Planning your school tour

Tour Times
Docent-guided school group tours are booked daily, every half-hour from 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m., except Thursdays, when tours are booked from 11:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. In addition, school group tours are scheduled starting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during October, November, March, April, and May. Docent-guided tours are one hour in length from your scheduled start time. Self-guided school group tours are booked daily during regular business hours. The Museum is closed Mondays (except select holidays: MLK Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day) as well as New Year’s, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Group Size
The minimum group size per visit is 10 students, maximum 120 students. Group size does not include chaperones. Group size helps maintain a proper teaching environment in the galleries.

Chaperones
The presence and assistance of teachers and adult chaperones are essential during school tours. Adult chaperones are responsible for the students’ conduct and adherence to the Museum's visitor etiquette. One chaperone per 10 students is required.

Chaperones must stay with their group while visiting the Museum. Please ensure that all chaperones are aware of the vital role they will play during your tour. The Museum staff requires the assistance of chaperones in the following areas:

• monitoring and supervising students through the duration of the visit,
• explaining and modeling the Museum’s visitor etiquette for the students,
• assisting in the distribution and clean-up of in-gallery activities and/or art projects.

Payment
Final headcount and tour/program title confirmation for your school’s visit are due to the Museum three weeks before your scheduled tour date. All members of your group must be pre-registered. You must either call 414-224-3842 or e-mail the tour scheduler at grouptours@mam.org with this information. No changes in headcount or program/tour title will be accepted after the three-week deadline. Your school will be billed for the number of students and chaperones shown on your account at that time. Do not send payment with a change in headcount without first notifying the tour scheduler. Payment is due two weeks before your visit and will not be accepted or processed at the door. Payment may be made by check, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, or American Express. We do not offer a refund if your group's headcount decreases after your payment has been made.

Name Tags
Name tags are required for all students, chaperones, and other adults attending the tour. They are your "tickets" and indicate that you have paid for admission. You provide the name tags with your students’ and/or school's names on them. Please wear them where docents can see them easily for facilitating discussions with your students.

What to Bring
Bring clipboards with paper, sketchbooks, notebooks or other drawing and writing media along with pencil for working in the galleries. Due to the irreversible nature of other drawing and writing materials, pencil is the only medium allowed in the galleries.

Food, drinks, gum, candy, backpacks, umbrellas and large handbags are all safety and security risks for works of art. Please do not bring these items into the galleries. There are closets available for your convenience at the School Entrance.

Photography in the galleries is allowed only when the following conditions apply:

• No flash (the light is very damaging to artwork)
• No tripods or large camera bags (bulky equipment may damage artwork)
• Only works in the Museum’s Collection that the Museum owns can be photographed. Photography of works on loan and those in many of our changing exhibitions is prohibited. The text labels located near each artwork will identify its ownership.

The Milwaukee Art Museum does not have indoor lunch facilities for bagged lunches, so please plan your visit accordingly.

Where to Enter
Enter at the Museum’s south School Group Entrance located on 700 N. Art Museum Drive. There is no on-site parking for buses. Buses may be parked along Lincoln Memorial Drive where space is available. Please confirm a pick-up time and location with your bus driver.

Don’t Be Late!
Arrive with your students and chaperones prepared with name tags and in the designated number of chaperone-led groups 10 minutes before your tour start time. If delayed, call (414) 224-3842. If you have scheduled a docent-guided tour, your group has a 20-minute grace period for arrival. A late arrival will result in a shortened tour. If you arrive more than 20 minutes late, your tour will become a self-guided tour.

Cancellations
An entire tour may be canceled no later than one week before the tour date. You must call (414) 224-3842 to cancel. Any school group canceling after that time must pay the full cost of their visit.

Special Needs
When requesting a tour, please indicate your need for any specialized information or assistance for your students. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Assistive listening technology or an ASL interpreter for people with hearing impairments is available upon request when booking your tour.

All docent-guided tours are one hour in length and conducted in English unless otherwise requested. If you would like to request a tour in Spanish, German, French, or American Sign Language, please indicate this at the time of your tour request. Docents and translators for tours conducted in foreign languages are limited.