Plan Your Visit
Gallery lessons are available to school groups with at least two weeks advance notice. They are offered Tuesday–Friday at 10am, 11am, and 1pm. Our schedule fills quickly, so booking early is advised.
Gallery Visit Offerings are as follows (read section below for TEKS):
- Art Trek (50 minutes, all ages)
- Art & Feelings (50 minutes, grades 3–8)
- Between the Lines (50 minutes, grades 3–12)
- Inquiring Minds (50 minutes, grades 2–5)
- Print Study Room (60 minutes, grades 9–12)
- Tales & Trails (50 minutes, grades PK–2)
- Social Issues in Art (90 minutes, grades 7–12)
We can accommodate a maximum of 60 students and require one chaperone per eight students.
Pricing
School group visits are $5 per student, including on Tuesdays. Required chaperones and teachers accompanying the group are free. Additional adults pay the general admission price of $15. As part of our commitment to access, Title I schools receive free admission for all students , as well as a stipend to help cover bus transportation costs. As a reminder, teachers always receive free museum admission with a valid district/school ID.
Drop Off & Parking
The Museum Drop-Off is on the east side of the Michener Gallery Building, directly across from Brazos Garage. Buses should plan to drop off students at this area. Students will then follow a short pathway to the museum entrance.
Bus parking near the Blanton is extremely limited. Please plan ahead. Chaperones can park in Brazos Garage (University garage rates apply).
Meet our Volunteer Gallery Teachers
Volunteer Gallery Teachers lead each visit, bringing diverse professional backgrounds and a shared passion for learning through art. Our team of educators bring diverse professional backgrounds and a shared passion for learning through art. Our teaching model combines professional educators, Graduate Teaching Fellows, and Volunteer Gallery Teachers, all of whom lead our programs. Volunteers participate in 25 hours of annual training that prepare them to tailor lesson plans that reflect the needs of each class, cultivating a museum experience that is connected to classroom learning.
Gallery Lesson Offerings
Each guided lesson addresses relevant Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) and is carefully planned and led by our educators and volunteers. Our most popular guided visits are listed below:
Explore the Blanton’s diverse collection, traversing time and space. Recommended for all grade levels as an introduction to exploring art and artists. All ages.
Works of art from the Blanton’s collection will evoke empathy and inspire thoughtful conversation about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) topics, including responsibility, respect, safety, self, and collaboration. Designed for grades 3–8, but adaptable for all ages.
Discover connections between the visual language of art and the power of words. Students practice literacy skills (listening, speaking, thinking, reading, and writing) as they uncover multiple meanings, discover new perspectives, and create rich narratives through the shared creative experience of art and language. Designed for grades 3–8, but adaptable for all ages.
Look at art through the lens of science, technology, engineering, and math! Explore creative connections between art and STEM principles through the Blanton’s collection. This guided lesson encourages students to observe, question, connect, imagine, problem solve, and form conclusions while considering age-appropriate STEM concepts. Students employ critical thinking and visual literacy skills transferable to multiple curricular areas. Designed for grades 2–5.
Curated to address unique course requirements, these pre-selected artworks will help bring your curriculum to life. The Print Study Room can accommodate up to 20 people (teacher/chaperone included). Designed for grades 9-12. Each topic features 15-20 artworks:
- Literary References
- Printmaking Techniques
- Civil Rights
- Humor
- Italian Renaissance
This gallery lesson integrates visual literacy skills with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) to link early childhood education concepts to students’ first experiences in a museum setting. Designed for grades PK-2.
Students will explore how artists use their work to spark conversations about issues important to them – and to individuals, schools, communities, our nation, and our world. This guided lesson will encourage students to look closely at artworks, exchange ideas about experiences connected to the art, and respond through writing, creative storytelling, or creating their own art. Designed for grades 7-12.
Pre-Visit Resources
This pre-visit activity, Museum Manners, helps students understand why we do not touch artworks in the museum by showing how repeated marks from fingers (using ink, paint, or marker) can accumulate and damage a surface.
Recommended for young artists grades K-3 (Art Trek; Art & Feelings; Tales & Trails; Between the Lines)
Using Your Senses with Art is a pre-visit activity that invites students to imagine themselves inside a painting through their five senses. This sensory reflection helps prepare them for the museum visit by building comfort, grounding them in inquiry, and encouraging curiosity during their tour.
Recommended for artists grades K-12 (Art Trek; Art & Feelings; Inquiring Minds; Between the Lines; Social Issues in Art)
The ABCs of the Blanton is a pre-visit activity designed to introduce students to key vocabulary before their museum visit, helping the galleries feel more familiar and giving students useful context. Students will have two options: a fill-in-the-blank activity, or a fast-paced matching game where students pair vocabulary words with their definitions.
Recommended for young artists grades K-6 (Art Trek; Art & Feelings; Between the Lines)
Stepping Into the Art is a pre-visit activity that helps older students practice the kinds of questions they can ask in the museum, encouraging close observation of color, style, and composition. Using a Blanton artwork, students respond to guided prompts to build confidence, curiosity, and visual awareness before their visit.
Recommended for artists grades 7-12 (Social Issues in Art; Art Trek).
Creating Your Space is a pre-visit activity that invites students to imagine designing their own stained-glass window, choosing colors and moods that shape how others might feel in the space they create. This activity encourages young learners to think about color, emotion, and environment as they prepare for their visit to the Blanton.
Recommended for young artists grades K-6 (Inquiring Minds; Art Trek; Art & Feelings; Tales & Trails).
Post-Visit Resources
This post-visit activity, One Sentence Reflection, guides students in writing a brief reflection using artistic elements that they decorate to express and deepen their experience with the Blanton’s collection.
Recommended as a follow-up to the Art & Feelings visit.
This post-visit activity, 3-2-1, is adapted for grades 2-6 and 7-12. Students will interview a classmate to record three things they learned during their visit, two questions they still have, and one thing they want to know more about at the museum.
An adaptation for older students expands the activity into a deeper interview and reflection on similarities and differences in their responses.
Recommended as a follow-up to the Art Trek visit.
This post-visit activity, Brain Dump, is adapted for grades 3-6 and 7-12. Students freely reflect on their museum experience by writing down anything and everything they remember from the visit, then deepen their thinking in a space for drawing and visual reflection.
For older students, the activity expands into a more intentional written reflection paired with a visual response.
Recommended as a follow-up to the Between the Lines visit.
This post-visit activity, Using Geometric Shapes, invites students to explore the concepts behind the Blanton’s “petals”. Using cut-out geometric shapes, students design their own functional shade and water-distribution structure inspired by the petals. Younger students can share their creations through class discussion, while older students have the option to complete a written reflection.
Recommended as a follow-up to the Inquiring Minds visit.
Reflecting the Museum is a post-visit activity that invites students to process their experience at the museum, where they may have explored social issues and discussed how artists use these themes. Students create a personal reflection centered on their perception of the artworks and the ways they choose to express that experience.
Recommended as a follow-up to the Social Issues in Art visit.