Arts in the Basic Curriculum (ABC) guided tours explore the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection through close observation, conversation, and inquiry-based learning. Public, private, and parochial schools in Saint Louis City and County are invited to participate in this free, multivisit program for fourth and fifth grade students.
The ABC program utilizes the galleries of the Saint Louis Art Museum as sites for experiential learning. Students explore select areas of the Museum’s collection through a series of prescheduled 2- , 3- , or 4-visit guided tours. With these visits, students will gain familiarity with the Museum and view and discuss art with peers and educators. Each 90-minute tour is designed to make connections across cultures, time periods, subject areas, and media. Teachers can choose from six themes that offer diverse artwork selections, activities, and prompts that emphasize critical thinking, active learning, opportunities for personal connections, multimodal engagement, and more.
During each visit, specially trained Museum guides utilize multiple modes of learning to enhance critical thinking skills. The Museum’s encyclopedic collection encourages students to discover common themes throughout history and across cultures, providing a global view of visual art expression. All ABC students receive a sketchbook and pencil to record their responses through a range of hands-on writing and drawing activities.
The Museum requires each school group to assign one adult chaperone to accompany every ten students. Schools are responsible for arranging their own transportation. The Museum offers transportation assistance for qualifying schools.
We are now accepting applications for 2025–26 ABC Sessions. Application forms will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. We understand that school schedules and student totals are likely to change before your scheduled visits; therefore, we confirm all details prior to each visit. Please email studentprograms@slam.org for assistance.
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ABC THEMES
Storytelling and Art
“Storytelling and Art” explores the many ways that art and literature have been intertwined through creative movements, illustrated stories, performances, and the need to describe what we see. In this tour, students will explore the collection with focused writing activities that encourage unique narratives and personal responses while developing their vocabulary and descriptive skills.Full STEAM Ahead
“Full STEAM Ahead” invites students to discover connections among the STEAM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) as seen through art across cultures and time periods. This field trip explores how artists think critically, experiment, and collaborate with other disciplines to find inventive solutions. Through the lens of art, students are encouraged to consider science, technology, engineering, and math as creative disciplines.Artists and the Outdoors
“Artists and the Outdoors” explores how nature finds its way into art making, from depictions of the natural world to the use of organic materials in the creative process. Nature is often a source of inspiration, compelling artists to transcribe its visual effects and explore the ways that nature and art intertwine.Powerful Portraits
“Powerful Portraits” explores how artists throughout time captured the likeness and story of figures. This tour extends the boundaries of portraiture by identifying and discussing emotions, personality traits, and body language found in artworks.Amazing Art Materials
“Amazing Art Materials” focuses on the tools and materials artists use to design and produce their creations. By examining common art materials, such as paint, and uncommon materials, such as bottle caps, students will discover the unlimited possibilities of art making.American Journeys
“American Journeys” critically investigates America’s multifaceted histories and cultures. The United States is full of interesting and diverse peoples—from cultures that were here a long time before the country was founded to individuals who arrived more recently from around the globe. Art can be a way to learn about people’s stories and discover the events and experiences that have shaped the nation. “American Journeys” presents an opportunity to explore the complex ideas of what it is to be American through artifacts that depict diverse experiences. Gallery discussions and hands-on activities allow students to engage with works of art and the stories of the artists who created them. They also encourage students to explore difficult truths and triumphs found in American history, while identifying present-day connections to their own American journey. Historical topics within this tour may include events and experiences such as the relocation of Native Americans to reservations, racial tensions and segregation, Japanese internment camps, and more.
Museum Visit Planning Resources
To help prepare all parties—students, teachers, and chaperones—for upcoming Museum visits, we have created two PowerPoint (PPT) files with helpful information. The PPT presentation Preparing a School Visit for Teachers offers logistical details to help you prepare for your visit, including details to share with chaperones. The ABC Tour Preparation for Students PPT is designed to be shared with students. This presentation introduces students to the Museum with a welcome video and provides a list of Museum Manners to help students keep the artwork safe and have a positive experience. In addition, this resource introduces students to some of the types of artworks they might see and some of the teaching strategies we use in the Museum galleries. We invite you to engage with these sample artworks and prompts in your classrooms prior to your visit.
Recognizing that some Museum spaces may be overwhelming due to visual or auditory stimuli, SLAM also provides a Social Narrative PDF to help guests prepare to engage with exhibitions and interact with the Museum’s environments and elements.
