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School Programs

Come to the Barnes, or we’ll come to you. Our programs will nourish your students’ imaginations and serve your curricular goals.

Visit Us

There are many ways your students can interact with the Barnes. Partner programs bring our grade-level specialists to your classroom and include a visit to the Barnes. Field trips include a 75-minute guided tour (45–60 minutes for pre-K and kindergarten) and interactive gallery lesson with age-appropriate activities that meet curricular standards.

Request a Partner Program or Field Trip

Partner Programs

The Barnes provides free in-depth programming to grades 3, 5, and 7 in select partner schools in the School District of Philadelphia and Catholic schools in the Delaware Valley. Eligible classrooms receive a field trip to the Barnes and two in-school lessons led by grade-level specialists. These programs are free and include materials, busing, and admission costs. Learn more.

Field Trips

Field trips with guided tours are available for all pre-K–12 students from October through June. During these visits, students will analyze the unique “ensemble” displays, which feature impressionist, post-impressionist, and modern paintings alongside African sculptures, Native American jewelry, Greek antiquities, and metalwork. Students learn about the history of the Barnes and its founder, Albert Barnes, who was raised in a working-class family in Philadelphia and held a fierce commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Guided tours are 75 minutes (45–60 minutes for pre-K and kindergarten) and may include stops in our special exhibition space; they are offered Monday–Wednesday at 10 & 11:45 am for a minimum of 8 and maximum of 60 students. Field trips (guided & self-guided) are free for public and charter schools in the School Districts of Philadelphia and Camden, and for all Catholic schools in the Delaware Valley. Philadelphia and Delaware Valley Catholic schools also qualify for free transportation. All other school group tours are $5 per person.

Self-Guiding

Students in grades 8 and above may self-guide with their chaperones after or instead of a guided tour, utilizing our self-guided resources. These visits may take place during open hours, pending availability.

Self-guided visits take place Monday, Thursday, and Friday, beginning at 11 am. Admission is free for groups outlined above, and $5 per person (or $10 per person for guided visits with additional self-guided access) for all other schools. Self-guided tickets provide general admission, and groups may need to wait in line with other visitors to enter galleries and special exhibition spaces.

School Program Donors

The Barnes gratefully acknowledges its donors for their generous support of pre-K–12 education programs in the Philadelphia region. This list reflects gifts made between July 1, 2023, and August 15, 2024.

Endowment Donors

Center for Innovation in Education
Herbert and Joyce Kean
McLean Contributionship
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation

Comcast Center for Community Engagement

Barnes Foundation smART Fund for Education, Established by GSK

Annual Program Donors

1830 Family Foundation
Jamie and Bruce Aronow
B Inspired Philadelphia
Donna and Jon Boscia
The CHG Charitable Trust
Robert Cohen and Deborah Peikes
Elinor Coleman and David Sparkman
The Dean Family
Sandy and Michael Dean
Dr. Andrew F. Drake
Julia and David Fleischner
Joy Amie Horwitz-Fram and Steven Fram
The Anne M. and Philip H. Glatfelter III Family Foundation
Goldsmith Weiss Foundation
William and Joan R. Greenfield
Hearst Foundations
Kerry and Rod Henkels
Syde Hurdus Foundation
William M. King Charitable Foundation
Lundy Law Foundation
Marrazzo Family Foundation
Mosi Foundation
H. Glenn Sample, Jr., MD Memorial Fund
Harriet and Larry Weiss
The Dean and Ann Witter Fund for Charitable Giving
Susan and David Wolk
Anonymous

Hamilton Family Charitable Trust provides lead multiyear support for K–12 programs.

Connelly Foundation provides important support for programs serving Catholic school students.

Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation generously supports in-gallery pre-K–12 learning.

William Penn Foundation provides lead support for Early Learner Summer Pods and informal learning initiatives.

The following corporations generously support K–12 education through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit program:

Elliott-Lewis
Elliot’s Vending Company, Inc.