Schedule a Field Trip
Field Trips
The Museum offers a variety of programs for students to learn about art, history, and culture. Whether it is a docent-led tour complete with hands-on art project or a self-guided tour of a special exhibition and a selection of the permanent collection, students will have the opportunity to explore one of Tucson’s treasures. Field trips to the Tucson Museum of Art are generously supported by Long Realty Cares Foundation.
Why Visit the Tucson Museum of Art?
- TMA’s school tours program and its interactive approach encourages students to make meaningful connections to works of art on view in the Museum’s galleries.
- At TMA our tours promote self-expression and individual perspectives through observation, analysis, and evaluation both in the galleries and during hands-on art making opportunities.
- TMA complements school curricula and promote the critical thinking skills necessary to meet academic Arizona State Standards.
Tour Options
All groups MUST make a reservation in advance.
Self-Guided
The Museum welcomes teachers and group leaders to self-guide groups smaller than 20 students.
Docent-Led Tours
Scheduled docent-led tours last about one hour in the galleries.
Depending on the number of students in your group, you can select from the current exhibitions on display. Otherwise, the group will be split up and each group may visit different exhibitions. Please make note of specific exhibitions you are interested in when you submit your field trip request.
Art-making Activity
Hands-on art making activities can be added to your educational experience making your schools visit to TMA. The art making class takes place in the Education Building and last approximately one hour.
Tour Cost
- $7 per K-12 student (self-guided and docent-led tours are the same price).
- Art-making is an additional $5 per student.
- Teachers and chaperones are free.
- Financial assistance and bus subsidies are available for Title 1 Schools.
Call for more information: 520-624-2333 ext. 7102
Collect payment prior to the day of your visit in order to begin your tour on time. The Museum accepts cash, checks, major credit cards, and purchase orders.
Additional Information
Group Size
Maximum of 75 students per visit. At TMA we try to keep the docent to student ratio at a maximum of 10 students, for this reason we also require 1 chaperone for every 10 students.
Booking
We require at least 4 weeks advanced notice. Reservations are contingent upon availability, and tours are not scheduled until confirmed via email.
Hours
Scheduled tours are available Thursday and Friday, we have morning and afternoon times available.
Cancellations: If you must cancel or reschedule, please call the Education Department at 520-624-2333 ext. 7102 as soon as possible.
Buses
Bus parking is available at the corner of Telles Street and Meyer Avenue and also directly in front of the Museum’s 140 N. Main Avenue entrance doors.
Before Your Visit
Please review the following key tips to ensure a terrific time for all:
- One adult chaperone for every 10 students is required.
- Review the “Museum Manners” with your students and chaperones. (This is included in your confirmation email.)
- Arrive 10 minutes prior to you scheduled time. Tours typically begin at the Margaret E. Mooney Hall. Call (520) 624-2333, ext. 7102 if there is an unexpected delay.
- Leave backpacks, large bags, food & drinks on the bus or in the classroom-they are not permitted in the Museum.
- There are no school-group dining facilities at the museum; however, bag-lunches can be enjoyed in the courtyard of the Museum (weather permitting).
- The best field trip experience is when the teachers and chaperones are active participants in the experience! Consider making a pre-trip visit with family or friends to become familiar with the collections. The Museum is open Thursdays thru Sundays. The Museum does offer free admissions on the second Sunday, for Arizona Residents, and the first Thursday from 5:00 – 8:00 pm.
- Name tags are required for all students.
- During your Museum visit we will be examining and discussing a variety of images. Some works of art in the Museum may include mature content, but please note that no works of art highlighted on the tour will explore explicit themes.
- Please divide your group before you arrive at the museum. No more than 10 students per group.
Connecting Your TMA Visit to Arizona K-12 Academic Standards
Connecting Your TMA Visit to Arizona K-12 Academic Standards
To make it easier for you to connect your visit to your classroom curricular standards, we’ve made some example connections to the Arizona K-12 Academic Standards category and age that you can use. These are just sample curricular connections so when you register for your field trip, write in the standard you’d like us to connect with and we will do our best to make it happen!
Arizona’s K-12 Academic Standards
Arts
Kindergarten
VA.RE.7.Ka
a. Identify various types (such as drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) or art.
1st
VA.RE.7.1b
b. Compare images that represent the same subject matter.
2nd
VA.RE.9.2
Use art-specific vocabulary to express preferences about artwork.
