Tours

 
 

Overview Tours | Special Exhibition Tours | Curriculum Related Tours for School Groups
Touch Tour for the Blind & Visually Impaired
| Design a Tour

At the Columbus Museum, we offer a range of tours for school groups and the general public. You can take a guided tour with an experienced gallery educator or you can explore the galleries on your own.

ALL GROUP TOURS REQUIRE A MINIMUM OF 10 PEOPLE. YOU CAN SCHEDULE A TOUR BY FILLING OUT THE ONLINE TOUR REQUEST FORM.

NEED TO CANCEL?
Please call us immediately at 706.748.2562, ext. 651, if you need to cancel your scheduled visit. Advance notice will allow us to bring in groups on our waiting list.


Guided Tours

Overview Tours

Overview tours cover a broad spectrum of artworks and artifacts related to American art and regional history. Designed for school groups and the general public, visitors have the option to take the American Art Tour, the Regional History Tour or a combination of both.

The duration for guided tours is 45 minutes to 1 hour.

American Art Tour
Our collection of American art includes fine and decorative arts from the 1600s to the present. It includes excellent examples of paintings, sculpture, works on paper and decorative arts such as furniture, silver, ceramics and glass. This tour of our permanent collection provides an overview of the history and development of American art.

Regional History Tour
The Chattahoochee Legacy Gallery traces the history of the Chattahoochee River Valley and its people over the past 12,000 years through life-size dioramas, including an ancient Native American dwelling, a turn-of-the-century schoolhouse, an early Columbus cotton mill and a 20th century army tent from Fort Benning.

Click permanent collection to view selections of art and historical artifacts from the Museum’s collection. Send an artistic greeting to a friend with our Ecards, featuring many images from the Museum’s collection and temporary exhibitions!

Curriculum Related Tours for School Groups

Curriculum tours are designed to provide a more concentrated focus on related themes and subjects pertaining to our American art and regional history collections. Each tour is accompanied by teacher resources that address specific works of art and historical objects on view. Lessons are geared toward specific grade levels and are designed to address Georgia Performance Standards. Please check out the resources provided below or call the museum if you have special needs or requests at 706.748.2570, ext. 651.

Learning to Look
For 1st through 3rd Grades

This interdisciplinary tour focuses on the elements of art—line, color, texture, shape and form, and is designed to meet elementary school curriculum objectives. Please visit the Learning to Look website for related resources or download the resources provided below.

Section 1: Tour Information, Vocabulary, and Pre-Visit Activities
Section 2: Portraits
Section 3: Landscapes
Section 4: Still Lifes
Section 5: Color, Line and Pattern
Section 6: Sculpture
Section 7: Post-Visit Activities, Worksheets, Resources, Evaluation Form
Section 8: QCC’s
Section 9: Transparencies

Georgia Children at Work and Play: A History of the Chattahoochee River Valley
For 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Grades

The Columbus Museum, Historic Columbus Foundation and the Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum have created a unique, interdisciplinary program that integrates history, art and language arts in the study of the historical objects and events in the Chattahoochee Valley. Students visit three sites to hone their abilities to observe, infer and classify—skills essential to both artists and historians. An on-line version of the educator’s guide for this tour can be downloaded:

Section 1: Tour Information and Pre-tour Activities
Section 2: Historic Columbus Foundation
Section 3: The Columbus Museum
Section 4: Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum
Section 5: Post-tour Activities, Evaluation Forms, Maps and QCC's
Section 6: Passport to Discovery

PLEASE VISIT THE GEORGIA CHILDREN AT WORK AND PLAY WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Pre-School Tours
For ages 4 to 6 years

Pre-K programs and kindergarten classes are invited to become acquainted with art by enjoying tours for children ages four through six. Led by trained museum docents, the tours are interactive and hands-on. Pre-k tours include a studio art activity that requires a fee of $1 per child. Pre-k tours include:

Amazing Animals
During the Amazing Animals tour, kids will see a life-size alligator, visit the museum galleries, experience Transformations (our famous hands-on gallery), and make their own alligator.

Colors and Shapes
During the Colors and Shapes tour, kids will learn everything there is to know about color. Students will see Chihuly’s famous glass boat with many vibrant colors, sculptures such as Butch Anthony’s The Mobbin Tree, visit Transformations, and make colorful studio art projects.

Teachers interested in receiving a Barbara Golden Pound Scholarship for their class to participate in the hands-on activity must submit a letter of interest to the Education Department. The letter should include information about your class and the date of the tour program for which your class is scheduled. All classes that receive a scholarship to participate in the hands-on activity are asked to write a group thank you note to the Barbara Golden Pound Scholarship Fund after their visit to the Columbus Museum. Thank you notes should be sent to the Education Department. For questions about scholarships, please contact the Education Department at 706.748.2562, ext. 651.


Special Exhibition Tours


Dine and Discover image

 

Our schedule of changing exhibitions includes national traveling shows and original shows assembled by our curators. These exhibitions showcase a variety of media including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, decorative art and historical artifacts. For a complete exhibition schedule, please click exhibitions to find out what's currently on display.



Touch Tour for the Blind and Visually Impaired

The Columbus Museum offers an innovative new program developed to help the blind and visually impaired enjoy art through the use of alternate senses. During the 'Touch Tour,' specially trained docents give a pictorial description which includes information about the artwork and the artist. After the docent builds a mental picture, selected artworks are illustrated with the aid of a tactile reproduction of two-dimensional art in three-dimensions. Facial expressions, shapes, depth and textures are communicated with this aid. To enhance the visitor's experience, appropriate music is played in the gallery. The tour highlights paintings and sculpture from the Museum's permanent collection. This program is updated on a regular basis and may include new or additional components for your enjoyment. The tour can be reserved by groups or individuals. For more information about this program or to schedule a 'Touch Tour' please contact the Education Department at 706.748.2562, ext. 651.

Special thanks to Basset and Becker Advertising for their generous support of this project.


Self-Guided Tours

In addition to our guided tours, visitors may also register for tours without a guide. Please contact the Education Department for a listing of recommended dates and times. Please check out the slideshow for a preview of suggested themes and artworks to explore during your visit.

Audio Tours
Audio tours provide a helpful and informative supplement to your tour visit. A selection of free audio tours is available for your enjoyment. Choose from the Director’s Tour, Curator’s Tour, Family Tour and the Chattahoochee Legacy Tour. The audio tour system puts a professionally guided tour into the palm of your hand! Just pick up your touring wand at the front desk and enjoy an informative tour at your own pace.

Audio tours are made possible through a grant from Bill and Marian Feighner.

Note: If you plan to visit Transformations (our hands-on gallery space), the same group rate applies. If you plan to bring 10 or more people, please register your group ahead of time by calling Melinda Durham at 706.748.2563 ext. 651