School Partnership Programs

LACMA partners with multiple schools each year to provide arts and arts-integrated instruction that supports and enhances the core curriculum. Through these partnerships, LACMA develops engaging teacher and student resources that are available for everyone, free of charge. Take a dive into our grade-specific asynchronous online courses and our wide range of classroom resources. No matter how much time you have, you’ll find something that fits your needs to integrate artworks and art making into your curriculum.

Do you teach 6th or 7th-grade social studies? Apply to have the Ancient World Mobile or Maya Mobile (48 foot mobile classrooms) visit your school this year. Looking for a deeper and long range partnership with LACMA? Check out our multi-year partnerships and see how your school can become a future partner.

Image: Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Generous support for School and Teacher Programs is provided by the Anna H. Bing Children’s Art Endowment Fund. Additional funding is provided by The Rose Hills Foundation, The Lucille Ellis Simon Foundation, the Edward A. and Ai O. Shay Family Foundation, Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, the Mara W. Breech Foundation, The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, Edison International, the Goodwin Family Memorial Trust, the Ducommun and Gross Family Foundation, and the Louis and Harold Price Foundation.

Image: Photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Free Online Courses

Virtual & In-Person Mobile Programs (6th & 7th grade)

Multi-Year Partnerships

Find fun and engaging visual arts lessons for students grades K–12. Each course includes videos, lesson plans, and other support materials for your use—free of charge. Students learn close looking, creative thinking, and skills handling art materials in courses themed around Storytelling, STEAM, Social-Emotional Learning, Los Angeles Artists, Art of the Ancestral Americas, and Art of the Early World Cultures.

Please visit our online courses for videos, lesson plans, and other support materials available for your use—free of charge. Looking for more? Look through our extensive library of K–12 classroom resources and StoryMaps.

Ancient World Mobile: Early World Cultures (6th Grade)

LACMA’s Ancient World Mobile, a 48-foot truck designed as a traveling classroom, is ready to visit your school campus and 6th grade history classrooms this year! During our visit, students will examine real objects from LACMA’s collection while learning about the cultures and traditions of Early World Cultures! This in-person program conducts classes for all 6th-grade classes at the school (including magnet and SDC), and will stay in residence anywhere from one week to one month depending on size of school enrollment.

Applications are received on a rolling basis. In order to have the Ancient World Mobile at your school, we require a space within the school’s campus that is at least 60 × 20 feet with a vertical clearance of 15 feet, on solid ground. Applicants will also be required to provide a copy of your school’s campus map, bell schedule, and a roster of teachers that teach 6th-grade history/aocial atudies. Program availability is contingent upon state, L.A. County, and local school district COVID-19 guidelines at that time. This in-person program is free for any Title 1 school located in Los Angeles County.

Check out our teacher resource guide and free online course for a sample of the curriculum.

Apply here to request the Ancient World Mobile at your school during the 2022–23 academic year.

For any schools/classes unable to do our in-person programming for any reason, we are take rolling applications here to visit your classroom via Zoom!

Maya Mobile: Art of the Ancestral Americas (7th Grade)

LACMA’s Maya Mobile, a 48-foot truck designed as a traveling archeological site, is available to visit your campus and 7th-grade history classrooms this year! During our visit, students will explore objects from LACMA’s Art of the Ancient Americas collection while learning about cultures, communities, food, and music of the Ancestral Americas. This in-person program conducts classes for all 7th-grade classes at the school (including magnet and SDC), and will stay in residence anywhere from one week to one month depending on size of school enrollment.

Applications are received on a rolling basis. In order to have the Maya Mobile at your school, we require a space within the school’s campus that is at least 60 × 20 feet with a vertical clearance of 15 feet, on solid ground. Applicants will also be required to provide a copy of your school’s campus map, bell schedule, and a roster of teachers that teach 7th-grade history/social studies. Program availability is contingent upon state, L.A. County, and local school district COVID-19 guidelines at that time. This in-person program is free for any Title 1 school located in Los Angeles County.

Check out our teacher resource guide and free online course for a sample of the curriculum.

Apply here to request the Maya Mobile at your school during the 2022–23 academic year.

For any schools/classes unable to do our in-person programming for any reason, we are take rolling applications here to visit your classroom via Zoom!

Ancient World Mobile: Early World Cultures and Maya Mobile: Art of the Ancestral Americas programs are made possible by a generous grant from the Max H. Gluck Foundation.

Creative Classrooms Partnerships

LACMA partners with several Title 1 elementary schools each year through a multi-year partnership. During the 2022–23 academic year, LACMA will partner with Charles White Elementary School and 122nd Street Elementary School.

Partner elementary schools receive free artist-led workshops, art materials, curriculum materials, and professional development opportunities. These programs and materials are designed to stimulate critical thinking, support creative expression, and provide meaningful experiences with art through ongoing engagement. Through these partnerships, LACMA and partner teachers develop, test, and iterate lessons with students to create flexible, engaging teacher and student resources which are shared freely for any classroom to use.

For more information on how to become a future partner school, contact mramos@lacma.org.