Teachers
Come to the Barnes, or we’ll come to you. Our programs will nourish your students’ imaginations and serve your curricular goals.
Field Trips
Field trips are available for all K–12 students. Gallery tours are focused on improving students’ visual literacy skills and engaging students with age-appropriate activities that meet curricular standards. Thursday–Fridays, October through June; register at least 30 days in advance.
$5 per person; free (including busing) for a limited number of School District of Philadelphia and Delaware County public and charter schools. Learn more and request a field trip today.
General Introduction Tours
K–12 students are introduced to the Barnes method of looking closely at art. In 90-minute interactive gallery lessons, students use the concepts of light, line, color, and space to analyze the Barnes’s unique ensemble displays of impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings, displayed alongside African masks, Native American jewelry, Greek antiquities, and decorative metalwork. Students learn about the history of the Barnes and its founder, Albert Barnes, who was raised in a working-class family in Philadelphia and held a fierce commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
During special exhibitions, school groups may see both the permanent collection and the exhibition in their 90-minute tour (60 minutes in the collection; 30 minutes in the exhibition gallery). Students in grades 7–12 will see Suzanne Valadon: Model, Painter, Rebel on their field trip.
Teachers may self-tour exhibitions ahead of their field trip. Email us to arrange for a complimentary educator ticket. Available during open hours only.
Self-Guided Visits
Students in grades 8–12 are permitted to self-tour the collection or any special exhibitions with their chaperones. Pre-visit materials are available, and admission to special exhibitions is included in the ticket price. Self-guided admission is $5 per person; free (including busing) for a limited number of School District of Philadelphia and Delaware County public and charter schools.
Students in grades 8–12 may follow a general introduction tour with a self-guided tour for additional time in the galleries. $10 per person; free (including busing) for a limited number of School District of Philadelphia and Delaware County public and charter schools.