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The Hood Museum of Art welcomes school groups to explore the world of art!
Tours of our permanent collection and changing exhibitions are available to school groups and the public, free of charge. Museum staff members develop tours with the goals of introducing students to a museum experience, actively engaging them with original works of art, and improving their visual literacy.
The schedule of school tours is updated on this page each season during the school year. If you would like to receive information about our tours and other programs directly via our mailings and email announcements, please contact the Education Department at hood.museum.tours@dartmouth.edu.
Learn more about our exhibitions.
April 16–July 28, 2013
In The Women of Shin Hanga exhibition and a related display of traditional Japanese prints, students will travel to Japan and explore woodblock prints spanning three centuries. Early woodblocks from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries depict a range of subjects, from lively heroic and historical narratives to beautifully composed images of annual Japanese celebrations. Inspired by the superb craftsmanship of earlier woodblock prints, shin hanga artists revived the tradition in the early twentieth century. Shin hanga (which means "new prints") capture the idealized beauty of Japanese women as it evolves over the first half of the twentieth century. Through these works of art, students can learn about the color woodblock printmaking process as well as topics ranging from kabuki theater to landscapes, narratives inspired by historical events and folktales, cross-cultural influences, and the impact of modernization on Japan in the twentieth century.
Tours of this exhibition are appropriate for all ages.
Tours of this exhibition support the NH Frameworks and VT Standards by providing students with opportunities to:
- increase skills for analyzing and evaluating the visual arts in relation to history and culture;
- expand their understanding of world history and geography;
- increase knowledge of exemplary works in the arts from varied cultures and historical periods;
- gain understanding of the cultural expressions that are characteristic of particular groups;
- explore materials and processes in art-making.
Through December 20, 2013
General museum tours, or those focusing on ancient, European, or modern art, can include a stop at the new Kim Gallery installation The Beauty of Bronze. This installation of two dozen objects explores the process of working in this metal, which artists have long favored because of the varied effects and fine details that can be achieved in the medium. Objects in this installation span from 300 BCE to the 1920s and were produced by cultures in Asia, Africa, Europe, and America.
On this tour, students can learn about the process for casting bronze and see how this material was used to make objects for a variety of purposes, both functional and aesthetic. Students can also learn more about specific objects as they relate to a particular time period or culture.
February 5–December 20, 2013
This exhibition features twenty sculptures and masks from across the African continent that offer insights into the cultural practices, rituals, and ceremonies of African peoples from different countries. The objects range from sacred and ceremonial to functional and secular. Tours of this exhibition will introduce students to the role of art in culture and teach them skills for looking carefully and thinking critically about African art. This one-gallery installation could be a part of general museum tours as well as those tours focusing on world cultures, sculpture, or objects of power and influence.
This tour is recommended for all grade levels.
Tours of this exhibition support the NH frameworks and the VT standards by providing students with an opportunity to:
- analyze and interpret exemplary works of art from Africa;
- explore primary sources to learn about concepts of culture, human diversity, world views, and value systems and their intellectual and artistic expression.
In this tour, students will look at and discuss a range of works that span different countries, time periods, and media. It provides a wonderful introduction to museums and the art in the Hood's collections and can be shaped to respond to the interests of your students. Teachers can discuss options when they call to schedule the tour.
This tour is recommended for students of all ages.
Originally part of the decorative scheme of the Northwest Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) in what is now known as Nimrud, Iraq, the six large-scale reliefs depict a ritual performance undertaken by the king. Human and supernatural beings are also in attendance. Through these works of art, students can learn about history, religion, politics, and cuneiform (the earliest form of writing).
This tour is recommended for students of all ages. A teacher packet and CD-ROM of images is currently available.
Located in Baker-Berry Library
José Clemente Orozco, one of the three most famous Mexican muralists, came to Dartmouth in the early 1930s and painted the fresco cycle The Epic of American Civilization in Baker Library. In this mural, Orozco depicted his interpretation of the history of the Americas, from ancient Aztec culture through the arrival of Cortéz and into the early twentieth century. Tours of this dynamic work addresses issues of class, cultural conflict, education, religion, and power.
This tour is recommended for students in grades six and above. A teacher packet and CD-ROM of images is available.
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