Scheduling Your Visit
Docent-guided tours are offered free of charge. Reservations are required for both docent-guided and teacher-guided visits.
Applications will be posted to the web and accepted beginning August 17, 2009 for docent- or teacher-guided tours from October 2009 through May 2010. Tours for January through May will be processed beginning in December 2009.
To request a reservation, send an application form to the Docent Council. One application is required for each tour requested. Please allow one month for the processing of your application. Within one month of submitting your application you will receive an email confirmation—this is your confirmation letter. Please print, sign, and date the tour confirmation and fax it to the museum at 323 857-6510 to verify your visit. If you have any questions regarding your trip, please send an email to schooltours@lacma.org. If we are unable to accommodate your group, we will contact you.
The before-hours school tours are not available on the following dates: winter break (November 26, 2009–January 8, 2010); Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 18, 2010); Presidents’ Day (February 15, 2010); and spring break (March 29–April 9, 2010).
Please be aware that LACMA will be undergoing changes during our construction project, including periodic gallery closures, which may result in changes to your scheduled tour.
Tour Descriptions
Guided tours at LACMA present the richness of the visual arts, increase students’ powers of perception, analysis, and judgment, and stimulate interest in a vital part of our multicultural heritage. School tours are led by docents, volunteer educators who receive training in art history (with an emphasis on LACMA’s collection) and in working with students. Docents engage students in active viewing and in a discussion of ideas and observations by focusing on a select number of works (on average, approximately ten works of art during the tour). Tours are aligned with state content standards for history/social science and language arts.
For more information, please click here.
Admission
Both docent and self-guided visits are free to school groups that make a reservation with the museum.
Group Size
Group size for docent-guided tours is a minimum of fifteen and a maximum of 120 (not including chaperones) per school per day. However, many tours have special size limits, which are noted in the individual descriptions. Group size for teacher-guided tours is limited to sixty students per school per day.
Chaperones and Their Responsibilities
One adult chaperone per ten students is required at all times. Chaperones are responsible for students' conduct and adherence to the rules for appropriate behavior in the galleries. Failure to properly supervise your students may result in your group being asked to leave the museum.
Entrance and Hours
Use the BP Grand Entrance located on Wilshire Boulevard at Ogden Avenue unless directed otherwise. You will meet your docents in front of the outdoor installation Urban Light. Please arrive fifteen minutes before the tour is scheduled to begin. The museum is closed to the public until noon, and you may not enter the galleries without a docent until that time. The museum offers school tours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Classroom Preparation
Prior to the docent-guided tours, a docent will call you to find out more about your students and how you have prepared them for their visit. While your students' curricular needs will be taken into consideration, requests for specific, tailored tours cannot be accommodated. No note taking is allowed in the galleries during a docent-led tour.
Previsit materials are available here. Please locate your tour name, the guides are at the bottom of the section. For additional materials also appropriate as previsit preparation, attend Evenings for Educators.
Buses
Upon receipt of your confirmation, please secure your own transportation for your museum visit at once. Buses may park on Sixth Street (one block north of Wilshire Boulevard) or on
Curson Avenue, on the eastern border of Hancock Park. Before beginning your tour, please communicate with your driver where you will meet after your tour has concluded. If you carpool,
metered parking is available on surrounding streets (be sure to check signs for restrictions), or you may use the Sixth Street garage. All-day parking is available for seven dollars with validation. All book bags, backpacks, purses, and lunch bags must be left on the bus or in the car. Bags are not permitted in the galleries.
Lunch
Picnicking is permitted at the tables outside the Ahmanson Building, in the BP Grand Entrance or in the park. Seating is not permitted in the Plaza Café or the surrounding patio. Students may bring sack lunches, or box lunches may be ordered from the café. Orders must be placed one week before your arrival. Please contact the Plaza Café at 323-857-4797.
All book bags, purses, and lunch bags must be left on the bus. Bags will not be permitted in the galleries.
Teacher-Guided Visits
School groups may tour the museum for free without a LACMA docent, but a scheduled appointment is necessary. Group size for teacher-conducted tours is limited to sixty people per school per day. Teacher-guided visits may begin when the museum opens to the public at noon during the weekday and at 11:00 during the weekend. One adult chaperone is required for every ten students. Groups must be chaperoned at all times and yield to gallery tours conducted by LACMA staff and docents.
For more information on grade-appropriate materials to help you further your students' arts education please click here.
All the curriculum materials are based on works of art in LACMA's permanent collection and were developed in alignment with California State Content Standards.
Special Requests
College groups and grades 1-12 with a minimum of 20 students and a special area of study may request a special tour with two weeks notice by filling out the Special Request Tour Form. The form is located in the upper right-hand column and can be emailed to schooltours@lacma.org. Special tours are offered during public hours only and may be available in French and Spanish. Special requests may also be mailed to:
Docent Council
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Cancellations
To avoid cancellations, please check your school’s calendar for test
dates, holidays, and special activities before submitting your application. If you must cancel your appointment, call 323-857-6109 immediately, so that the docents for your tour may be notified. Please note that last-minute cancellations may result in loss of tour eligibility for the remainder of the school year. A visit will not be rescheduled more than once.
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