Guided Adult Groups

Plan a unique, unforgettable experience at the Jewish Museum for your group with a guided tour of one of our current or upcoming exhibitions. Works of art on view are brought to life through a lively docent-led tour, elaborating on themes addressed in the galleries.

To schedule a visit for your group, please fill out the Tour Request Form. If you have additional questions, please contact us at schedulingcoordinator@thejm.org or 212.423.3270.

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Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art

October 18, 2019 - February 9, 2020

The first exhibition to explore the remarkable career of Edith Halpert, the trailblazing art dealer whose influence, eye, and passion for American art championed the work of Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ben Shahn, and Charles Sheeler.

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Exhibition Tour

Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone

November 1, 2019 - March 22, 2020

This fall, the Jewish Museum presents the first survey of New York-based artist Rachel Feinstein, featuring three decades of sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, and video.

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Exhibition Tour

Scenes from the Collection

Ongoing

The Jewish Museum’s rotating collection exhibition features nearly 600 works from antiquities to contemporary art — many of which are on view for the first time.

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Pre-K-12 Groups

Make the Jewish Museum your classroom through thematic gallery tours that build on curricula, contextualize artworks, and incorporate activities and inquiry-based discussion. The Museum also offers customizable group visits to classes whose students have special needs.

To schedule a school visit, please fill out the Tour Request form. If you have additional questions, please contact us at schedulingcoordinator@thejm.org or 212.423.3270.

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Exhibition Visit

Fantasy and Storytelling in Art

November 1, 2019 - March 22, 2020
Grades: K–12 

Rachel Feinstein, Mr. Time (detail), 2015.

View large-scale sculpture, painting, drawing, and video, as well as a newly commissioned wall- relief in the exhibition Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone – a survey of the New York-based artist, Rachel Feinstein. Tours for elementary school students focus on fantasy, storytelling, and the figure in Feinstein’s imaginative sculptures, while tours for middle and high school groups consider ideas such as religion, fairy tales, motherhood, and feminist ideologies addressed in her work. 

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Exhibition Visit

What is American Art?

October 18, 2019 - February 9, 2020
Grades: K - 12

Edith Halpert at the Downtown Gallery, surrounded by some of her artists, in a photograph for Life magazine in 1952. Photograph © Estate of Louis Faurer.

Explore works by Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis, Ben Shahn, and other major modern American artists in the exhibition Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art. Edith Halpert, the first significant female gallery owner in the United States, regularly presented work by women, immigrants, and Jewish artists in her Downtown Gallery. Consider how works by a diverse group of American artists continue to inform our understanding of American art.

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Exhibition Visit

Scenes from the Collection

Ongoing
Grades: Grades K–12

Nicole Eisenman, Seder, 2010

Examine highlights from the Museum’s acclaimed collection of nearly 30,000 objects in this innovative exhibition which presents antiquities, ritual objects, and visual art from around the world.  On view this fall are works by Andy Warhol, Alex Katz, and George Segal, alongside paintings, photography, and sculpture by Kehinde Wiley, Deborah Kass, and Nicole Eisenman. Tours may focus on exhibition themes of global cultural connections and shared experiences or on a specific medium or time period.

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Art: Materials and Process

Art & Social Justice

Grades: Grades 6 – 12

George Segal, Abraham and Isaac (in Memory of May 4, 1970, Kent State University), 1978. Plaster, cloth, rope, metal, and acrylic paint. Gift of the George and Helen Segal Foundation.

Explore ways that artists address social and political issues and even advocate for change through their works of art. Students examine art made in response to historical events and movements; to intolerance; to representations of gender, identity, and race; and to social conventions and customs.

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English Language Arts

Signs and Symbols

Grades: 3-12

Hanukkah Lamp, India, end of the 19th-20th century.

From the six-pointed star to eagles and lions, symbolic imagery can convey personal, cultural, and historic meaning.  Students decode and discuss these powerful symbols as they appear in art, including paintings and ritual objects.

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Art: Materials and Process

The Art of the Book

Grades: 3-12

Prayer Hymn for Alexander I, Benjamin Nathansohn, Vilnius (Lithuania), 1818. Ink and paint on silk; brocade cover.

In this studio-based workshop, students examine parchments, reed pens, and the natural resources used to produce medieval books. Students view original manuscripts in the galleries, grind natural pigments such as saffron or malachite using a mortar and pestle, and illuminate their own works of art with gold leaf.

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Art: Materials and Process

Materials in Art

Grades: Pre-K-12

Harriete Estel Berman, Alms Container, 1999

Students compare works of art in a variety of media and consider the choices artists make. Tours may explore art from ancient to contemporary, from paintings and photographs to sculptures created from lightbulbs and other everyday objects.

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History and Global Studies

Immigration Past and Present

Grades: 3-12

Maurycy Minkowski, After the Pogrom, c. 1910

Art can offer new perspectives on the experiences of immigrants by focusing on themes such as assimilation and collective identity.  Through close looking and discussion, students reflect upon the personal and communal experience of immigration and make connections between historical movements and contemporary issues.

