Group Visits & Tours
The Blanton’s school group visits aim to inspire curiosity and foster lifelong relationships between students and the art through interactive, inquiry-based explorations of art. Guided gallery lessons, also available in Spanish or as bilingual, are approximately 50 minutes and can be tailored to focus on a variety of curricular topics ranging from literacy to social justice.
Gallery Lesson Offerings
Each guided lesson typically addresses Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS). Our most popular guided visits include:
ART TREK
Overview for all ages. Travel through the Blanton’s diverse collection, traversing time and space. Recommended for all grades as an introduction to considering art and ideas.
ART & FEELINGS
Designed for grades 3-8, but adaptable for 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.
BETWEEN THE LINES
Designed for grades 3-12, but adaptable for all ages. Discover connections between the visual language of art and the power of words while exploring the Blanton’s diverse collection. 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.
EXPLORING DIVERSITY
Designed for grades 7-12. The mission of this guided visit is to evoke the empathetic imagination using artwork as a catalyst for challenging conversations about identity, diversity, justice, race, immigration, resilience, taking action, and more.
INQUIRING MINDS
Designed for grades 2-5. Look at art through the lens of science! Explore creative connections between art and STEM principles throughout the Blanton’s collection. The Inquiring Minds guided visit 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.
TALES & TRAILS
Designed for grades PK-2. 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.
Visit Times
Hour-long gallery lessons are available to school groups with at least two weeks advance notice. (Our schedule fills quickly, so booking early is advised.) We can accommodate a maximum of 60 students (and required chaperones*) Tuesday-Friday at 10:30am and 11:30am.
To request a guided visit for your school, please complete the K-12 Group Visit Request form below.
*1 chaperone is required for every 8 students.
Pricing
School group visits are $5 per student, including on Tuesdays. Required chaperones and teachers accompanying the group are free. For planning purposes, teachers always receive free admission upon presentation of a school ID. Additional adults pay the general admission price of $15.
Drop Off & Parking
The Museum Drop-Off is on the east side of the museum 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 entrance to the museum.
Bus parking near the Blanton is extremely limited. Please plan ahead.
Chaperones can park in the Brazos Garage to the east of the museum. Garage rates will apply.
Professional Development
The Blanton Education Team is equipped to provide custom-tailored, interactive workshops and materials for K-12 educators from all subject areas. We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with school partners to bring the world of art into classrooms, to meet specific curricular needs, and to create unique opportunities for personal/community growth and reflection.
If you’d like to explore possibilities for professional development for your department,
grade-level team, school or district, please email carlen.floyd@blantonmuseum.org. Blanton
services are fee-based, and can be scheduled at the museum or on a school campus.
No Events
Digital Resources
In addition to in-person guided visits, the Blanton’s education department has developed a range of digital resources to support classroom and at-home learning.
Each lesson in the modules below activates works of art in the Blanton’s collection to explore a specific idea or topic. All lessons are designed for both asynchronous learning and classroom conversation; many lessons can be broken down into smaller units for greater flexibility.
If you’re a teacher, we’d like to keep in touch! Sign-up to receive educational resources and updates specific to the Blanton’s Schools Programs (PK-12).
SEL (Social and Emotional Learning)
This module invites students to look closely at a work of art and make connections to lived experience. Each lesson includes:
- A five-minute video
- A downloadable PDF with reflection and journaling prompt
Trying Something New
Download the Trying Something New Journal Pages
Find out more…
-About representing textures in two-dimensions: View an online image search for “still life paintings.” Get a sense of how painters try to represent different textures such as the textures of glass, metal, fruit, flower, cloth, etc.
-About the world of The Truant: If you focus your search on “early American still life paintings,” you may find representations of objects that the Truant might have seen or used (or eaten!). Just for fun—search for “American winter landscape paintings,” to imagine the skating boy’s world.
-About carving marble: Watch Getty Museum: Carving Marble with Traditional Tools
Strength and Hope
Download the Strength & Hope Journal Pages
Find out more…
-Learn more about the artist: Mequitta Ahuja – Working with Traditional Images
-Take a look at an early sketch of Parade: This sketch, kindly provided by the artist, gives us a glimpse into one stage of Ahuja’s creative process.
