School Tour Topics

The K-12 Visit Program is for school age groups, grades K-12. Choose from one of our thematic tours listed below or tell us what you're working on in the classroom and see if we can create something just for you.

Due to generous funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, we are able to subusidize the cost of a limited number of buses for Philadelphia School District and Archdiocese students. For more information about pricing, scheduling and other logistics, see our main School Group Tours page.

Schedule your tour online!

Current Topics

Henry Ossawa Tanner:  Modern Spirit
January 27 – April 15, 2012
Discover the life and career of Henry Ossawa Tanner -- the first internationally recognized African American artist.  Born the son of a former slave and an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Bishop, Tanner grew up in Philadelphia just after the Civil War and received his artistic training at PAFA under Thomas Eakins.  Travel with Tanner as he leaves the racial prejudices of the United States and Philadelphia for artistic acceptance abroad in Paris and the Holy Land.  Uncover the stories behind the paintings and study his use of color and painting techniques in these captivating and inspiring paintings.
Students will:

• Experience Tanner’s travels around the world;
• Learn Philadelphia history;
• Examine Tanner’s legacy and his ability to overcome obstacles;
• Discover how Tanner broke racial barriers and inspired future artists.

Faith Ringgold creates children’s book for Henry Ossawa Tanner exhibit!
Celebrated artist and writer, Faith Ringgold, has created Henry Ossawa Tanner: His Boyhood Dream Comes True, in conjunction with the exhibition at PAFA.  Through the generous contributions of donors we are able to offer a limited number of books for teachers and their students who schedule a visit to the exhibition this spring.

Telling Tales: An Art and Language Arts Tour
(Grades K-12)
Discover narrative paintings that tell stories taken from mythology, literature, American history, the imagination, and everyday life while students do activities that reinforce important language arts skills that are part of the classroom curriculum. This tour is composed of three interactive activities that students rotate through and lasts approximately 60 minutes.
During the tour, students will:

• Uncover stories within the paintings reflecting the artists' times.
• Explore written, oral, and visual storytelling.
• Study the visual symbols that artists use to convey a story or emotion.

Click here to download a packet of pre-visit materials for classroom use.
Click here to download a description of curriculum standards in Language Arts and Visual Arts that this tour meets.

Changing Visions of American Life: Art and American History 1740-1860
(Grades 2-12)
Travel through time to view American history from 1740 to 1860. View events, culture, and daily life first hand, as represented by artists from various time periods. Some of the topics to be examined include Native Americans, colonial life, industrialization, and the Age of the Common Man. This tour is composed of three interactive activities that students rotate through and lasts approximately 60 minutes.
During the tour, students will:

• Experience sites, sounds and thoughts from the time period.
• Discover artists' responses to major events as well as changing artistic styles and techniques.
• Learn how events from yesterday influence us today.

Click here to download a packet of pre-visit materials for classroom use.
Click here to download sample artwork for two of the pre-visit activities.
Click here to download a description of curriculum standards in Social Studies and Visual Arts that this tour meets.

The Art of Peace
(Grades 3 – 12)
This is a unique museum visit in which students learn about creating peace in their home, school and community.  Pre-visit teacher materials provide supplemental information and activities to extend an anti-violence program into the school and classroom curriculum. Students will:

• View artworks and participate in activities in the galleries that relate to themes of creating peace and fulfilling dreams;
• View Lost Dreams on Canvas, a portrait exhibit of children who were innocent victims of violence;
• Experience the power of artistic expression – to channel negative emotions into positive expressionConsider alternatives to violent response to anger to escape the cycle of violence

Seeing Green: The Art of Ecology
(Grades 2–12)
Throughout history, the environment has been a powerful source of inspiration for visual artists who are avid observers and precise recorders of the physical conditions of the natural world. This tour is designed to introduce students to the increasingly urgent dialogue about sustaining our natural environment and living lightly on the planet. This tour consists of three interactive activities and lasts approximately 60 minutes. During the tour, students will:

• Develop an appreciation for the beauty of the natural environment as depicted in paintings in the galleries.
• Address the interrelationship of geography, natural resources, and climate and their effects on daily life.
• Consider roles they can take to care for and protect the environment.

Architecture and the Academy
(Grades 2-12)
Introduce your students to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Historic Landmark Building.  Built in the 1870s by the architects Frank Furness and George W. Hewitt, it stands as a magnificent example of High-Victorian Gothic architecture. This National Historic Landmark is itself a work of art.  Students will:

• Explore style and decoration in the materials and patterns used in the construction of the Pennsylvania Academy buildings;
• Learn some basic architectural principles and think about the importance of form and function;
• Discover an appreciation for renovation and restoration of our historic buildings.

111th Annual Student Exhibition
(Grades 1-12)
Tour available: May 11 - June 3, 2012
Since 1902, Academy students have exhibited their paintings, sculptures, prints and mixed media works in the galleries, competing for prizes and scholarships in the oldest and largest student art exhibition in the country.
Students will:

• Discover the exciting variety of contemporary and traditional styles, materials, and techniques on display;
• Think critically about the art and form their own judgments and interpretation about works in the exhibition;
• Examine how artists use different methods and media to express themselves.

Calling All Philadelphia Public School District Fourth Grade Teachers!
Art Speaks! - a unique visual arts and literacy tour – is a grant-funded program for School District of Philadelphia fourth graders. Grant money for this program covers the cost of both admission and buses. Teachers will also receive extensive pre-visit materials that include classroom activities, an introductory DVD, and teaching posters.  Art Speaks is funded by Target and additional support is provided by TD Bank through the TD Charitable Foundation, the Hamilton Family Foundation, The Christopher Ludwick Foundation, and generous individual contributors.

Drawing Lessons in the Gallery
(Grades 2-12)
If you'd like to extend your visit after a regular tour, this lesson can be requested as an add-on activity. Trained artists lead students in drawing from works of art in the collection, discussing the fundamentals of drawing, design and composition while creating their own works of art and applying the informatino they learned on their tour. This lesson comes with an additional charge and lasts approximately 30 minutes.

Special Exhibitions 2011 - 2012

Interactive guided tours are available for the museum’s special exhibitions.  Call to inquire about how these tour options can enhance school curriculums.  Upcoming special exhibitions include:

Henry Ossawa Tanner:  Modern Spirit
January 27 – April 15, 2012
Discover the life and career of Henry Ossawa Tanner -- the first internationally recognized African American artist.  Born the son of a former slave and an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Bishop, Tanner grew up in Philadelphia just after the Civil War and received his artistic training at PAFA under Thomas Eakins.  Travel with Tanner as he leaves the racial prejudices of the United States and Philadelphia for artistic acceptance abroad in Paris and the Holy Land.  Uncover the stories behind the paintings and study his use of color and painting techniques in these captivating and inspiring paintings.

111th Annual Student Exhibition
Tour Available May 11 – June 3, 2012
View works by third and fourth-year Certificate program students and Master of Fine Arts candidates. In addition to its role as an exhibition and sale, the ASE is also a competition for the Cresson, Schiedt, Ware, and Women’s Board Travel Scholarships and numerous prizes.

Thomas Eakins, Portrait of Henry O. Tanner, c. 1897, Oil on canvas, 24 5/8 x 20 1/8 inches. Bequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde, The Hyde Collection, Glenn Falls, New York, 1971.16