Student Tours

Follow these steps to schedule a docent-guided tour or self-guided visit:

• Determine several possible dates and times for your visit.
• Choose your preferred tour subject. See the options below.
• Be prepared to share information about your group: number of students, grade levels, special needs, lunch plans.
• All tour requests must be submitted at least three weeks in advance.

 

• Docent-guided tours last approximately one hour, unless otherwise noted.
• 10–60 students per hour; one chaperone with every 10 students
• Admission to the permanent collection is always free.
• Permanent collection tours during occur during regular museum hours; availability varies.

• Self-guided groups (10 or more) may reserve discounted tickets in advance by contacting the Group Sales Department; prices vary. Special exhibition admission is waived for school groups that schedule docent-guided tours at set times.

 

REQUEST A SCHOOL TOUR

 

For more information or to schedule a tour over the phone, call 817-332-8451, ext. 249. Requires three weeks advance notice.

 

The Kimbell offers a limited number of school visit reimbursements (up to $350) to help cover transportation and substitute teacher expenses for school groups that schedule docent-guided tours. Please indicate your interest when you request a tour; we will email you to confirm availability.

Docent-Guided Tours

 

Special Exhibitions

Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art
(May 7, 2023–September 3, 2023, docent-guided tours only) 
Grades 3–12 

Bonnard's Worlds
(November 5, 2023–January 28, 2024, docent-guided tours only) 
Grades 3–12 

 

Permanent Collection Tour Topics

Kimbell Highlights

Grades 3–12

This introductory tour showcases a range of masterpieces representing different subjects, time periods, cultures, and artists’ techniques.

 

Shape, Line, and Color

Grades 3–6

Explore visual elements in both paintings and sculpture to learn how artists communicate ideas in art.

 

To Tell a Story

Grades 3–6

Lights, canvas, action! Discover how artists tell stories through gesture, expression, setting, and intriguing details.

 

The Five Senses

Grades 3–6

How do artists encourage us to imagine sounds, smells, tastes, and textures? Investigate how we experience artworks through all five senses.

 

Portrait Encounters

Grades 7–12

Examine portraits throughout history and look for important clues about individual interests, personalities, and how the sitters wished to be seen by others.

 

European History through Art

Grades 9–12

Connect European masterpieces with major historic events and movements spanning from the early Renaissance through the mid-20th century.

 

World Cultures

Grades 9–12

Artworks from around the globe and across time guide our exploration of cultural traditions and essential human values.

 

Classical Myth in Art

Grades 7–12

Group limit: 30

Travel to the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome to see gods and mortals battle for life, love, and victory.

 

 

Collections

Museum Architecture

Grades 3–12

In-depth tours explore architectural considerations such as structure, siting, materials, and the use of natural light. For 60-minute tours, select either the Louis Kahn Building (1972) or the Renzo Piano Pavilion (2013); 75-minute tours visit both Kimbell buildings.

 

European

Grades 3–12

Interactive discussions will address paintings and sculpture representing the major movements of Western art history from the Renaissance to the middle of the 20th century.

 

Asian

Grades 3–12

Group limit: 20

Selected works produced in a range of media highlight artistic traditions from Asian countries such as India, Nepal, China, Korea, and Japan.

 

African & Ancient American

Grades 3–12

Group limit: 20

Rulers, heroes, gods, and ancestors are among the major themes addressed during in-depth tours focusing on sculpture from Africa and Central and South America.

 

World Languages

Grades 3–12

Group limit: 30

Students of Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, and other world languages will enjoy connections with the histories and traditions of related artists and cultures. Contact the tour programs coordinator for current options.

 

Inside/Outside Sculpture

Grades 3–12

Experience art in three dimensions with a tour of the Kimbell’s sculpture collection and learn how artists modeled, carved, or cast their works in clay, marble, wood, or metal.

Self-Guided Tours

Groups are welcome to explore the Museum on their own. These visits are offered year-round but are subject to availability. Group leaders must request permission to lecture in the permanent collection; guest lecturing is not permitted in special exhibitions.