3rd
VA.RE.7.3a
a. Use art-specific vocabulary to speculate about processes (such as pasted paper in a collage and brushmarks in a painting) an artist used to create a work of art.
4th
VA.RE.7.4b
b. Analyze components (such as elements and principles in modern art, visual traditions of various indigenous peoples, etc.) in imagery that convey messages.
5th
VA.RE.7.5b
b. Identify and analyze cultural associations suggested by visual imagery (such as the skulls and skeletons used in Day of the Dead festivals, dancing dragons used in Chinese New Year celebrations, broken chain as symbol of freedom, etc.)
6th
VA.RE.7.6b
b. Analyze ways that visual characters and cultural associations suggested by images influence ideas, emotions, and actions (such as white associated with Western weddings and with mourning in some Asian cultures).
7th
VA.RE.7.7a
a. Explain how the location of artworks/artifacts (such as katsinas in museums or in ceremonial sites) influence how they are perceived and valued.
8th
VA.RE.7.8b
b. Compare and contrast contexts (such as video games, music concerts, pow wows, etc.) in which viewers encounter images that influence ideas, emotions, and actions.
High School / Proficient
VA.RE.7.HS1a
a. Speculate about ways in which art impacts people’s perception and understanding of human experiences (such as the impact of Diego Rivera’s political murals, Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” Jacob Lawrence’s “Migration Series,” etc.).
High School / Accomplished
VA.RE.7.HS2a
a. Use art-specific vocabulary to describe personal aesthetic responses to designed objects and constructed environments (such as electronic devices, household appliances, shopping malls).
High School / Advanced
VA.RE.7.HS3a
a. Reflect upon how responses to art develop over time based on knowledge of and experience with art and life.
Educational Technology
Kindergarten
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Observe and extend patterns.
1st
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Recognize and create patterns.
2nd
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Examine patterns to identify trends.
3rd
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Examine patterns and identify trends to generate questions.
4th
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Identify patterns and trends to generate questions.
5th
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Identify patterns and trends to generate questions to draw conclusions.
6th
Strand 1: Creativity and Innovation
Concept 2: Trends and Possibilities
PO 1. Identify patterns and trends to draw conclusions and forecast possibilities.
7th
Strand 6: Technology Operations and Concepts
Concept 2: Applications
PO 5. Create and edit visual and audio material to generate a multimedia product.
8th
Strand 6: Technology Operations and Concepts
Concept 2: Applications
PO 5. Create and edit visual and audio material to generate a stand-alone multimedia product.
High School (grades 9-12)
Strand 6: Technology Operations and Concepts
Concept 2: Applications
PO 5. Compose media for the web with interactive capabilities.
English Language Arts/Literacy
Kindergarten
Speaking and Listening Standards K-2
Comprehension and Collaboration
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
1st
Speaking and Listening Standards K-2
Comprehension and Collaboration
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
2nd
Speaking and Listening Standards K-2
Comprehension and Collaboration
Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
3rd
Speaking and Listening Standards 3-5
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4th
Speaking and Listening Standards 3-5
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
5th
Speaking and Listening Standards 3-5
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
6th
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-8
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
7th
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-8
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
8th
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-8
Comprehension and Collaboration
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
9-10th
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-8
Comprehension and Collaboration
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
11-12th
Speaking and Listening Standards 6-8
Comprehension and Collaboration
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
Mathematics
Kindergarten
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
K.OA.A.1
Represent addition and subtraction with objects, fingers, mental images, drawings, sounds (e.g., claps) acting out situations, verbal explanations, expressions, or equations. (Drawings need to show details, but should show the mathematics in the problems. This applies wherever drawings are mentioned in the Standards.)
1st
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
1.0A.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
2nd
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
2.OA.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
3rd
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
3.OA.A.3
Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
4th
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
4.OA.A.3
Multiply or divide to solve word problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative comparison from additive comparison.
5th
Operations and Algebraic Thinking (OA)
5.OA.B.3
Generate two numerical patterns using given rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane.
6th
The Number System (NS)
6.NS.A.1
Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem.
7th
Geometry (G)
7.G.A.1
Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, such as computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
8th
Geometry (G)
8.G.B.7
Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.
Physical Education
6th
Stress Management
S3.M18
Identifies positive and negative results of stress and appropriate ways of dealing with each.
7th
Stress Management
S3.M18
Identifies positive and negative results of stress and appropriate ways of dealing with each.
