The Museum serves area schools throughout the year. All 3,000 public school third graders and 1,500 seventh graders come to the Museum each year during their system-wide field trips. They visit current exhibitions and participate in a related studio lesson. An additional 10,000 students from other schools participate in tours and other programs by scheduling them in advance.

The Museum strives to create programs to complement school curricula as well as to support the recently established Alabama Arts Education Course of Study. “Nature’s Palette” is one such program that makes connections between art and ecology through a sequential series of lessons for 5th grade students. Other programs, such as the Advanced Placement Art History course (offered at the Museum for area juniors and seniors,) are in-depth and long term explorations of art. Please call (334) 244-5700 for more information.

The education department schedules 2 to 4 teacher’s in-service workshops each year which focus on specific exhibitions. Often these workshops include packets with lesson plans and images for use in the classroom. Workshops also help prepare teachers for Museum visits with their students, either as self-guided or docent-led tours. The Museum loans schools free resources such as art videos, slide sets, and the Traveling Touchable Art Suitcase of original works of art. Guided tours and student exhibitions occur throughout the year, and can be custom-designed with the teacher to meet the specific needs of the class. For a current and complete list of upcoming opportunities, please call (334) 244-5700 and request a Teachers Resource Guide from the Museum's Tour Coordinator.