School Tours: Mythology
Grades 4–8
Please note: The Gallery is no longer taking School Tour requests for fall 2009. Please check back on December 1 to begin requesting School Tours for winter and spring 2010. You can still review information about tours and planning self-guided visits by clicking on the links below.
Logistical Information | Additional Gallery Resources
Which dramatic moment in a mythological story did an artist choose to depict, and why? This tour unravels Greek and Roman myths, that have been imaginatively and dramatically portrayed by artists through the ages. Students explore representations of character, plot, and setting as well as underlying messages that the artist may have been conveying.
Looking and Learning Skills
During four to six tour stops, students engage in activities—such as looking exercises and working in small groups—that foster conversations about works of art. The following skills are promoted:
- Making and articulating careful observations
- Formulating questions that demonstrate curiosity and engagement
- Exploring multiple viewpoints of the artist, the character(s)/protagonists, the audience (then and now)
- Comparing and contrasting different visual representations of myths
- Reasoning with evidence from the artworks themselves
- Connecting new ideas learned on the tour to prior knowledge of myths, mythology, and experience
Group Size: Up to 45 students
Length: 60 minutes
Meeting Location: West Building, Rotunda, Main Floor
Pre-Visit Materials
Museum policies
Student lunches
General information
What is object-based teaching and learning?
- NGAClassrom: Art & Greco-Roman Origin Myths (online interactive unit)
- NGAClassrom: Ancient Arcade (online activity)
- NGALoanfinder: Inquiring Eye: Mythology (teaching packet)