Learning Opportunities

The Knoxville Museum of Art is a place of energy and excitement, where ideas and imagination come to life through art. First-hand involvement with the visual arts is the key to unlocking the creativity in the minds of children.

The museum fosters creative expression and learning through the wide variety of visual resources and the many student programs. Listed below are a range of programs and services available for teachers for enhancing the classroom curricula in both art and non-art subjects. There are programs for delivery in the classroom, learning guides for preparing educational field study trips, and activities and tours planned in the museum with the original art works.

Interpretive Tours for Schools

Field Study Tours

Discover the Knoxville Museum of Art through its Interpretative Tours Program that offers exciting opportunities for teachers and students. Docent-guided tours are offered throughout the year, providing an in-depth understanding of artwork through multi-disciplinary, interpretive experiences and viewing activities. When you schedule your field study tour, an educator's learning guide is sent to you, with exhibition overview, timelines, maps, images, pre-visit and post-visit classroom activities in art and non-art curricula areas, and ties to State and National curricula standards. Tours are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis Tuesdays through Fridays. Admission for school groups is $2 per student with one adult chaperone admitted free for every 15 students; 1/15 ratio required. The maximum number of students for each tour is 60, and reservations must be made at least three weeks in advance. For larger groups, two tour times will be planned.

Art2Go Travel Cases

Art2Go travel cases can help pique the imagination of your students. Available in wide variety of topics, each Art2Go travel case contains everything a teacher would need for two weeks of discovery and education in the classroom, including authentic, original objects, an extensive teacher learning guide, visual aids, books and suggested lesson plans and art activities that focus on aspects of the visual arts and non-art curricula areas.

The Art2Go Travel Case Themes include:

The American Studio Glass Movement
Focusing on the art historical context of glass, both as a work of art and as a functional medium.

The Hecho a Mano- Mexican Folk Art
Features a variety of handmade crafts from various Mexican states and time periods. The case emphasizes methods, materials, and aesthetic evaluations of Mexican folk art and raises curiousity by comparing folk art to fine art.

Art and Culture of Native Americans
An introduction to the art and culture of Native Americans in the United States. The case includes pieces of folk art and artifacts from different North American tribes.

Celebrating the Art of African Americans
Using multi-media materials, this case showcases the contributions of black artists, and makes connections with African American history.

Made in China- Traditional Chinese Art
Offers resources and artifacts that have been collected from marketplaces and musuems throughout China.

Art Journey through America, Part 1- Geography of Rural and Urban Landscapes
The collection of landscape reproductions highlights both rural urban landscapes of the United States that will give students a visual interpretation of America.

Art Journey through America, Part 2- Images of History
Contains a wide selection of works of American artists representing various periods, regional or ethnic backgrounds, media, and schools or styles of art.

Through Artists' Eyes
Art prints encourage students to make observations of their world and to learn about art by looking at familiar objects.

Visual Literacy
This case examines, dissects and investigates the visual world around us, toward developing awareness, understanding and evalutaion of visual and media communications, manipulation and propaganda in our daily lives.

Commemorating Rituals: The Traditional Arts of Africa
This case contains museum replicas and gallery quality materials to provide an overview of artistic and cultural patterns of Sub Saharan Africa.


Art2Go are available for use free of charge. Call the Knoxville Museum of Art at 865.525.6101, x226, for more information or to reserve the Art2Go travel case of your choice. A National Endowment for the Arts grant and donations from Mary Helen and Fran Olmstead make Art2Go cases available for use in our area.