School & Group Tours

Update September 2020: All on-site school programs are suspended until further notice.

Virtual Field Trips to the Albany Institute

Bring the museum into your classroom through virtual field trips! The Albany Institute of History & Art is offering virtual tours for schools beginning in Fall 2020. Available programs include:

  • Ancient Egypt: Art and Culture (a recorded version is now available)
  • Art, Artists, & Nature: the Hudson River School
  • Hudson River School STEAM: Art & the Environment
  • Traders & Culture: Life in Colonial Albany

Virtual programs are 45 minutes and include an interactive gallery presentation followed by a Question & Answer session. Each program is led by a museum educator who engages students and answers questions in live chat. Post visit materials will be provided to help extend these programs to meet your curriculum goals.

Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams are currently available.

Virtual field trips are priced per program. Grant funding is available to support classrooms in many areas. Inquire today by emailing waldronv@albanyinstitute.org.

School programs must be booked 2-4 weeks in advance. Please refer to the calendar below for virtual field trip availability:

Recorded Tours are Now Available

If you are unable to schedule a live virtual tour, new recorded versions of the Albany Institute of History & Art's school field trips are now available. These recorded lessons are a great way to enhance your curriculum regardless of if you are teaching in-person, remotely, or hybrid. The lessons available in recorded formats are:
  • Ancient Egypt: Art and Culture
  • Art, Artists, & Nature: the Hudson River School
  • Traders & Culture: Life in Colonial Albany
 
Each video is 20-30 minutes long and includes presentations by museum educators about a variety of objects within each specific exhibition. Post visit materials will be provided to help extend these programs to meet your curriculum goals.
 
Thanks to the generous support of sponsors and community organizations, these recorded field trips are offered for FREE to all schools! To request the video links, please email Victoria Waldron, Education Assistant at waldronv@albanyinstitute.org.

Free School Programs

Funding is available to provide free virtual field trips to schools and other community organizations in during the 2020-2021 school year. Program costs will be waived for eligible schools and organizations. Teachers can choose any available school program listed on our website. 

Funds will be available starting in September 2020. Please contact (518) 463-4478 ext. 404 or waldronv@albanyinstitute.org if you have any questions about booking a virtual program. Spaces are limited and funding is available on a first come, first serve basis.

Lead program support is provided by the Review Foundation. Major program support is provided by The Carl E. Touhey Foundation, Inc., Paul Wing, and Teaching the Hudson Valley.