School Field Trips

Discover the wonder of the Walters! During a Discovery Visit, teachers and chaperones support students as they explore the museum at their own pace, including visiting interactive stations and participating in an art-making activity. Unlike a traditional museum tour, you decide where to explore based on students’ interests and what they are learning in class.

On a Discovery Visit, students can…

• Interact with touch materials to connect their lives with the lives of people who lived long ago in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Near East.
• Create their own art inspired by artworks in the Walters collection.
• Interact with touch materials and a scavenger hunt to make STEAM connections and learn about the science of caring for Asian and Islamic artworks in Across Asia: Arts of Asia and the Islamic World.

What to know about your Discovery Visit:

• Discovery Visits are best suited for grades 2–12, but open to all grade levels. Students in grades Pre-K–1 may need additional assistance from teachers and chaperones.
• Discovery Visits are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays and start between 10:15 and 11:45 a.m.
• Your group should plan to spend approximately 90–120 minutes at the museum, depending on how long your group spends on each activity.
• At least one chaperone is required for every 15 students.

Registration is required for all field trips.

Led by Walters educators, students of all abilities engage in thematic activities and discussions about art on our guided tours. Educators encourage students to practice close looking and questioning as they examine art from across time and culture.

What to know about your Guided Tour:

• Guided Tours are participant-driven conversations surrounding select works of art and are suitable for all grade levels.
• Guided Tours are offered on Wednesdays and Fridays, and start between 10 and 11:30 a.m.
• Tours require a minimum of 15 students and can accommodate a maximum of 90 students. At least one chaperone is required for every 15 students.
• Tours for students in Pre-K–2nd grade are 45 minutes long. Tours for students in 3rd–12th grades are one hour.
• Self-paced art making is available before or after your tour.
• Larger groups may be divided into smaller groups that take turns exploring the galleries with educators and making art with chaperones.

Guided Tour offerings:

• Art Explorers (recommended for grades Pre-K–2): Students exercise their visual literacy skills to interpret themes, understand creative processes, and explore materials in works of art across the museum.
• Ancient Cultures (recommended for grades 2–12): Students examine artifacts that reflect the art, mythologies, cultures, and daily lives of people in the ancient Mediterranean and the Americas.
• Living History (recommended for grades 6–12): Students uncover hidden histories and explore how art tells stories of the past to unpack narratives about colonization and power.
• Creative Careers (recommended for grades 6–12): Students explore different careers at the Walters and learn how museum professionals connect people and art.
• Literacy in Art (available for grades PreK–12): Students will exercise literacy skills to create their own interpretations about art, cite visual evidence to support their conclusions, and communicate their ideas through multidisciplinary activities.
  • Grades PreK–2: Building Foundations. How does art tell stories?
  • Grades 3–5: Point of View. What can we learn about an artist and what was important to them through their art?
  • Grades 6–8: Making Connections. How does art help us learn about the world around us?
  • Grades 9–12: Analyzing Rhetoric. How can art communicate ideas to influence an audience?

Registration is required for all field trips.

If you prefer a quieter visitor experience or would like to build your own field trip, we offer field trip booking in the afternoon when Discovery Visits and Guided Tours are not taking place and there are fewer students in the museum.

Please register so we are best prepared to welcome you.

The Walters is pleased to offer a limited number of bus reimbursements to Title I schools in  Maryland. If you would like to be considered for a bus reimbursement for your school, please check the appropriate box on the tour request form. If we can provide a bus reimbursement, you will receive a confirmation letter via email. We realize that some schools are in need of assistance yet are not categorized as Title I. If this describes your school, we will still consider your school for reimbursement.

Schools are responsible for booking and paying for their buses initially. Your school will be reimbursed after your field trip to the museum, once the museum has received all necessary paperwork.

All groups are welcome to have lunch outdoors at the Mount Vernon Place Park outside the museum.

We have limited indoor lunch space in the Museum Cafe. Please indicate your interest in using our cafe for lunch on the field trip request form. Your field trip confirmation email will indicate if we can accommodate your request.

Admission to the Walters Art Museum is always free; no tickets are required. All field trips are free thanks to the generosity of our partners.

Please consider a donation of $12 per person for your field trip.

Visit the accessibility web page for more information on accessibility across the museum. You can request accessibility resources and accommodations in your field trip request form or by emailing [email protected]. Please note, we ask for two weeks’ advance notice for ASL interpretation requests and Spanish language interpretation requests.

Prepare for your visit by reviewing the Visitor Guidelines and familiarizing yourself with the Visitor Promise.

Please share the museum’s Bus Parking Directions with your bus driver.

Build excitement for your field trip or extend the learning experience after your field trip by using classroom resources from the Walters.

During your visit, your group may share gallery space with other tour groups and museum visitors. If you would prefer to schedule a visit outside public hours or arrange for a museum educator to visit your school, please contact [email protected].