School Group Visits

Inspire students, connect to your curriculum, and provide the opportunity to engage with exceptional works of art in person through a visit to the MFA. A multimodal learner-centered approach encourages students to look through inquiry, reflect critically, and use art as a catalyst for meaningful discussion.

Book Your Group VisitPreparing for Your Group VisitPayment Policy and Financial Assistance

Field Trip Options

Teens standing around and looking at stone sculpture depicting multi-faced Hindu god

Self-Guided Field Trips

PreK–12

Teachers are invited to visit the MFA with their class for a self-directed experience. Classes engage with artwork in the galleries at their own pace to extend their classroom learning in this unique setting.

See Details for Self-Guided Field Trips

Museum guide pointing into a case while group of young visitors look on

Guided Field Trips

K–12

Join us for a guided visit facilitated by trained volunteer School Group Guides who foster discussion among small groups of up to 12 students using 5–8 works of art across several collections.

Guided Tour Options

Available October 15, 2024–June 13, 2025

Book Your Group Visit

To get started, select the desired date of your group visit in the calendar, then click on the Tickets button below the tour option you’d like to book.

Reservations are available until seven days prior for self-guided visits and four weeks prior for guided visits.

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An MFA instructor operating a camera on a tripod pointed at painting on gallery wall

Bring the MFA to your classroom before or after your field trip

Pair an MFA Distance Learning Program, available on a range of topics and aligned with MA standards, as a pre- or post-visit experience with your MFA Field Trip. Free and discounted rates with field trip confirmation.

Preparing for Your Group Visit

Find useful information about how to prepare your group for your visit to the Museum, including details about entrances, chaperones, and policies, as well as tips to make the most of your visit.

Preparing for Your Group Visit

Payment Policy

Partial or full prepayment for your visit is possible by credit card during the online reservation process; any remaining balance due will be confirmed after the reservation is complete, and final payment is due at the time of the visit. Payments at the time of the visit may be cash, check (US banks only), or credit card.

Financial Assistance

The following groups receive free admission for guided and self-guided field trips:

  • Title I schools
  • Boston Public Schools
  • Lawrence Public Schools
  • Maine students, including homeschoolers and Maine residents attending college out-of-state
  • New Hampshire students, including homeschoolers

The MFA offers bus funding grants to assist schools in bringing student groups to the Museum for guided school field trips.

Bus grants for field trips are available up to $1,250 per visit from October through March, and up to $1,000 per visit from April through June. The Museum prioritizes guided field trips, but self-guided visits will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Artful Adventures visits are not eligible for bus grants. Please be sure to book your group visit before submitting the Bus Fund application form.

Grants are awarded based on a group’s demonstrated need (such as Title I status) and total transportation costs. Eligible schools will receive the application in confirmation materials after booking a tour.

Lawrence Public Schools are reimbursed for bus costs for both guided and self-guided field trips.

Cancellation, Rescheduling, and Weather Policies

If you need to make changes to your reservation or your group is running late, please call MFA Group Experience at 617-369-3310 as soon as possible. School groups arriving more than 30 minutes late for their guided tour will instead visit self-guided; we’ll be sure to provide chaperones with a map and visit suggestions.

We realize that cancellations due to unexpected school/institution closures may occur on short notice. If you must cancel your visit due to closure or significant weather, please notify us as soon as possible by calling 617-369-3310. It is also sometimes necessary for the MFA to close unexpectedly due to inclement weather. If bad weather is expected in the Boston area on the date of your visit, please check mfa.org or call 617-267-9300 x0 to confirm whether the Museum is open to visitors for the day. Groups will not be billed for visits canceled due to Museum closure or significant inclement weather.

Contact Us

groups@mfa.org
617-369-3310

Sponsors

MFA School Programs are supported by the Smith Family Thinking Through Art Program Fund; the Germeshausen Foundation Fund for Youth and Family Learning; the Edwin S. Webster Foundation Fund for School Programs; the Bernard J. Rothwell School Bus Fund; the School Programs for Lawrence Public Schools Fund; the Gallery Instructors and Gallery Instructor Associates Fund for the Partnership with the Boston Public Schools; the Ulf B. and Elizabeth C. Heide Education Fund; the Mabel Louise Riley Fund for School Programs; the Gloria and Irving Fox Fund for Education; the Education of Children in the Museum Fund; the Patricia and Robert Lawrence Fund for Education; the Dorothy Wagenknecht Fund; the Morton P. Prince Fund; and the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation Fund.

The Gallery Instructor Program is funded through a generous endowment by Marcia and Louis Kamentsky. Additional support from the Bascha Snyder Education Fund, the Grace S. Dane Fund, and the National Docent Symposium Gallery Instructors Fund for Professional Development.

The Lunder Maine Student Membership Program at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is generously funded by The Lunder Foundation.

The McLane Family New Hampshire Student Membership Program allows New Hampshire students of all ages in public and private school, as well as those who are home schooled, to visit the Museum free of charge.