Third grade students in Hillsborough County are getting a new opportunity to connect classroom lessons with art through an expanded educational field trip program at the Tampa Museum of Art.
The museum has developed new tours specifically around the third grade curriculum, giving students a hands-on way to explore topics they are learning in school. Developed in collaboration with local educators, the tours align with Florida academic standards and incorporate world cultures, elements of art and principles of design, storytelling and English/language arts vocabulary.
“Third grade is a pivotal year, when students begin connecting ideas across subjects and discovering how they see the world,” said Tom Hochhausler, Penny and Jeff Vinik interim executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art. “By aligning our tours with what teachers are already teaching, we’re making the museum a true extension of the classroom.”
During each visit, students explore all of the museum’s galleries and participate in critical-thinking conversations centered on four works of art from the museum’s ancient, modern and contemporary collections. One conversation incorporates See/Think/Wonder, an artful thinking routine used in all Hillsborough County Public Schools elementary art classrooms.
Teachers also receive a lesson plan aligned with Florida State Standards for Visual Art and English Language Arts and can share specific learning objectives with museum educators.
“We worked side by side with elementary art teachers and third-grade teachers to understand how to best engage with their students and what they are learning throughout the year,” said Danette Albino, manager for K-12 Learning and Access at the Tampa Museum of Art. “Combining our experience with teacher expertise results in a seamless experience that ties each student’s time at the museum directly to their work in the classroom.”
The program is funded in part through the Hillsborough County school referendum approved by voters in November 2024. A portion of the funding supports educational field trips, helping students experience cultural and educational institutions throughout the community.
The museum expects approximately 11,000 students to participate during the 2026-27 school year, with capacity for up to 15,000.
“This is exactly what our community’s investment in our students was intended to do,” said Superintendent Van Ayres. “Through the millage, we are able to cover admission for students to visit cultural and educational institutions like the Tampa Museum of Art.”
Located at 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza in downtown Tampa, the museum’s Vinik Family Education Center provides more than 8,000 square feet for school tours, studio classes and educational programs.
For more information, visit https://tampamuseum.org/ or call 813-274-8130.
