School Tours
The Museum offers free tours for grades pre-k through 12 October – May. Many themed tours have accompanying lesson plans that can be completed in the classroom before Museum visits. Lesson plans are designed to meet cross-discipline Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and engage students' multiple intelligences. Seeing and discussing original works of art enrich learning.
themed tours of the museum collection
A wide range of themed tours created specifically for students are available including:
About Face: Portraits
The American Experience: the 20th Century
Animals in Art
Art From Many Cultures
Highlights from the Museum Collection
Storytelling in Art
Topics in Math and Science
For more details about these tours click here to download the PDF. For further information about booking a tour, please contact Carole Gutterman, Associate Curator of Education at (561) 832-5196 x 1198 or by email using the online contact form.
about face: portraits
What can you tell about a person from her portrait? Students examine how artists have portrayed individuals in sculpture and painting, and learn that a portrait can show how a person looks, what they feel inside, and what they meant to the people of their time. James Chapin’s popular Ruby Green Singing as well as works from Europe and China are featured on this tour. (k–12) ss, la, va, ma, sc
The American Experience: the 20th Century
Students view and discuss American sculptures and paintings by artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Edward Hopper related to major events that helped shape the United States in the last century. Themes including human rights, social issues, geography, and innovation engage students in thinking critically about social studies and works of art. (4–12) la, ss, va, sc, ma
animals in art
Take your students on a safari through the Museum Collection to see how artists from around the world have depicted real and imaginary animals in sculptures and paintings. Themes of this popular tour and arts-integrated lessons include mythical beasts from Europe and Asia; the horse in ancient societies, and animals in their environments, including Dale Chihuly’s glass artwork, Persian Sea Life Ceiling. (K-12) ss, la, va, ma, sc
Art From Many Cultures
Many artworks from different times and world cultures address similar themes. On this tour, artworks by Chinese, African-American, European, and Contemporary artists provide a forum for comparing and understanding diverse groups, their differences, and their common experiences. Gallery discussions investigate artworks in the collection that reflect ethnicity, traditions, and customs from around the globe. (2–12) la, ss, va, ma, sc
Highlights From the Museum Collection
The Norton Museum collection includes European, American, Chinese, and Contemporary art, and Photography. This tour offers an overview of the Museum’s major artworks, including paintings by Paul Gauguin and Jackson Pollock, while providing an introduction to museums and their roles in the community. (k–12) la, ss, va, ma, sc
Storytelling in Art
In every culture, visual artists have participated in storytelling as a way of sharing knowledge and inspiring imaginations. This tour includes works from the Renaissance to the contemporary world, and builds students’ awareness of how artists tell stories using color and line, pose and gesture, setting and symbolism. (3–12) la, va, ss, sc, ma
Topics in Math and Science
This tour combines lessons including science standards that examine environmental issues as well as those that examine physical and chemical change and the science of light. Curricula for mathematics cover a range of standards that deal with area, geometry, and volume. (k-12) va, ss, sc, ma, la
Museum Guidelines
Please make your students and chaperones aware of the following Museum rules:
- Do not touch walls or artwork.
- Use inside voices at all times.
- Do not run.
- Follow and participate in your tour with your docent.
- Follow the rules concerning taking photographs: Photography is not permitted in special exhibitions. Photography with a cell phone or digital camera, without flash, is permitted of the Museum’s Collection.
- Do not bring food, drinks, or backpacks into the Museum. We do have facilities for picnicking.
- Our docents are educators. Teachers and chaperones are expected to manage student behavior in every area of the Museum.
- For Educators
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