Caring for Ourselves and Others
Download the Caring For Ourselves & Others Journal Pages
Find out more…
-Learn more about the artist: George Segal 2K
-Learn how to make a plaster mask: The Plaster Mask Tutorial
Action and Reflection
Download the Action & Reflection Journal Pages
Find out more…
Read the full story of David and Goliath in the Bible: First book of Samuel, Chapter 17 in the New International Version (NIV)
Finding Joy
Download the Finding Joy Journal Pages
Find out more…
Learn about what abstraction meant to Ellsworth Kelly and Shara Hughes:
-Watch Ellsworth Kelly Explains Abstraction by SFMOMA
-Watch Shara Hughes Gets Lost in Paint by ArtDrunk
-Take a look inside Ellsworth Kelly’s largest artwork ever, Austin: KellyAtTheBlanton.org
Friendship & Trust
Download the Friendship & Trust Journal Pages
Find out more…
Learn more about the artist by watching this 5-minute video:
-Watch A magical landscape by Smarthistory on YouTube at bit.ly/SELResource12
Learn about Ogunquit and the landscape of coastal Maine
-Watch Ogunquit, Maine Walkon YouTube. View at bit.ly/SELResource13
The Value of Listening
Download The Value of Listening Journal Pages
Find out more…
Learn more about the artist and his creative process:
-Read A Studio Visit with Claude van Lingenby Kevin Ivester at bit.ly/SELResource14
Explore ways to resolve conflicts with negotiation and compromise:
-Watch Conflict Resolution: How to Settle Your Differences Fairlyby BrainPOP on YouTube at bit.ly/SELResource15
Watch Writing on Ribs by Wendy Williams Watt: Sometimes art is more about an idea than a technique. Here is another example of “conceptual art” that uses words to make the world better.
-Watch on YouTube at bit.ly/SELResource16
Respect
Download the Respect Journal Pages
Find out more…
Learn more about the artist
-Watch Portrait of Charles White from The Art Institute of Chicago at bit.ly/SELResource22
Explore the significance of the title
-The drawing’s title is based on a song that Mahalia Jackson sang at the 1963 March on Washington for Civil Rights, right before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech: bit.ly/SELResource23
Tips for asking the questions that invite a person to share their story
-Watch Interview Tips with Steve Inskeep, Host of NPR’s Morning Editionat bit.ly/SELResource24
Stories matter
The University of Texas at Austin collects oral histories.
-Learn about the Voces Oral History Projectat bit.ly/SELResource25
Belonging
Download the Belonging Journal Pages
Find out more…
The difference between “belonging” and “fitting in”:
-Watch Brene Brown on “True Belonging” from Contemplative Interbeing at
bit.ly/SELResource17
Learn how to draw a still life:
Watch on YouTube at bit.ly/SELResource18
Learn how to set the table:
Watch How To: Proper Everyday Table Setting on YouTube at bit.ly/SELResource19
Learn how to make a colorful dish:
Try making this rainbow spaghetti with instructions from BBC Good Food at bit.ly/SELResource20
Listen and learn more about the musicians:
Explore the music of Nimrod Ensemble Berlin who provided the soundtrack to our Belonging video at bit.ly/SELResource21
Exploring Diversity & Civil Rights
These instructional guides are the result of an ongoing collaboration with educators from the Blanton and the Anti-Defamation League. Each guide features three works of art from the Blanton collection, a thinking routine from Project Zero at Harvard University, relevant TEKS, discussion questions, and activities designed to engage young people with issues of community, identity, and social justice that are relevant to individuals, schools, communities, our nation, and our world. Each guide also includes a book recommendation for school-aged children and a classroom lesson from the ADL.
Image (left): Sonya Clark, Madam C.J. Walker, 2008
Building Community
Exploring Identity
Using Your Voice
Organizing for Action
Leading by Example
#ArtWhereYouAre Studio
This series, inspired by works in the Blanton’s collection, introduces simple studio activities that invite diverse creative responses using common, inexpensive materials. Each lesson includes:
- A three- to five-minute video
- A downloadable PDF of making instructions and additional resources
Louise Nevelson: Found Object Sculpture
Download PDF of Louise Nevelson activity here.
Richard Long: Land Art Sculpture
Download PDF of Richard Long activity here.
Joan Mitchell: Melted Crayon Art
Download PDF of Joan Mitchell activity here.
Tania Bruguera: Tea Bag Print
Download PDF of Tania Bruguera activity here.
José Reyes Meza: Magazine Still Life Collage
Download PDF of José Reyes Meza activity here.
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Net
Download PDF of Yayoi Kusama activity here.
Mary Lee Bendolph: Mini Quilt Collage
Download PDF of Mary Lee Bendolph activity here.
Alexander Calder: String Art
Download PDF of Alexander Calder activity here.
Tadasuke Kuwayama: Circular Painting
Download PDF of Tadasuke Kuwayama activity here.
STEAM
This module explores how both artmaking and art interpretation involve pursuing questions, solving problems, and other skills that intersect with science, technology, engineering, and math. Each lesson includes:
Lesson 1: Art & Nature with Peat Duggins
Download Art & Nature worksheet HERE.
Lesson 2: Observation in Art & Nature
Download Observation in Art & Nature worksheet HERE.
Credits
Generous support for School Programs at the Blanton is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc. Education Endowment, with additional support provided by the Buena Vista Foundation, the Burdine Johnson Foundation Education Endowment, the CFP Foundation Endowment for K-12 Excellence, the Lowe Foundation, the Meinig Family Foundation, the Susan Mayer Art Enrichment Endowment, and The Bingham Group, LLC.