For Tampa kids, learning about art and world cultures is becoming a more hands-on experience. The Tampa Museum of Art is expanding its educational programming with new school tours designed around the third-grade curriculum, connecting lessons from the classroom with the stories, ideas, and perspectives found in works of art.
Developed in collaboration with Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) educators, the tours align with Florida’s academic standards and introduce students to subjects ranging from world cultures and the elements of art to storytelling, design principles, and English Language Arts vocabulary.
The initiative reflects a broader investment in the region’s young learners, using Tampa Bay’s cultural institutions to create meaningful educational experiences beyond the traditional classroom.
Tampa Kids Explore Culture Through Art
The new tours invite third-grade students to explore the Museum’s galleries and engage with four works of art spanning ancient, modern, and contemporary collections. Rather than simply observing the pieces, students participate in guided conversations designed to encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and personal interpretation.
One activity incorporates See/Think/Wonder, an art-thinking routine already used in HCPS elementary art classes. The approach encourages students to describe what they see, consider what they think is happening, and ask questions about what they wonder. By applying a familiar classroom practice in a museum setting, students can build on existing knowledge while developing new ways to interpret art.
Teachers also receive a lesson plan aligned with Florida State Standards for Visual Art and English Language Arts. They can share their learning objectives with Museum educators, helping ensure each visit reinforces the material students are studying throughout the school year.
“Third grade is a pivotal year, when students begin connecting ideas across subjects and discovering how they see the world,” said Tom Hochhausler, the 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.”
Building a Stronger Connection Between Tampa Kids and Culture
The program was developed through direct collaboration with elementary art teachers and third-grade educators, giving the Museum an opportunity to shape its tours around the needs and interests of local students.
That partnership helps make the museum experience more than a field trip. By connecting the works students encounter in the galleries with concepts they are learning at school, the tours create opportunities to strengthen classroom lessons while exposing children to new perspectives.
“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, then built our tours utilizing teacher insight,” said Danette Albino, Manager for K12 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.”
For a growing Tampa Bay region, these experiences also help introduce the next generation to the cultural resources available in their own community.
School Funding Opens More Cultural Opportunities for Hillsborough Students
The expanded program is funded in part by the Hillsborough County school referendum approved by voters in November 2024. The referendum provides additional support for public schools, including funding for educational field trips that reinforce classroom learning and help students develop critical-thinking skills.
For the 2026–27 school year, the Tampa Museum of Art expects to welcome approximately 11,000 students through the program, with the capacity to accommodate as many as 15,000.
The investment reflects how public funding can help connect students with educational and cultural institutions that might otherwise be less accessible to school groups.
“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, giving them opportunities to experience learning beyond the classroom and connect what they are learning in school to the incredible resources available right here in our community.”
By helping cover admission, the referendum allows more Hillsborough County students to experience art firsthand while giving teachers another resource for bringing academic concepts to life.
A Growing Museum Designed for Learning
The expanded tours also build on recent improvements to the Tampa Museum of Art’s facilities. Renovations completed in 2022 introduced a new education center and redesigned galleries, creating additional space for exhibitions and educational programming.
The education center spans more than 8,000 square feet and supports studio art classes, early childhood learning, school tours, and programs for people of all ages and abilities. Named in recognition of a $5 million gift from Penny and Jeff Vinik, the center includes a spacious education lobby designed to welcome two to three busloads of students at a time.
That infrastructure gives the Museum greater capacity to accommodate school groups while creating an environment designed specifically for learning and engagement.
As Tampa Bay continues to grow, the ability of cultural institutions to welcome young audiences will play an important role in how students connect with the region’s arts and educational offerings.
The Tampa Riverwalk’s Next Chapter in Art and Culture
The Museum’s educational expansion is taking place alongside an even larger transformation. Through its Centennial Campaign, the Tampa Museum of Art is pursuing a comprehensive construction and endowment initiative that will add more than 51,000 square feet of new space along the Tampa Riverwalk.
The campaign is anchored by a $28 million lead gift from Dick Corbett, a Tampa real estate developer and philanthropist who has supported the Museum for decades. The donation represents the largest private gift ever made to a public art museum in Florida.
To date, the campaign has attracted more than $100 million in support from individuals, families, corporations, and public partners, including the City of Tampa, Hillsborough County, and the State of Florida.
The planned expansion is intended to strengthen the Museum’s role as a destination for art and culture along the Riverwalk, creating new opportunities for exhibitions, community engagement, and educational programming.
For Tampa kids, the benefits of that investment begin with experiences that connect the classroom to the wider world. For the region, they point toward a future in which arts education, public investment, and cultural institutions work together to help shape a more connected and culturally engaged community.