School Tours
+ Guided tours immerse students in five to seven works throughout the Museum’s galleries and gardens.
+ Self-guided visits let your group explore the Museum at your own pace.
+ Guided live virtual tours allow students to explore five to seven artworks up close from the comfort of their classroom.
PERMANENT COLLECTION TOURS
Permanent Collection Tours explore both the art galleries and the gardens.
PreK: My Outdoor World – Students will learn about the world around them through art, music, literature, and movement, while exploring their relationship with animals, plants, and the river.
Kindergarten through First Grade: The Art of Portraiture – Students will view portraits from various cultures and time periods, and learn to identify facial features and clues to feelings through facial expressions.
Second through Third Grade: Elements of Art – Students will explore the art elements of line, shape, color, and form through interaction with two- and three-dimensional art objects.
Fourth through Fifth Grade: The Art of Florida – Students will explore the history of Florida and the First Coast through works of art with local subjects and expand their understanding of the community’s history.
Middle through High School: General Art History – Students examine and discuss works ranging from an Ancient Egyptian stele to paintings by 20th century American masters.
Special Exhibition Tours
Available for all grade levels.
August through December 2021 - Rebecca Louise Law: The Journey
British artist Rebecca Louise Law has designed and created a site–specific installation using both dried and fresh plant materials to form an immersive visitor experience that explores the relationship between humanity and nature. A proponent of sustainability, Law has also repurposed flowers that were previously used in her other installations from around the world. Tour participants will experience the exhibition and explore the cycles of nature using the elements of art — line, shape, and color.
Tour participants will explore the first-person narratives told through artworks created by Southern Plains Native American warriors and chiefs held as prisoners at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida between mid–1875 and mid–1878.
February through May 2022 - American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection
Everyone has a story to tell — a life lived as a witness to and participant in events both private and shared. The stories that we tell as individuals are single strands in a grander narrative. Together, they build a consensus around the principles of a nation, maintaining a delicate balance between the one and the many, and the fulfillment of self and being better citizens. The exhibition American Perspectives captures the power of storytelling through artworks that express the dualities of artist and subject. Using close looking skills, tour participants will decipher and retell the stories conveyed by the artists and relate them to their own unique stories.
SCHOOL TOURS – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
DO YOU HAVE MATERIALS TO HELP ME PREPARE MY STUDENTS FOR OUR VISIT?
Tour packets are available at: www.cummermuseum.org/visit/education/school-tours#teacher-resources. The packets include an overview of what you and your students will experience while at the Museum as well as content standards and relevant vocabulary addressed during your tour. Pre- and post-visit activities are also included for you to complete before and after your virtual tour.
WHAT TIME IS MY TOUR AND WHAT TIME SHOULD I CONNECT?
Tours are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., or 1 p.m., and will last 30 to 60 minutes. We advise that groups access the virtual platform five minutes before tours are scheduled to begin. Unfortunately if your group arrives late, we will need to shorten your tour to fit within the time allotted. If you need to leave earlier than your scheduled time, please let us know so as soon as possible so that we may adjust your curriculum for optimal results. Your tour time and date will be on your contract. If the date and time is incorrect on your contract, please contact schooltours@cummermuseum.org for a correction.
WILL I NEED TO DIVIDE MY CLASS OR GROUP?
Every virtual tour is for one classroom or homeroom group. No need to split into smaller groups.
WHEN AND WHERE DO I PAY FOR MY TOUR?
If your tour has a balance due on the day of your visit (minus the $50 required deposit), our Museum staff will invoice you. If you would like to pay by credit card, please email schooltours@cummermuseum.org.
TEACHER RESOURCES - TOUR PACKETS
Please click on the tours below to access the tour packet with information about your visit to the Museum, as well as pre- and post-visit activities to use in your classroom.
PreK: My Outdoor World
Kindergarten and First Grade: The Art of Portraiture
Second and Third Grade: Elements of Art
Fourth and Fifth Grade: The Art of Florida
SCHOOL TOUR PRESENTING SPONSORS
J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver
The Dianne T. and Charles E. Rice Family Foundation
Ida Broward Boyd and Crowther Mann Boyd Endowment
Student Tours Lead Sponsor
Jacksonville Equity and Placemaking Advised Fund
Community First Credit Union
Student Tours Sponsor
Cummer Amelia
Cummer Beaches
Swisher International
Woodcock Foundation for the Appreciation of the Arts
Rosenberg Family Foundation