Walker School Programs feature interactive, learner-centered, and inquiry-based tours and art-making experiences designed to get students thinking critically about contemporary art and contemporary life. Teachers and students are invited to explore the Walker galleries and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden by scheduling either a guided tour led by professional museum or a self-guided visit.
Schedule a Visit
To schedule a field trip to the Walker Art Center and/or the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, please submit our online tour request form:
To qualify for group pricing, groups must schedule their visit at least 3 weeks in advance for guided tours and at least 1 week in advance for self-guided group visits. For questions about bringing a group to the Walker, please contact tours@walkerart.org.
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Guided Visit Options & Pricing
The Walker offers thematic options for guided tours for grades K–12. These can be tailored to fit your classroom curriculum and can focus on specific exhibitions. Customized options for Special Education classrooms (including Citywide Autism Program and inclusive classrooms), bilingual tours in Spanish and Oromo, and tours that cater to classrooms with wide-ranging literacy and English-language learner needs are available upon request. Please include any special requests in the notes when submitting your tour request form.
- Contemporary Art | Grades K–12: Introduces students to the themes of contemporary artistic practice while positioning them as knowledgeable consumers of visual culture. From the basic elements of form to more advanced themes in conceptual art, these tours can be modified to fit students’ levels of knowledge about art.
- English Language Arts | Grades K–12: K–5 students will learn to “read” works of art and the stories they tell; 6–12 students will take on the roles of art critics as they develop and articulate their own interpretations, evaluations, and arguments about works of art.
- STEAM | Grades K–8: Through observation, critical thinking, experimentation, and problem-solving, students will explore art through the lens of STEM subjects and vice versa.
- Social Studies | Grades 3–12: Students will consider the role of art and artists in addressing a range of social studies topics including identity, politics, social justice and activism, history, culture, and place.
| Visit Type | Group Size Limit | Visit Length | Price (per every 15 students) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Tours | 75 Students | 1 hr. (45 min. for K–2 groups) | Title 1/60% Free/reduced lunch: FREE Public Schools: $45 Other Schools: $75 |
| Guided Tours + Art Lab | 75 Students | 2 hr. (1.5 hr. for K–2 groups) | Title 1/60% Free/reduced lunch: $45 Public Schools: $120 Other Schools: $150 |
Self-Guided Visit Options & Pricing
Don’t need a guide? Self-guided tours of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden are open to groups of all ages (Pre-K–12). Self-guided tours of the Walker galleries can also be booked for 6–12 groups. Please note that K–5 groups visiting the museum must book a guided visit.
It is recommended that groups opting for a self-guided visit download one of the self-guided tour plans to help support their visit.
Self-Guided visits must be booked at least one week in advance of desired visit date.
| Self-Guided Visit Type | Group Size Limit | Visit Length | Price (per every 10 students) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Guided Gallery Visit (Grades 6–12 only) | 30 students (1 chaperone required per every 10 students) | 1–2 hours | $15 for all schools (to cover chaperone admission costs) |
| Self-Guided Visit of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden | No limit (1 chaperone required per every 10 students) | 1–2 hours | FREE |
Prepare for Your Visit
Watch this brief welcome video with students and chaperones to familiarize them with the visiting rules.
Use the Field Trip Prep lesson and accompanying PowerPoint slides to introduce your students to the Walker Art Center so that they feel prepared and excited for their visit. The Social Narrative is a helpful tool for younger students and students who may feel nervous about the field trip.
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Grades K–5 Field Trip Prep
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Grades 6–12 Field Trip Prep
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Social Narrative
Parking and Bus Drop Off
School buses should drop off students on Vineland Place in front of the Walker. Parking for buses is available in the Parade parking lot. Download our bus parking map to share with your bus driver.
Walker Tour Programs are sponsored by
This project is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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Education and Public Programs are supported by the Hearst Foundation.