8th
Stress Management
S3.M18
Identifies positive and negative results of stress and appropriate ways of dealing with each.
High School
Stress Management
S3.H14.L2
Applies stress-management strategies (e.g., mental imagery, relaxation techniques, deep breathing, cardiovascular exercise, meditation) to reduce stress.
Science
Kindergarten
Strand 2: History and Nature of Science
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
PO 1
Give examples of how diverse people (e.g., children, parents, weather reporters, cooks, healthcare workers, gardeners) use science in daily life.
1st
Strand 2: History and Nature of Science
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
PO 1
Give examples of how diverse people (e.g., children, parents, weather reporters, cooks, healthcare workers, gardeners) use science in daily life.
2nd
Strand 2: History and Nature of Science
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
PO 2
Identify science-related career opportunities.
3rd
Strand 2: History and Nature of Science
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
PO 2
Describe science-related career opportunities
4th
Strand 2: History and Nature of Science
Concept 1: History of Science as a Human Endeavor
PO 2
Describe science-related career opportunities
5th
Strand 5: Physical Science
Concept 2: Motion and Forces
PO3
Examine forces and motion through investigations using simple machines (e.g., wedge, plane, wheel and axle, pulley, and lever).
6th
Strand 4: Life Science
Concept 3: Populations of Organisms in an Ecosystem
PO2
Describe how the following environmental conditions affect the quality of life (water quality, climate, population density, smog).
7th
Strand 4: Life Science
Concept 3: Changes in Environments
PO2
Analyze environmental risks (e.g., pollution, destruction of habitat) caused by human interaction with biological or geological systems.
8th
Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Concept 1: Changes in Environments
PO1
Analyze the risk factors associated with natural, human induced, and/or biological hazards including waste disposal of industrial chemicals and greenhouse gases.
High School
Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
Concept 1: Changes in Environments
PO 4
Evaluate the following factors that affect the quality of the environment.
Social Studies
Kindergarten
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 4: Human Systems
PO 2. Construct maps of a familiar place (e.g., classroom, bedroom, playground, neighborhood).
1st
Strand 2: World History
Concept 1: Research Skills for History
PO 1: Place important life events in chronological order on a timeline.
2nd
Strand 2: World History
Concept 1: Research Skills for History
PO 3: Recognize how archaeological research adds to our understanding of the past.
3rd
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 2: Places and Regions
PO 2. Describe how physical and human characteristics of places change from past to present.
4th
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 2: Places and Regions
PO 1. Describe how the Southwest has distinct physical and cultural characteristics.
5th
Strand 1: American History
Concept 3: Exploration and Colonization
PO 1. Recognize that Native American tribes resided throughout North America before the period of European exploration and colonization.
6th
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 3: Physical Systems
Describe how sunlight, water quality, climate, population density and pollution affect quality of life.
7th
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 2: Places and Regions
PO 4. Describe how a place changes over time.
8th
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 3: Physical Systems
PO 4. Identify how the role of the media, images, and advertising influences the perception of a place.
High School
Strand 4: Geography
Concept 2: Places and Regions
PO 7. Analyze sides of scientific debates over how human actions (e.g., global warming, ozone decline) modify a region,
Visual Literacy
The Tucson Museum of Art’s new program for K-12 called Visual Literacy will teach students the ability to interpret, discuss, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image using works of art from the collection. Students will receive two-point points of contact: introduction to the museum with a classroom visit, followed by a field trip to the museum with a hands-on experience. The goals are to help teachers create connections between art and the curriculum that strengthen student thinking and learning in the arts and beyond. The program’s six steps – look, observe, see, describe, analyze, and interpret aid in understanding what we see. After an introduction, the steps are built on appropriate grade levels and work well as stand-alone.
To schedule your Visual Literacy Classroom presentation and field trip, contact the museum’s education department at education@tucsonmuseumofart.org.
Visual Literacy prices will be charged for the museum visit. Title I scholarships are available.
Program Curriculum:
- Grades 1-2: Using a PowerPoint, students will look and observe a piece of art.
- Grades 3-4: Will incorporate the Elements of Art using see and describe. Building on steps look, observe, and see, students describe as they learn to identify and organize their thoughts about what they have seen.
- Grades 5-6: Build on the previous four steps to analysis and interpretation. Details identified in students’ descriptions enable them to apply reason to make meaning.