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Museum Tours for School Groups

SDMA offers a variety of tour options for teachers and students.

Docent Tours for School Groups

With the help of experienced docents, students (grades 1 and up) learn to fulfill the standards of the California State Framework for the Visual Arts: Artistic Perception, Creative Expression, Historical and Cultural Context, and Aesthetic Valuing. Tours in Spanish and other languages are available on request.

Free docent tours are available Tuesday through Sunday at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.,1:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. No tours are available on the third Tuesday of the month, which is a free day at SDMA. Tours offered are:

  1. Museum Highlights
  2. Baroque Art
  3. American Art
  4. Contemporary Art
  5. Special Exhibition
  6. Renaissance Art*
  7. European (19th- and 20th-Century)
  8. Asian Art
  9. Sculpture Court
  10. Customized Tour (per teacher’s specifications)

SDMA does not offer self-guided tours free of charge; an SDMA docent must accompany school groups. An instructor must accompany college classes; Classes grades 1-12 must include one adult per 10 children. A maximum of 40 students in the morning and 30 in the afternoon are admitted each hour. Tours must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. Please wait for your confirmation before scheduling a bus.

*The Renaissance Art Cart can be incorporated into this one-hour tour or may be scheduled by itself as a 30-minute presentation. The cart contains a collection of objects that demonstrate Renaissance art techniques such as fresco painting, gold-leaf application, preparation of colors with pigment, and panel painting.

Children’s Workshops: (Tour+project)

Elementary school students (recommended for grades 3 through 6) can practice the second standard of the California State Framework for the Visual Arts: Creative Expression with the children’s workshops offered by SDMA. The two-hour workshops include an introduction to the topic, a guided interactive gallery tour, and a hands-on art project in the Museum.

The choice of four different workshops for a maximum of 30 students is offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, October through May. These workshops cost $2 per student for materials (chaperones are free).

  • The Investigative Eye: With an emphasis on the discovery process, students learn about the elements of art and how to look at and interpret works of art. They create their own art cube with six different details of paintings (Curriculum connection: California State Art Framework Standard 1: Processing, analyzing and responding to sensory information through the language and skills unique to the visual arts).
  • Stories in Art: Students learn to find narrative elements in a work of art and how to interpret the story it tells. They create a unique art book (Curriculum connection: Literacy).
  • Our Place in the World: Students learn to identify and appreciate the differences and similarities in art from a variety of cultures and make an art tent of their favorite places in the world (Curriculum connection: California State Art Framework Standard 3; Historical and Cultural Context).
  • Portraits/Faces: Students look at different portraits and learn what they can tell us about the time, place, and personality of the people depicted in them. They explore the different art elements and techniques used by the artist and produce their own three-dimensional portraits in contrasting art styles (Curriculum connection: California State Art Framework Standard 1: Artistic Perception).

A $50 cancellation fee applies if a scheduled workshop is cancelled less than one week before its scheduled date. Workshops must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance.

To schedule a workshop for your class, please contact Begonya Perez at (619) 231-1996 or bperez@sdmart.org, or click the link below to submit a request online.

Chaperone Information and Museum Rules

  • Classes must be accompanied by an instructor (for college level) and one adult per 10 children (for school tours).
  • Please stay with your group at all times. Instructors and chaperones are responsible for students’ behavior while at the Museum.

Please review the following museum rules with students before your visit:

  • No food or drink is permitted in the Museum at anytime.
  • Large purses, backpacks, and other personal belongings are not permitted in the galleries; security will have a place for your belongings when you enter the Museum’s rotunda.
  • Walk at all times.
  • Respect other museum visitors by using indoor voices.
  • Remember to look at and not touch the artwork; please stay at least 1 foot away from the artworks at all times.
  • To sketch in the Museum, groups of 10 or more must request prior permission at least two weeks in advance by submitting a sketching permission form; forms are sent with tour confirmation.
  • Sketching is limited to pencils, colored pencils, and crayons. No pens or markers are permitted.

Please Note: Groups failing to respect museum rules may be escorted from the Museum by our security staff. Schools that are asked to leave will be considered a lower priority for future tour reservations.

Canceling a Tour

To cancel a field trip, please contact Begonya Perez at (619) 231-1996 or bperez@sdmart.org at least one week in advance of the scheduled tour date. Please be aware that canceling a workshop less than one week before the scheduled date will incur a $50 cancellation fee.

Transportation and Parking

Bus drop-off for students is at the white curb located between the Organ Pavilion and the House of Hospitality on Pan American Road. Buses should park at the Inspiration Point off Park Blvd. north of President’s Way. Free car and van parking is available at Organ Pavilion and parking lots throughout Balboa Park.

Limited bus reimbursement is available only for designated Title 1 schools in San Diego County on a first-come, first-served basis in combination with docent-led tours. Please contact Begonya Perez at (619) 231-1996 or bperez@sdmart.org for more information or to apply.