School Programs and Teacher Services
The Worcester Art Museum provides an ideal environment for your students to connect cultures, civilizations and continents throughout time. Over fifty centuries of art in our collection and exciting special exhibits throughout the year will inspire creativity in your students and encourage understanding in a variety of disciplines. Contact us to plan a gallery tour or studio workshop and to take advantage of the many other services available including a Resource Center, Outreach programs and kits, lectures and classes. We look forward to your visit!
Please call 508.799.4406, x3007 or x3129 for further information about any of these programs or services.
About the Permanent Collection
A fully intact 12th-century Chapter House, the largest collection of Roman mosaics in America, Colonial American portraiture, and Paul Revere silver are among the treasures you will find at the Worcester Art Museum. Art from the Western world - ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome; Medieval and Renaissance Italy; 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century Great Britain, France, Holland, and Belgium; 18th- through 20th-century America, Contemporary, as well as art from Precolumbian Central and South America, Japan, India, and China are a part of the permanent collections on view in the Museum's galleries.
In addition to our word renowned Permanent Collection, special exhibitions showcase masterworks, seldom-seen gems, and important works on loan.
School Tours
Explore, connect and inspire inquiry!
- Discover the history of visual arts and their connections to other disciplines including language arts, history, social science and mathematics.
- Introductory or specific theme tours are available of Museum collections or special exhibitions with Museum-trained docents as your guides.
- Focus on American Art and Culture, Footprints from the Past, Arts of Asia, Issues and Ideas in Contemporary Art, Medieval and Renaissance, Methods and Techniques, Impressionism, Precolumbian, European, Multicultural Art, or a topic of your choice. Animals in Art or a Museum Discovery available for young visitors.
- You may also arrange a Self-guided or Creative Writing Experience in the galleries.
Tour Guidelines
- Docent-guided tours are by appointment only. Call 508.799.4406, x3130 between 9am and 5pm, Tuesday through Friday at least three weeks in advance.
- Tours are one hour long and available Wednesday through Sunday.
- Guided tours available for groups of 10 or more; maximum of 80 students per visit recommended.
- Chaperone requirements: one for every 5 preschoolers, 10 elementary or 12-15 secondary students. For self-guided tours, one for every six elementary students.
- Supervision of students required at all times during their museum visit.
- Nametags are strongly suggested for elementary school student visitors.
Tour Fees
| You may be able to fund your Museum experience with a Massachusetts Cultural Council PASS or Local Cultural Council grant. For more information, contact the MCC at 1-800-232-0960 or www.massculturalcouncil.org. |
- FREE for prearranged school tour groups and their chaperones on either docent-led or self guided tours.
- All tour groups must enter through the Lancaster Street entrance.
- Museum galleries are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchair access is located on Tuckerman Street.
Gallery/Studio Workshops
Build on observations made in the galleries with art-making in the studio. Follow your guided tour with a hands-on studio experience designed by our workshop coordinator, with your specific interests and framework objectives in mind. Ninety-minute or two-hour workshops taught by Museum instructors working in clay, paint, collage, printmaking or other media. Greek Vases, Egyptian Cartouches, Mosaics, Japanese Scrolls, Portraiture, Landscape Painting, Structures in Art, or Scale and Ratio Drawing among the many possibilities.
Workshop Guidelines and Fees
- Call 508.799.4406, x3130 at least 4 weeks in advance to arrange your workshop.
- One 90-minute workshop for 1-12 students $155; 13-24 students $195.
- One 2-hour workshop for 1-12 students $185; 13-24 students $225.
- Additional materials fees are charged for clay, fabric, acrylic paints and photographic materials.
Teacher Services
In-service programs for staff or individual consultations are available to exchange ideas, explore ways to integrate the arts into other curriculum areas, or provide expertise in techniques for teaching art, art history, criticism, or art appreciation. Other programs and services available to teachers include:
- Classes and Workshops in studio art, writing, computer skills, interdisciplinary topics, and art history.
- Teacher Workshops relating to both special exhibitions and the Museum’s collection offered throughout the year. View the current Classes brochure (available on our website) for details on classes and workshops.
- Professional Development Points or a certificate of completion for participation available upon request for any class or workshop.
- Lecture Series and Artists Talks in conjunction with our special exhibitions and topics in art and art history.
- Resource Center with a variety of materials including kits, books, videos, slides, posters, sculptural and laminated reproductions. Some materials may be borrowed free of charge, while others require a fee and deposit.
- Outreach Programs consisting of art making, slide presentations, residencies, or teacher workshops available as preparation for a Museum visit or as an event or series of events at your school. Call x3014 for information or to request an Outreach Brochure.
- Bridges to Art website containing images of the Worcester Art Museum collection is a reference source and teaching aid created by the Museum and the College of the Holy Cross; www.holycross.edu/bridgestoart
- Museum Library extends its resources and services to educators. Call x3070 for information and hours.
- Early American Art: A Window on History and Culture, a CD for your classroom that details changing values and tastes in the colonies and early republic; available for purchase in the Museum Shop.
- Massachusetts Teachers Association members receive two-for-one Museum admission.
Parking
- School buses may park across from the Museum on the west side of Lancaster Street.
- Free auto parking is available in Museum lots on Salisbury, Lancaster and Tuckerman Streets.
- Please note, parking is not allowed in the church parking lot.
The Worcester Art Museum has been approved by the Massachusetts State Department of Education as an official provider of professional development points (PDP’s).
Education Programs at the Worcester Art Museum are generously supported by the George I. Alden Trust of Worcester, The Booth Family Fund for Education and Outreach at the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Frances L. Hiatt Fund for the Advancement of Museum Education, The Nathan and Barbara Greenberg Fund for Education, The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation, and the Norman and Dorothy Sharfman Education Fund, among other endowment funds. Additional generous support provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, The Patrick & Aimee Butler Family Foundation and our members.
