1. Choose an exhibit to fit your curriculum and cover the unit before the museum visit.  Perhaps, you just completed a unit on Ancient China, for example.

2. Set the date with the museum; book as early as you can.  Try to get docents from the museum education department to guide your class through the exhibit.

3. Secure the bus for your specific date.

4. Call some parents to chaperone, at least one for every ten children.

5. Send home permission slips and collect $ if your PTO does not cover all the costs. 
(You could apply for a Local Cultural Council Pass Grant by October 1. A grant will cover some of the expenses.)

6. Next, talk up the trip, that is, tell your students what to expect and what is expected of them.

7. Perhaps, you could show some reproductions to the class and familiarize the students with some art terms.  (Your art teacher could help with this.)

8. Be aware that some children may be alarmed at nudity. Explain in advance.

9. Emphasize "LOOK don't TOUCH!"  Demonstrate how hand oils and dirt damage the surfaces of precious works of art.

10. "How to Visit an Art Museum" produced by The Art Institute of Chicago is an excellent film to show before taking such a trip. (Ordering Information)

11.  One week before, inform the cafeteria, and all the specialists (OT, PT, Speech Phys. Ed., Music Reading and the Nurse) of the class's date of absence.

12.  For the trip, have students wear an easily identifiable, bright colored T-shirt denoting the school.  Or, suggest dressing up to encourage good manners.

13.  Perhaps, students could carry clipboards with plain paper on which to sketch their favorite picture, or take notes about some details they see.

14.  Questions to ask might include:

• What do you see?
• When do you think this artwork was made?
• Can you find the date?  The artist’s name?
• How does this piece of art make you feel? 
• What do you think the artist was trying to tell us? 
• What, if anything, would you want to say to the artist?

15.  Museum visits are a "feast for the eyes."  Avoid visual overload by NOT staying at the museum too long. 

16.  Make the lunch break a special treat.  Have a picnic in a park or at the beach.  Talk about the museum during lunch if it seems appropriate.

17.  Encourage students to return to the museum with their families.  That way they will be able to wander where they want to go and enjoy at a more leisurely pace.

18.  After the museum visit, hang prints from the museum in the classroom and/or distribute postcards of some of the art for students to see up close.

19.  Next, write poetry or stories about the art in the classroom.

20.  Congratulate yourself!  You have given your students an unforgettable experience and changed their perspective for life. 

Some Art Terms for the Museum Visit:

• Portraits
• Landscapes
• Seascapes
• Still Life
• Pictures of Everyday Life
• Pictures that Tell Stories
• Realism
• Surrealism
• Impressionism
• Post-impressionism
• Modern -- What does this mean to you?
• Abstract Art
• Non-objective Art
• Foreground / Middle Ground / Background