School Tours at Sarasota Art Museum

Students & Teachers, Welcome to Sarasota Art Museum!
Bring your students for a Museum visit, free of charge!

Sarasota Art Museum’s school tour program is designed to integrate visual art into the classroom and enhance student literacy, critical thinking, observation, and communication skills through museum visits, classroom resources, and art making. School tours introduce students to original works of contemporary art, a range of media and processes, and related vocabulary to broaden students’ understanding of artistic concepts, increase comprehension of visual vocabulary, develop art-making skills, and build student self-confidence and communication skills.

School Tour Details

Registration is required for both guided and self-guided tours.

Guided tours last about 60 minutes and are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 12 pm.

Self-guided visits can be as long as you’d like and are offered any day of the week, beginning at 10 am. One adult chaperone per 10 students is required.

Chaperones receive free admission and must remain with their group for the entire visit.

School Tour Availability

Guided tours are free for school groups. Reservations must be made at least three weeks in advance. Guided tours are a 60-minute tour led by a Museum Guide including interactive activities in the galleries.

Self-guided tours are free for school groups, with registration made at least two weeks in advance. We invite you to explore the Museum on the day of your choosing and at your own pace. Self-guided tours can be as long as you’d like! Take a deep dive and spend the day on campus visiting our galleries, SHOP, and Bistro, or pop-in to check out your favorite pieces with your students.

School Tour Options

Observe, discuss, and connect! Contemporary artists often use unconventional methods, media, and messages to push traditional art forms’ boundaries. With all three of our School Tour Labs, your students will learn to look at and appreciate the art of our time. Join us for a conversational tour. If you prefer just to take a tour, we are happy to accommodate your group.

Students will explore elements of art and the relationship between color, shape, size, and space in artworks. Students will develop language by expanding their vocabulary and expressing their ideas about art fluently and imaginatively. Students will develop visual literacy and critical thinking skills through collective reflection and interpretation.

Self-Guided Tours
We welcome you to explore the Museum on your own as well! We have resources available and activities to do both at the Museum and at home to supplement your visit.

CREATION LAB (K-12) (10 am and 11 am tour, Tuesdays or Thursdays)

(OFFERED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR)

is a series of visits that makes interdisciplinary connections between Visual Art and English language arts. The activities are compatible with Florida curriculum standards. Students will explore elements of art and the relations between size and space with artworks. Students will use appropriate language to expand and express their ideas about art fluently and imaginatively. Students will develop visual literacy and critical thinking skills through collective reflection and interpretation.

Creation Lab Educator Resources

ARCHITECTURE LAB (K-12) (10 am and 11 am tour, Tuesdays or Thursdays)

(OFFERED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR)

is a series of resources that encourage interdisciplinary connections between Visual Art, Science, and Math using elements of architecture as a learning frame. The activities are compatible with Florida curriculum standards. Explore basic elements of architecture in the context of a museum building. Make connections between museum space and elements of art. Develop language by expanding their vocabulary and expressing their ideas about art fluently and imaginatively. Develop visual literacy and critical thinking skills through collective reflection and interpretation.

Architecture Lab Educator Resources

DISCOVERY LAB (K-12) (10 am and 11 am tour, Tuesdays or Thursdays)

(OFFERED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR) is a series of visits that makes interdisciplinary connections between Visual Art, Science, and Math. The activities are compatible with Florida curriculum standards. Students will explore the elements of art, and observable properties such as line, color, shape, weight, and texture while practicing numeric operations and geometrical reasoning. Students will develop language by expanding their vocabulary and expressing their ideas about art fluently and imaginatively. Students will develop visual literacy and critical thinking skills through collective reflection and interpretation.

Discovery Lab Educator Resources

How to Book Your School Tour

We’re excited to welcome your group to the Museum! Please be aware our tours and workshops have limited capacities. Reservations are required for all school visits and must be made at least three weeks in advance, pending availability.

For more information, contact Group Services at 941-309-4300 or email: Groups@SarasotaArtMuseum.orgcreate new email (Monday through Friday between 10 am and 5 pm) or submit your booking form below.

School Tour Guidelines

For more information about what to expect and what to know before you go, download our comprehensive School Tour Guidelines below.

Lunch Options

If you would like to stay for lunch, please plan to bring bagged lunches and enjoy lunch picnic-style on the Great Lawn with your own blankets. Lunches can be brought to the Museum lobby and stored until your lunch break.

If you would like to order lunch from the Museum’s Bistro, please contact Carolyn James, Catering Manager, at