Appropriate for tourists and tots, seniors and students, and even experts and ignorami, the Norton’s tour program offers a wide range of topics, themes, and possibilities to enhance your group’s visit. Guided tours may even be customized for your specific studies or needs.

Guided tours are available by appointment only for groups of 10 or more people. There is no charge for a guided tour. School groups are required to provide one chaperone for every 10 students. A short 10 minute game will be played at the end of each tour to reinforce the lesson of the day.

Click here for a full listing of Docent-Lead tours.

T.E.A.M. stands for “Tour And Education Activity Merge” and combines a hands-on art lesson in our new classroom space with a docent-lead tour from the Norton’s roster. In the past students have honed their weaving skills after learning about the Norton tapestries, and even made landscape collages inspired by the Hudson River School collection. The Norton also conducts writing prompt sessions in the art galleries.

TEAM Events are available by appointment only, limited to groups of 60 or less. There is no charge for a TEAM event. School groups are required to provide one chaperone for every 10 students.

Click here for a full listing of T.E.A.M tours.

Schools are encouraged to make use of the museum’s resources at any time. We offer several Self-Guided tour brochures, which are available in the lobby or can be mailed in advance. We also have several activity guides for students of all ages. The most popular of these is the Norton Scavenger Hunt, available both online and in the Fairy Tale Gallery.

All visits need to be scheduled in advance. One chaperone per ten students is still required, even for a visit. Admission to the gallery is free. Details of our permanent collection are available online here or by calling 318-865-4201 ext. #128.

Click here for a full listing of Self-Guided tours.

During the colonial period and the early days of the Republic, American artists painted either imitations of European subjects and styles, or in a somewhat primitive limner tradition. Then art met transcendentalism and the first truly American style was born with the painters of the Hudson River School. The wonders of the American landscape continued to enthrall native and immigrant artists through the Luminist, Barbizon, and American Impressionist styles. At the Norton we’ll explore the journey through American art history with the innovations and master works of American painters like Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, Thomas Cole, George Inness, and Mary Cassatt.

How was America born? Where did her people come from? What challenges did they face? Using paintings, porcelain, and sculpture, students explore the timeline of American History from the first Native American inhabitants to the closing of the frontier in 1890. Works by Thomas Sully, Rembrandt Peale, Charles Russell, and Frederic Remington are included in this tour.

This tour is a fun, uncomplicated introduction to artistic vocabulary where students learn to appreciate artwork by putting in their “artist’s eyes.” A reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See, begins a great hunt for colors, and we’ll have fun with finding lines and forms in art work after reading Lines that Wiggle.

Any visit to a museum is automatically a visit to Greco-Roman history. The word “museum” itself derives from a Greek phrase mean “Home of the muses”. The Greeks and the Romans, long after they were political powers, continued to educate, inspire, and inform Western culture; they provided the foundation for the civilization in which we continue to live, and their thoughts and deeds continue to awe and instruct us more than a thousand years after their world ceased to exist. The tour explores the classical influence of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire on works and artists in the gallery, and unravels in depth the history depicted in the tapestries.

This tour was born with a young man’s questions: “When was color invented?” The Norton explored the history of painter’s pigments, delving into how the old masters created their first paints. We uncovered some gruesome discoveries: 20,000 insects expired for a scintilla of scarlet; 12,000 mollusks gave their lives for a pinch of purple, and countless artists paid the price for color in infirmity, invalidism, and even death. The high cost of art hasn’t just been measured in dollars and cents. Combining science and history, we’ll identify which artists used what type of paints to create their masterpieces.

One was a professional artist and an amateur cowboy, while the other was a professional cowboy and an amateur artist. Exploring the painting and sculptures of the powerhouses of cowboy art - Frederic Remington and Charles Russell - students will learn how the mythology and legends of the Old West were created or captured.

Mystery lies at the heart of every horror experience: who’s that tap-tap-tapping on my window? Why is that shadowy figure lurk-lurk-lurking in the corner? What IS that how-how- howling at the moon?! Delve into the deep mysteries of the R.W. Norton Art Gallery on this terrible tour of terror!

Get revved up for Halloween with this story filled-tour inspired by our spookiest art. All new ghost stories await those brave enough to attend. Our professional storyteller is fully capable of protecting even the youngest of our visitors from the fearful denizens lurking in our midst, so feel free to bring the whole class. We’re just DYING to meet y’all....

This tour is free of charge and limited to groups of 30 people.

What makes gift-giving so precious has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the quality we might call mindfulness – paying attention, knowing what was really important, giving something that reflects an understanding of those often intangible things that are most important to the recipient. Join us as we explore the gifts our artists have given to friends, family, and the world at large with this guided tour of our permanent collection.

Our professional storyteller will spin all new yarns about the days of yore, warming hearts and eliciting grins about the spirit of the season.

This tour is free of charge and limited to groups of 30 students.

Celebrate the season with the Spring Walking tour! We'll take the guided tour outside for a tip-toe through the tulips. Wear your walking shoes - we have 40 acres of manicured gardens, including our famous azalea beds, bronze statues, and watergardens to explore.
Do dark skies threaten on the day of the tour? Fear not! We'll enjoy an indoor Rainy- Day tour, exploring spring-themed artwork throughout the museum.

This tour is free of charge and limited to groups of 30 students.