If you visited the museum on a weekday this year, there’s a good chance you saw or heard a group of energetic 2nd graders crowded around a work of art. In fact, over 2,600 students, teachers, and chaperones came to The James Museum during this school year for a tour.
It’s all part of a new partnership between The James Museum and Pinellas County Schools: to bring every 2nd grader in the county to the museum for a field trip.
This comes from a wider initiative by Pinellas County Schools to inspire students’ passion for the arts through field trips. The 2025–2026 school year saw the first wave of 2nd graders visiting the museum, with 34 different schools visiting in 2026 alone. For the 2026–2027 school year, we expect to welcome over 6,000 children and chaperones from schools serving K–5 students.
This partnership is an important step in expanding access to arts education for thousands of local students.
What exactly happens on these tours? When students arrive, they’re split into groups of about 10 students, to make sure each student gets a chance to experience the art personally and participate in conversations and hand-on activities. They then spend the next hour and a half with a docent, a volunteer specially trained to guide groups through the galleries and answer any questions the students have.
“We couldn’t do these tours without our docents. Many of our docents have previous experience in education or with children. We currently have about 35 docents trained for these tours who completed 8 to 10 weeks of training for this program. It’s definitely a commitment, but it’s so rewarding to see the students connect with the art and have a great time during their visit.”
Michele Valentine, Manager of Docent & Group Learning
During the tour, students get to see several different kinds of art, including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and objects like quilts and pottery. They learn about the history and peoples living in the American West during Westward Expansion, as well as contemporary Native American culture through artists like Wendy Red Star (Apsaalooké) and Tammy Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo).
The field trips are integrated into what the students are learning in the classroom, and they also support several Florida Art, Social Studies, and English Language Arts (ELA) learning standards. For some students, it might be their first time in an art museum.
After their visit, each student receives a free ticket to the museum to share with their family.
If you’re interested in setting up a tour for your class, The James Museum offers several school-age tours aligned with Florida’s Art and Social Studies state standards for grades K–12. Learn more about tours.
