PAFA’s programs for students and teachers leverage the strengths of our collections and special exhibitions in combination with important social themes and key curriculum standards. 

School Group visits are a major priority for PAFA’s museum staff. Students participate in hands-on gallery activities that encourage them to think, share, question, and collaborate, often emphasizing classroom skills in language arts or social studies. Choose from tour topics that we offer year-round or let us know what you are working on and we’ll help you plan the best visit.
 
Tips for Field Trips:
  • Arrange a field trip early in the school year, before the busy months fill up.
  • Field trips can be arranged on a rolling basis and teachers can choose from a variety of programs that meet Pennsylvania Curriculum Standards.
  • If you're group is larger than 60 students, consider coming over the course of two days.
  • Ask us about money for buses - sometimes we can help.
 
Teacher Workshops are thematic or exhibition-based programs providing teachers with new resources for ways to involve the visual arts in their classroom curriculum and to illuminate the ways in which these lessons can add creativity and excitement to lesson plans. These weekend programs are fun days where everyone is encouraged to laugh, share, work, and brainstorm together. Come and spend an afternoon with us, see our unforgettable gallery spaces, get your Act 48 credits, and meet other educators from the area.
 
Teacher Services include summer Continuing Education programs, Act 48 credits, free passes for those bringing field trips, information about using the visual arts to promote anti-violence and other programs as developed.
 

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts’ public programs are funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency).