Virtual Tours
The Walker offers live virtual tours for K–12 classrooms to engage with art from the Walker’s galleries and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. These interactive presentations are a great way to incorporate contemporary art into your curriculum.
Format
Virtual tours are led by Walker educators and take place over Zoom or Google Meet. A typical tour experience is approximately 30 minutes, but we ask that you reserve 45 minutes in your schedule to allow ample time for set up, introductions, and student participation. We will set up a Zoom or Google Meet meeting and share the link in advance.
Content
Our educators have extensive experience working with students in museums and classrooms. The educator facilitating your tour will use the screen-sharing feature to show high resolution images and videos of 3–4 pre-selected works of art from the Walker’s collection. Students will be guided through observation and interpretation exercises and discuss the context behind each piece. Walker staff will field questions in the chat throughout the tour, and there will be a few minutes at the end to reflect and discuss as a group. Student participation is highly encouraged.
After your virtual visit, download the post-visit PDF that corresponds to your tour. Each post-visit document includes a lesson plan incorporating artworks related to the theme of your tour, as well as instructions for art-making projects to do with your class.
What are the options?
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K-12: SUSTAINABILITY IN ART
This tour focuses on artists who are inspired by the natural world. Learn about artworks that incorporate natural materials and artists who are inventing new and interesting ways to make our planet more sustainable.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K-2, 3-5, or 6-12 options. -
K–12: DAVID HOCKNEY: PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS
Learn about the celebrated artist David Hockney and his experimentation with different artistic mediums. Using drawing, printmaking, paper pulp, or an iPad, Hockney continues to find new ways to depict his favorite people, places, and things.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K–2, 3–5, 6–8, or 9–12 options. -
K–5: ART INVESTIGATORS
In this tour, students will explore 3 works of contemporary art from the Walker’s collection, investigate their content and context, and react to them thoughtfully. Students will gain tools for appreciating and responding to contemporary art while sharing their responses with each other and, of course, having fun!
Cost: Free! -
6–12: MAKING MEANING
In this tour, students will practice observing contemporary artworks, considering their context, and making informed and well-reasoned evaluations of the work, gaining the tools to become expert museum-goers and appreciators of contemporary art.
Cost: Free! -
K–12: STEAM
Connect concepts of science, engineering, mathematics, and ethics in unique ways with one of our STEAM tours. Learn about artists that think like scientists and consider the impact that technology and design have on the future and today’s world.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9-12 options. -
K–12: ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
How do artists communicate through their artwork? What stories do they tell? In this lesson, students will try to answer these questions by carefully observing a variety of artworks and having informed discussions about them.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K–2, 3–5, 6–8, or 9–12 options. -
K–12: CONTEMPORARY BLACK ARTISTS
This tour focuses on works by contemporary Black artists and sheds light on their practices and the issues they address through their art. Explore work by artists local and international and hone skills of observation, discussion, research and reflection to thoughtfully analyze artworks.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K–2, 3–5, 6–8, or 9–12 options. -
K–12: CONTEMPORARY AAPI ARTISTS
Learn about contemporary Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) artists and the concepts they explore in their artwork. Consider the historical and cultural context in which these artists work to make informed and well-reasoned interpretations. Students will see a variety of styles, themes, and mediums by a diverse array of AAPI artists.
Cost: Free!
Choose from K–2, 3–5, 6–8, or 9–12 options. -
9–12: ART BY LGBTQ+ ARTISTS
Students will explore four artworks from the Walker collection by LGBTQ+ artists. Students will analyze the formal elements of the artworks as they consider the themes that they explore and the social and political contexts they were created in.
Cost: Free! -
K–12: CUSTOM TOURS
Looking to make specific connections to your classroom curriculum? The Walker Educators can design a custom program plan connecting contemporary art to the topics that you’re exploring with your students.
Cost: K–5: $80 | 6–12: $100
BEFORE YOUR VISIT
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K-5
Share the pre-visit video (above) with any K–5 classroom to introduce your students to the Walker.
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6-12
Share the pre-visit video (above) with any 6-12 classroom to introduce your students to the Walker.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do virtual tours take place?
Tours can be booked Monday through Friday. Times are dependent on Educator availability, but our scheduling is flexible. Standard tours must be booked at least 1 week in advance. Custom tours must be booked at least 2 weeks in advance.
Who are the Walker Educators?
Our tours are designed and led by professional, trained museum Educators, most of whom are licensed teachers. All of our Educators have extensive experience working with children and youth of a variety of ages in both classrooms and museum spaces.
What is required to participate?
Students can sign in individually from their own devices or you can join us as a classroom, using a smartboard or other projection device. You will need a stable internet connection as well as audio and video capability. A Zoom account is not required for tours that take place on Zoom.
How do I book a virtual tour?
Schedule your virtual tour today by filling out our online tour request form for Schools, or by contacting the Education Programs Assistant at tours@walkerart.org or (612) 375-7609.
Are there other ways to explore the art at the Walker Art Center?
A range of free online resources including lesson plans, presentations, artist videos, and exhibition guides are available for teachers on our Resources for Learning page.
Schedule your visit today by filling out our online tour request form for Schools or by contacting the Education Programs Assistant at tours@walkerart.org or (612) 375-7609.