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History and Global Studies

Remembering the Holocaust

Grades: 6-12

Abshalom Jac Lahav, Anne Frank, 2007

Students discuss, interpret, and establish connections between the events of World War II and works of art and artifacts related to the Holocaust.

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History and Global Studies

Number the Stars

Grades: 3-5

Michael David, Warsaw, 1980, Pigment and wax on Masonite. The Jewish Museum, New York

Elementary school students reading Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars focus on issues of resistance and hope through an exploration of age-appropriate works on view.

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Ritual and Ceremony

Festivals of Light

Grades: Pre-K- 4

Rod Baer, Hanukkah Lamp Every December, 1995

Explore the role of light in the Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa holidays and view the Museum’s spectacular collection of Hanukkah lamps. Groups may request to focus solely on Hanukkah.

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Ritual and Ceremony

Ceremonial Objects

Grades: K-12

Reddish Studio: Naama Steinbock and Idan Friedman, Hanukkah Lamp Menorah, 2011

Examine ritual objects and related paintings, exploring how artists merge artistic style with function. Students learn about Jewish culture and ceremonies through an examination of traditional objects. 

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Identity

People and Portraits

Grades: Pre-K-5

Reuven Rubin, Goldfish Vendor, 1928

Consider how artists depict people, using the gestures, facial expressions, and body language of their subjects to communicate ideas and emotions.  Compare and contrast works in different media to explore how artistic choices impact the viewer’s experience.

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Identity

Art and Identity

Grades: 6-12

Raphael Soyer, Dancing Lesson, 1926.

Students consider personal, collective, and cultural identity through an examination of paintings, sculptures, or photographs. Tours may address issues of assimilation, stereotypes and discrimination, and heritage.

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English Language Arts

Objects Tell Stories

Grades: K-12

Wedding Sofa from North Germany, possibly Danzig (Gdansk, Poland)

Students examine works of art and cultural artifacts in the Jewish Museum’s collection as primary sources to learn more about their historical and artistic contexts and the stories they reveal.

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English Language Arts

Writing Through Art

Grades: 3-12

Ken Aptekar, I Hate The Name Kenneth, 1996

By analyzing works of art, students gain insight into how art can inspire creative writing and how writing can be a powerful means of engaging with the visual world. Tours may focus on poetry, narrative, and language development.

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Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations

Ancient Civilizations

Grades: 7-12

Bottle, Eastern Mediterranean, 2nd-3rd century C.E. Glass: free-blown

The past comes alive through a close examination of original artifacts from ancient communities. Students consider pottery, mosaics, and glassware as evidence of societal change and daily life in ancient times.

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Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations

Archaeological Dig

Grades: K-6

Horse Figurine, Israel, 1000-586 B.C.E.

Students make connections between past and present, discover artifacts from ancient cultures, and learn about excavations in the Museum’s hands-on, simulated archaeological dig. 

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Camp Groups

Inspire your students this summer with our tours for camp groups. During these engaging themed visits, campers may dig for treasure in our simulated archaeological dig, or explore our current exhibitions and create works of art from familiar, everyday objects.

To schedule a visit for your students or camp group, please fill out the Tour Request form. If you have additional questions, please contact us at schedulingcoordinator@thejm.org or 212.423.3270.

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Art, Music, Poetry

Grades: Pre-K-12

How do music and poetry inspire artists? Discover the relationship between visual art, music, and language in this engaging tour. 

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Picturing People

Grades: Pre-K–12

Reuven Rubin, Goldfish Vendor, 1928

Learn how body language and facial expression can convey meaning in portraits.

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From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Grades: Pre-K–12

Matthew McCaslin, Being The Light, 2000

Encounter unusual materials and everyday objects used to create amazing works of art.

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Digging for Treasures

Grades: K–6

Lamp, Israel, second half 3rd-5th century C.E. Clay: mold-formed and fired, 2 1/4 × 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (5.7 × 14 × 10.8 cm) The Jewish Museum, New York Gift of the Betty and Max Ratner Collection, 1981-75

Discover artifacts from the past in the Museum’s simulated archaeological dig.

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University Groups

The Jewish Museum invites professors and students to engage with our collection and special exhibitions through close looking, guided conversations, and studio workshops. Our university programs aim to provide accessible and flexible formats for incorporating art in the Museum into teaching, learning, and making.

Conversations with Art
University classes may book hour-long visits to our temporary exhibitions or permanent collection, guided by the Museum’s educators and curators. Conversations with Art can be tailored to specific class topics.

Studio Workshops
We offer university studio workshops in tandem with our special exhibitions. Following a guided conversation about art on view in the Museum, students participate in related creative practices by making their own work with a teaching artist in our studio.

Please email universityprograms@thejm.org or call the scheduling coordinator at 212.423.3279 to book a visit for your group.

Installation view of Jack Goldstein × 10,000, The Jewish Museum, New York. Photo by David Andrako.