Click here download PDF of 2009/2010 School Tour Programs.
To schedule a tour, call 912.790.8827.
Permanent Collection Tours
Offered year-round
The Telfair Museum of Art offers docent-guided group tours for all ages, at all three museum sites– the Telfair Academy, Jepson Center for the Arts, and the Owens-Thomas House. Public, private, and home school groups enjoy the same tour opportunities.
All tours meet either GPS curriculum standards for Language Arts, Social Studies, or Science or QCC standards for Art. Tour program cost is $5 per student unless otherwise indicated. Teachers are admitted free. One chaperone is admitted free per group of ten students. For each additional chaperone, the adult group tour rate of $13 will apply.
Nature in Art (K–3)
Young students will explore science and nature in art by observing works in the Telfair’s permanent collection. Through storytelling and interactive gallery activities, students will investigate the movement of water as seen in seascapes and the life cycles of plants and animals portrayed in landscapes. For an additional fee, a hands-on studio activity is available for this program.
Art Start: Color, Texture, & Shape (K–3)
The Telfair’s first youth program introduces 5–8 year-olds to color, texture, and shape through texture grab bags, color gels, and multisensory activities related to selected artworks in the museum’s collection and changing exhibitions. Take advantage of this tour at the Telfair Academy, the Jepson Center, or both! QCC Art curriculum connections
Greek Gods, Myths, and Government (Grades 3–7)
Discover ancient Greek art and culture through sculpture and architectural elements at the Telfair! From gods and goddesses to an 1880s plaster cast of the Parthenon frieze, the tour will transport students back in time—teaching them about the mysteries of mythology through a storytelling activity. Learn how ancient Greek art and society impacted American art and history in this tour of the historic Telfair Academy and its newly-restored Sculpture Gallery. GPS Social Studies connections for 3rd and 6th grades
Women in Art (Grades 3–12)
Learn about the important roles women occupy in the art world. During this docent-led tour, you will be introduced to women as the subjects of art and as artists themselves. With an optional printmaking studio activity, the Women in Art Tour also provides Junior, Cadet, and Senior Girl Scouts the opportunity to work toward their visual arts badge. The tour is available with or without the studio activity.
Tour only: Adults, $13; Scouts/Students, $5
Tour and studio activity: Adults, $13; Scouts/Students, $9
ArtZeum (All ages)
Combine a tour at the Jepson Center with a visit to the ArtZeum, the Telfair’s interactive learning center. Explore “Big Ideas About Art” through twenty-two different activities which include a drawing wall; magnet wall; building block centers; computer stations where you can learn more about art,architecture, and the artists themselves; and the museum’s Technology and Art Gallery.
Thinking Visually (Grades 4-12)
These discussion-based tours can be organized for the museum’s permanent collection at the Telfair Academy and Jepson Center, as well as for major temporary exhibitions. This guided activity allows students to hone their powers of observation and verbal skills. GPS ELA connections for grades 4-7
The Owens-Thomas House Museum (Grades 4-12)
Students learn about the history of Savannah, the Regency architecture of William Jay, historic preservation, and the only intact urban slave quarters in the city, which includes crafts from the Acacia Collection of African Americana.
2009/2010 Exhibition Tours
Telfair offers curriculum based tours for most of major temporary exhibitions. Tour program cost is $5 per student unless otherwise indicated. Teachers are admitted free. One chaperone is admitted free per group of ten students. For each additional chaperone, the adult group tour rate of $13 will apply.
Constructs and Inventions: The Etchings of Erik Desmazieres (Grades 3-12)
May 15-October 26 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
French master printmaker Erik Desmazieres combines realism and the fantastic in beautifully detailed etchings that are influenced by sources ranging from old master prints to science fiction. His exquisite and haunting images include visions of subterranean cities, flying machines, and fantastic studios.
International Photography from Japan and Iran (Ages 9 to adult)
June 19-August 31 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
This tour includes two exhibitions of contemporary photography: Counter Photography: Japan’s Artists Today and Persian Visions: Contemporary Photography from Iran.
Dutch Utopia: American Artists in Holland, 1880-1914
October 1, 2009 – January 10, 2010 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
Organized by the Telfair in association with the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands, this exhibition explores the work of American artists working in Holland around the turn of the twentieth century. These artists created visions of Dutch society that celebrated a pre-industrial lifestyle and alluded to America’s own colonial Dutch heritage. The exhibition features seventy paintings and works on paper by such noted artists as William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, and Elizabeth Nourse. Students will engage in visual thinking discussions and a language arts writing activity. GPS English Language Arts curriculum connections for grades 3-7
American History in Art
September 1, 2009 – February 15, 2010 / Telfair Academy
Students will view and discuss American art from the 1700s to the present in an exhibition drawn from the Telfair’s permanent collection. Several tour itineraries are available. Tours include images relating to colonial America, the civil war era, the great depression, the world wars, and key events in American and Georgia history. GPS curriculum connections to Social Studies for grades 3 and up
Art and Technology (All grade levels)
Counterillumination: An installation by Shih Chieh Huang
January 20 – April 4, 2010 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
Huang’s colorful installations transform ordinary objects (trash bags, computer fans, etc.) into glowing animated environments of moving “creatures” inspired by undersea animals. This tour also includes the new installation Bodybeats by Thomas Chan and Si Cho, which allows participants to perform music using their own projected images.
Exploring Contemporary Art (Grades 6-12)
Work v./Work n.: Aldwyth – Collage and Assemblage 1991-2008
Painters’ Reel: Contemporary Painting in Georgia
February 12 – May 17, 2010 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
Students will engage in language arts activities related to the large, intricately detailed collages of artist Aldwyth and the diverse work of contemporary painters from Georgia.
Soldier Portraits: Photographs by Ellen Susan (Grades 3-12)
April 10 – July 25, 2010 / Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts
Ellen Susan’s Soldier Portraits are an ongoing project in which she documents soldiers of the United States Army, primarily of the 3rd Infantry Division. Susan’s photographs are made using the 150-year-old collodion wet plate process—the same process used to document soldiers and events of the civil war. The tour also includes the concurrent exhibition by photographer Philip Perkis.