 

• Teachers are required to schedule times for self-guided groups (all ages) to prevent overcrowding in the galleries.
• Self-guided groups must always yield to tours conducted by Museum staff and docents.
• Prior approval of gallery writing activities is required.
• 10–100 students per hour; one chaperone with every 10 students

 

Contact us if you have questions:

 

Permanent collection self-guided tours

Tour programs coordinator

817-332-8451, ext. 249

[email protected]

 

Special exhibition self-guided tour requests and discounted tickets

Group sales department

817-332-8451, ext. 229

[email protected]

 

Preparing for Your Tour

 

Look, discuss, create

• Use Kimbell classroom resources with artwork reproductions, discussion information, and recommended activities to prepare students in advance.
• Show students the Kimbell’s YouTube video 
• Review Museum Guidelines with students at school and again on the bus.

 

Keep in touch

• Carefully review your final tour confirmation; contact the tour programs coordinator (ext. 249) as soon as possible if you have questions.
• Reconfirm two days before your visit.

• If you must cancel, please notify us as soon as possible.

 

Help us get to know your students

• Create nametags for students to help encourage interaction during gallery tours.
• Share information about any special needs your group may have, including special education, English as a second language, and limited mobility. 

 

Getting to and around the Kimbell campus

• Tours begin in either the Kahn Building or the Piano Pavilion. Please check your confirmation for details or call the tour programs coordinator (ext. 249).
• View the map attached to your confirmation email to locate the group drop-offs and entrances for each building.
• After dropping off students, buses should park along Will Rogers Road.

 

When you arrive

• Please arrive ten minutes before your scheduled tour time.
• Running late? Contact the Information Desk (ext. 730 or 731).
• Docent gallery guides are not required to wait longer than 20 minutes for late arrivals; tours may be shortened to accommodate Museum schedules.

 

Staying for lunch?

• The Museum does not have indoor dining facilities for large student groups.
• Students may eat outside on the lawn located between the buildings, under the Kahn Building’s West Portico, on the turf-covered roof of the Piano Pavilion, or under the John Peter Smith oak tree at the center of the Darnell Street Parking Lot.  
• Please do not transport food through the Museum, and dispose of all trash items.

 

Adults in charge

• One adult teacher or chaperone is required for every 10 students. Students must stay in their groups with chaperones at all times.
• Chaperones are responsible for student conduct and must monitor student groups at all times during their visit, including in the Museum Shops and restrooms.

Museum Guidelines

 

For students:

• Explore the works of art only with your eyes, never with your hands. Remain aware of your surroundings and always maintain an arm’s length distance from artworks.
• Walk in the museum—do not run.
• Use a quiet voice when sharing your ideas.
• Write and draw only with pencils—no pens or markers.
• No flash photography is permitted in the permanent collection. Students should refrain from taking pictures during docent-guided tours. Photography is not permitted in special exhibitions.

 

Additional information for teachers:

• No food, drinks, or water bottles are allowed in any galleries. Remind students to leave those items and large bags on the bus. Free parcel check is available for umbrellas and other bulky items.
• Unscheduled lecturing to groups is not permitted.
• Sketching is allowed in the galleries as long as it is in pencil and does not obstruct or interfere with other visitors.
• Cell phones should be turned to silent mode while in the Museum.
• Seeing-eye dogs and other service animals assisting people with disabilities are the only animals allowed in the Museum.
• Tobacco use, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, electronic cigarettes, snuff, and chewing tobacco, is not permitted in the Museum or anywhere on the Museum's grounds.
• Weapons are not allowed in the Museum (exception: law enforcement officers).

 

Directions

From I-30 heading west, exit University Drive. Turn left from the exit ramp to drive north on University Drive (follow signs to the Cultural District). Turn left on West Lancaster Avenue (third traffic light).

To drop off groups at the Kahn Building, turn right at the first light onto Van Cliburn Way. Turn right at the stop sign onto Darnell Street and unload passengers at the paved drop-off areas. They will walk across Van Cliburn Way to reach the Kahn Building.

To drop off groups at the Piano Pavilion, continue on West Lancaster to turn right on Will Rogers Road. Turn right at Camp Bowie Boulevard and pull into the group drop-off space.

Buses may park along Will Rogers Road or contact Fort Worth ISD to request permission to park at nearby Farrington Field.