K–12 Group Programs

To ensure the safety and well-being of our communities, in-person outreach programs and guided experiences on campus are not currently available. To learn more about available virtual programs, please contact the visitor logistics coordinator at puamtour@princeton.edu.

Visit Princeton University for a tour of campus art, or let us bring the Museum's collections into 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 for both on-campus and outreach programs.

On-Campus Experiences

Plan a visit to Princeton University to explore art on campus and at Art@Bainbridge on Nassau Street. Programs are approximately 1 hour and can be scheduled Monday through Sunday. Information about getting to campus and parking is available on the University’s Visit Us web page.

Campus Collections Outdoor Walking Tour

Princeton University is home to one of the country’s most significant collections of 20th- and 21st-century public sculpture. Sited throughout the campus, these extraordinary works of art become an integral part of the surrounding environment. 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 3 campus neighborhoods to tour: Main Campus, Social Sciences and Engineering, or Residential Colleges. All tour routes are stair-free. Guided tours are available for groups of 8 to 45 and can be scheduled Monday through Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., with the last tour beginning at 3 p.m.
 

Art@Bainbridge

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 installation, and may include a self-guided group activity.

As Art@Bainbridge is intimate in scale, this experience is available for groups of 8 to 15. For larger groups, Art@Bainbridge may be included with the Campus Collections Outdoor Walking Tour. Visits may be scheduled during Art@Bainbridge open hours. Learn more about Art@Bainbridge and the current installation on view.

Outreach Programs

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.

Outreach programs are 45 to 90 minutes in duration and can be planned with multiple classes and tailored to your schedule. Programs 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 1 month in advance.

Elementary School Outreach Programs

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.

Middle School Outreach Programs

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.

Themes

  • African
  • AmericanTitus Kaphar, American, born 1976. To Be Sold, 2018. Oil on canvas with rusted nails, 152.4 × 121.9 × 8.9 cm; with strands: 248.9 × 121.9 × 8.9 cm. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund (2018-83) © Titus Kaphar
  • Ancient Mediterranean
  • Asian
  • European
  • Mesoamerican
  • Multicultural

High School Outreach Programs

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.

  • African
  • AmericanTitus Kaphar, American, born 1976. To Be Sold, 2018. Oil on canvas with rusted nails, 152.4 × 121.9 × 8.9 cm; with strands: 248.9 × 121.9 × 8.9 cm. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund (2018-83) © Titus Kaphar
  • Ancient Mediterranean
  • Asian
  • European
  • Mesoamerican
  • Multicultural

Curate Your Own Exhibition

This hands-on program challenges students to use critical-thinking skills and work collaboratively to present a collection of objects that explore a common theme. To begin, Museum docents facilitate a few “quick-fire” activities to help students practice “reading” a work of art, discuss how objects can be placed in conversation with one another, and complete a short thematic writing exercise. Then, working in small groups, students reflect on the theme, select objects, and prepare a brief curatorial statement supporting their choices.

For more information about K–12 group programs, please contact the visitor logistics coordinator at puamtour@princeton.edu or 609.258.3043.

To schedule an on-campus or outreach program, visit the Museum’s group reservation calendar to select a date and complete the reservation request form.