Plan a Field Trip or Tour

Plan your group tour

Reservation Process

Ready to make your reservation for a group tour or student field trip to the museum? Follow the reservation steps below.

  1. Review our tour offerings and visit information for adult tours or field trips on this page.
  2. Complete the form to request a school tour or request a group tour more than three weeks before your preferred date.
    • If you receive an automatic reply, it is not a confirmation.
  3. A museum educator will manually schedule your visit. We do our best to honor your preferred day and time.
  4. You will receive a personalized email confirmation that includes preparation information.

Please contact Laura Scheper at scheperl@iu.edu if your plans change.

Know Before You Go

Unless other arrangements have been made, tours begin on the first floor of the Eskenazi Museum of Art. The museum is located at 1133 E. Seventh St., on the IU Bloomington campus. Admission is always free, including tours. Tours end at the scheduled time, regardless of the arrival time.

Review information about parking, accessibility, amenities, and museum guidelines.

How to ace your visit

  • Plan ahead. Bring only essentials to avoid time and congestion. Remind your group not to touch artwork and not to lean on walls or cases.
  • Arrive early. Store all backpacks, large bags, water bottles, wet/bulky items, and food/beverages in the lockers behind the front desk.
  • Meet your guide. Your guide will meet you on the first floor.
  • For writing or drawing in the galleries, borrow clipboards and pencils at the Welcome Center. Pens are not allowed in the galleries.
  • Photography is welcome, without flash and without a selfie stick.

We look forward to exploring art with you.

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Plan a K-12 Field Trip

The Eskenazi Museum of Art offers guided and self-guided field trips for schools and youth organizations.

Before requesting a reservation, review our offerings for self-guided and guided tours, including capacity, days, and times; chaperone requirements; and options for lunch plans.

Reservations are available for a minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 72 students at a time.

Self-Guided Field Trips: Experience art your way

Want to lead your group independently? Bring your own lesson plan or use one of our self-guide resources:

  • We’re here TOGETHER: creative ways to connect and experience art together
  • I’m here to RELAX & REFLECT: healthy ways to treat yourself to self-care
  • I’m here exploring SOCIAL JUSTICE: thoughtful ways to challenge and expand perspectives for grades 6 and up
  • I’m here to engage with CULTURES: simple ways to spark curiosity and engage with art from any culture
  • Sketching in the Galleries: Grade 5 to adult
  • Photo Scavenger Hunt or Sketching Scavenger Hunt

Please schedule a date and check in at the front desk on the first floor when you arrive.

Chaperones

Chaperones are required for all field trips for children and youth. For guided field trips, we recommend:

  • 1 adult per 12 students for grades 8 and up
  • 2 adults per 12 students for grades 7 and below.

For self-guided field trips, we recommend:

  • 1 adult per 8 middle school students
  • 1 adult per 10 high school students

Specific details for your visit will be communicated with your field trip preparation information.

Plan lunch, if needed

Groups are welcome to eat lunch outside in the adjacent arboretum or on the museum’s terrace or front lawn. Some groups take their students to the Indiana Memorial Union, where food is available for purchase.

In case of rain, indoor space for up to 60 people is available, by reservation, in the museum’s Simpson Center for Education.

  • This space request may affect available dates.
  • Tables and chairs will be provided for chaperones and students with disabilities. Please inform us of your needs. The rest of the group may be seated on the carpeted floor.
  • Your group is responsible for clean up. The museum will provide cleaning supplies.

On the reservation request form, indicate any that apply:

  • We’re eating lunch elsewhere.
  • We’re bringing our lunches in a cooler or basket, which can be stored at the Welcome Center.
  • We plan to eat outside, but are requesting indoor space for lunch, from 11:30–noon, in case of bad weather.

Plan Transportation

Schedule your transportation to get everyone to the museum 10 minutes before your tour start time. Schedule an earlier arrival if your group needs more time to get organized into pods (small groups) and get ready to tour or if you have a long bus ride and want to include a restroom break before touring.

School Bus Access Grants
  • This program helps schools that need it pay for buses. Proof of need is not required. We trust the teacher to determine this.
  • Grants are subject to availability. If funds are no longer available, we can put you on a waitlist in case another school cancels.
  • We will pay for school buses, but not private charter buses.
  • Payments are made to schools or transportation offices, not to individuals.
  • We cannot hold funds without the necessary details from you. Submit your complete application at least three weeks before your desired visit date. If you need the grant to pay your driver soon after your visit, please submit a complete application at least 10 weeks ahead of your field trip date to allow for payment processing.

Payment Amount

We offer a flat rate depending on the distance you will travel to the museum:

  • Schools in Monroe County receive $80 per school bus.
  • Schools in other counties receive $115 per school bus.

You can include multiple buses and/or visit dates in the same request:

  • Example A: 2 buses x 1 date x $80 per bus (Monroe County) = $160
  • Example B: 1 bus x 3 visit dates x $115 per bus (Orange County) = $345

Financial Administrator

To receive a grant, you must provide the name and contact information of the person who oversees financial transactions for your school or transportation office—the organization where you want the payment sent.

Teachers outside Monroe County can email ematours@iu.edu to check if there is already a financial administrator on file for your school; however, we cannot guarantee that the information we have is up to date.

Application Process

  1. You complete and submit the grant application at least 3 weeks before your desired visit date. Incorrect or incomplete forms may result in delays or disqualification.
  2. You should receive a response to your application within 10 days. If you have not received a response by then, please let us know at ematours@iu.edu.
  3. Once approved, we send you and your financial administrator an email message with the details and we enter the details into the IU Accounts Payable system for processing.
  4. IU Accounts payable emails your designated financial administrator to provide instructions on how to submit an invoice along with a PO number that must be included on the invoice.If it’s the first time for your organization, they’ll also provide instructions on how to get set up as a supplier.
  5. Your financial administrator invoices the museum for the total amount of the grant—within either 3 days before the field trip or to up to one week afterward.
    6. IU Accounts Payable pays the grant to your school or school system by check. The process may take six or more weeks to complete after Accounts Payable receives your invoice. To check the status of a payment, email ematours@iu.edu so we can ask for assistance.

Dates, Times, and Capacity

Reservations are offered for groups with a minimum of 6 students and a maximum of 72 students at a time. Larger groups can schedule across multiple dates.

  • Art Investigators tours are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m.
  • Teen Gallery Walk is available Tuesdays – Fridays with a choice of start time: 10 a.m. or noon.
  • Social Studies Literacy: Remembrance and Renewal: American Artists and the Holocaust is available Tuesdays – Fridays with a choice of start times: 10:30 a.m. or noon.

Note: Guided tours end on time, regardless of late arrival. Late arrivals will skip one or more tour stops. For an on-time start, have students ready in their pods (tour groups) 5 minutes prior to start time.