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
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.
Guided Field Trips
K–12
Guided field trips are now sold out for the 2024–25 school year. Self-guided field trips are still available through June 2025.
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
Community and Identity
Art of Ancient Egypt
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.
Guided field trips are now sold out for the 2024–25 school year. Self-guided field trips are still available through June 2025.
Reservations are available until seven days prior for self-guided visits and four weeks prior for guided visits.
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
Free Field Trip Admission Programs
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
Bus Funding
The MFA offers bus funding grants to assist schools bringing student groups to the Museum for school field trips.
Boston Public Schools and Lawrence Public Schools are reimbursed for all bus costs for both guided and self-guided field trips.
For Title I schools in other districts, bus grants for guided 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.
Limited funding for bus grants up to $400 is available on a first-come, first-served basis for self-guided field trips for Title I Schools in Massachusetts.
Eligible schools receive the application in confirmation materials after booking a tour. Artful Adventures and Home School visits are not eligible for bus grants.
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
[email protected]
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.