual K–12 teachers to tailor programs that meet your teaching needs and connect with classroom curriculum through student-driven discussions and activities. Fees are waived for school groups during the academic year.
On-Campus Experiences
Plan a visit to Princeton University to explore the Art Museum, art on campus, Art@Bainbridge, or a combination of these experiences.
A docent speaking about Titus Kaphar's work, To Be Sold, 2018.
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Princeton University is home to one of the country’s most extraordinary collections of twentieth- and twenty-first-century public sculpture, located throughout campus. Schedule a guided walking tour of the campus collections and see a variety of works by modern and contemporary sculptors, from Henry Moore to Maya Lin. Learn about materials and techniques and explore elements of design and balance.
Choose from three campus neighborhoods to tour: Main Campus, Social Sciences and Engineering, or Residential Colleges.
Guided tours are available for groups of 8 or more. Each tour lasts approximately one hour.
Tours can be scheduled Monday through Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with the last tour beginning at 3 p.m. Campus tours are available March through November.
All tour routes are stair-free.
Groups are welcome to explore campus art on their own. Resources about the collections and artists, including audio descriptions of the sculptures, are available online at Campus Art Princeton.
Art@Bainbridge is a gallery project of the Art Museum in the carefully restored colonial-era Bainbridge House in downtown Princeton. Scheduled visits to Art@Bainbridge include an introduction to the space and the current exhibition, and may include a facilitated group activity.
As Art@Bainbridge is intimate in scale, this experience is available for groups of 8 to 15. For larger groups, please contact the visitor logistics coordinator. Visit length varies.
Learn more about Art@Bainbridge and the current exhibition on view.
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Bring the Art Museum’s collections to your classroom through student-driven, inquiry-based activities. A Museum docent will facilitate a series of activities that invite students to look closely at works of art, posing an essential question related to the New Jersey core curriculum standards. Students will work collaboratively, using critical thinking skills to reflect, analyze, and make connections.
Programs are 45 to 90 minutes in duration and can be planned with multiple classes and tailored to your schedule.
In-person programs at your school are available Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., with 12 p.m. being the latest program start time; dates should be reserved at least one month in advance. Schools must be within a 20-mile radius of Princeton University.
Virtual programs are available Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., with 3 p.m. being the latest program start time; dates should be reserved at least one month in advance. Schools are responsible for providing a Zoom link for the program.
Exploring Families
Exploring the essential question How am I connected to the past?, students examine works of art and explore depictions of families across time, geography, and culture. Program includes a hands-on art-making component that encourages students to make connections between families of today and families of the past.
Exploring Communities
Exploring the essential question How am I connected to the past?, students examine works of art and explore depictions of communities across time, geography, and culture. Program includes a hands-on art-making component that encourages students to make connections between communities of today and communities of the past.
Art of Comprehension
Essential Questions: How can understanding, or “reading,” works of art deepen our understanding of ourselves, our community, and the world around us?
How can we practice literacy skills using works of art?
Using the inquiry method and close observation, students explore a work of art and “decode” its meaning to make art-to-self connections and art-to-world connections. Then, students work in small groups to apply the same skills of focused looking, critical thinking, and analysis to complete activities designed to further explore these connections.
Art of Comprehension
Essential Questions: How can understanding, or “reading,” works of art deepen our understanding of ourselves, our community, and the world around us?
How can we practice literacy skills using works of art?
Using the inquiry method and close observation, students explore a work of art and “decode” its meaning to make art-to-self connections and art-to-world connections. Then, students work in small groups to apply the same skills of focused looking, critical thinking, and analysis to complete activities designed to further explore these connections.
Expressing Culture
During an inquiry-based close-looking activity, students “decode” a work of art and discover how it expresses something about the culture in which it was created. Building on this model, students work in small groups to complete related activities designed to help them explore the essential question How can the arts express and influence culture? Working collaboratively, students are challenged to think critically about what they see and to make connections between art and culture. Expressing Culture can be tailored to classroom curriculum and can connect across disciplines.