Tours

General Tours

The Akron Art Museum offers a variety of tour options for all different ages and interest levels, ranging from students to adults.

Scheduling a Tour

All requests must be made at least 3 weeks (15 business days) prior to the earliest requested date. All requests are subject to docent availability and schedules.

Visitors can request a tour by any of the following methods:

• E-MAIL: Download and complete the General Tour Request Form ( doc | pdf ) and submit the form by emailing the Tour Hotline.
• FAX: Print out a copy of the General Tour Request Form and fax the completed form to 330.376.1180, ATTN: TOURS.
• MAIL: Print out a copy of the General Tour Request Form and send the completed form to ATTN: TOURS, One South High, Akron, OH 44308.
• PHONE: Call the tour hotline (330.376.9186 x247) to speak with a museum representative. If no one is available to take your call, please leave a detailed message with the following information:


• Your name, your group or organization’s name, and a phone number and/or e-mail address where you can be reached
• The preferred date and time of tour
• The approximate number of people who will visit with your group

After we have received your information by completed form or phone message, a museum representative will check the availability of the requested dates and times and will contact you within 2 business days of your request. Contact 330.376.9186 x229, if you have any questions regarding your tour.

Times

Tours are available during regular business hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-5pm (with the last tour starting at 3:30); Thursdays, 11am-9pm (with the last tour starting at 7:30). The museum is closed Mondays. Special exhibitions may have different hours available for group tours.

Rates and Admissions

The museum can comfortably accommodate a maximum number of 50 visitors for group tours. There is no minimum number of visitors for group tours; however, there is a minimum fee of $25. Admission to special exhibitions may include an additional surcharge.

• The regular admission rate for adult visitors is $7 per person.
• Tour groups of 15 or more visitors receive the special admission rate of $6 per visitor.
• The admission rate for senior visitors (ages 65 and up) is always $5 per visitor.
• Akron Art Museum members are free. You must submit a list of any visitors in your tour group who are members with your final admissions payment for verification of their membership status.
• Reciprocal members of other arts institutions receive free admission into the collection galleries, but pay regular admission fees when participating in a docent or staff-led tour.
• Bus tour groups are eligible for up to two complimentary admissions, one for the tour organizer and one for the group’s bus driver.

Tour Admission Policy for Non-Profit Social Service Agencies

In an effort to make the visitor experience accessible to all, Akron Art Museum is delighted to offer a complimentary tour to non-profit social service agencies whose clients would otherwise be financially unable to visit the museum. Complimentary visits may be scheduled each museum fiscal year (July-June).

• All tours must be arranged at least three weeks in advance.
• The museum can accommodate a tour maximum of 50 adults per visit. Large groups will be divided into smaller groups of 10-12 people.
• A qualified agency representative must be present to accompany each group of ten clients.
• A surcharge may apply to special exhibitions.
• After the complimentary visit, non-profit social service agencies may bring their clients to tour the museum at the discounted rate of $5 per person. Children 12 and under are always free.

A “Social Service Agency” is a charitable organization that provides programs and/or services for the benefit of clients, e.g. human, social and family services.
Services offered by Social Service Agencies

• Focus on social problems, their causes, their solutions and the human impacts.
• Promote the physical, mental, and economic health of the recipients and thus benefit the entire community in addition to helping individual recipients.

Services can include:

• Services to Persons with Disabilities, including education, employment training, physical and emotional therapy
• Services to Senior Citizens, respite and improvement programs, recreation and counseling
• Services to other populations, including battered women’s shelters, homeless shelters, and independent living skills counseling.

Guided Tour Choices

Building & Highlights Tour: An Introduction to the Akron Art Museum

Explore daring architectural ideas and spaces that connect past, present and future as demonstrated by the Akron Art Museum’s recently completed expansion project designed by Viennese architectural firm COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Docents will lead your group through the museum’s new and renovated spaces in the 1899 and John S. and James L. Knight buildings in addition to introducing you to highlights from the museum’s collection, focused on art produced since 1850. This tour lasts approximately one hour.

Akron Art Museum Collection Highlights Tour (Collection works only)

Sample the treasures currently on view in the more than 12,000 square feet of gallery space dedicated to displaying the Akron Art Museum’s collection. Docents will lead your group through an introduction to the museum’s collection, focused on art produced since 1850, that includes outstanding examples of turn-of-the-twentieth century realism, American impressionism and an eclectic array of late twentieth-century Pop art, surrealist and post-modern works. Prepare to encounter the work of local and international artists, folk artists, rising stars and some of the most established and respected artists in the art world. This tour lasts approximately 45 minutes to one hour.

In Our Own Backyard: Exploring Ohio Art & Artists

Discover the multitude of Ohio artists represented in the Akron Art Museum’s collection and the richness and diversity they bring to the galleries. On this guided tour, docents will introduce your group to the inspired visions of Ohio artists and the ways they depicted the both the urban and rural sides of the Ohio landscape. Highlights include a visit to the gallery dedicated exclusively to the works of William Sommer, one of this region's most important historical artist. This tour lasts approximately 45 minutes to one hour.

Mod Squad: An Introduction Modern and Contemporary Art

“Why is that considered art?” “My kid could paint that!” “I just don’t get it.” “I don’t like modern art.” Sound familiar? Modern art can be a puzzle. Let our docents help you put the pieces together! What exactly do artists mean when they talk about abstraction? Explore how abstract artists “see” their subjects and some of the reasons they reinterpret their subjects in less-than-literal styles. Discover how artists took art and ideas in new directions by using line, shape, color and unorthodox materials in innovative and exciting ways. This tour lasts approximately 45 minutes to one hour.

Current Special Exhibitions

For information and descriptions of special exhibitions currently available for tours, visit the current and upcoming exhibitions page.

Motorcoach Tours

The Akron Art Museum is a motorcoach-friendly site with many different amenities for groups including a special bus pull-off and group tour entrance, handicap accessibility and easily accessible restrooms, a museum store and an on-site café. In addition we provide complimentary admission for the group escort and driver. FAM tours are available for tour operators upon request.

K – 12 and University Tours

The Akron Art Museum provides quality educational programs and exciting learning opportunities for students and educators from preschool to the university level. As the only art museum in Akron, the museum is committed to supporting the educational success of local youth. School tours, including tours for university students are FREE when scheduled by a teacher, instructor or school official three or more weeks in advance. For unscheduled tours, regular admission prices will apply.

See the K-12 Tours and University Tours pages for more information.

Eating Lunch at the Museum’s Jazzman’s Café

Tour groups with 15 or more visitors may pre-order boxed lunches from a special menu or opt for a catered lunch with table service. These options ensure seating and efficient service for your group.

To order lunch for your group from Jazzman’s Café download the Boxed Lunch Order Form (doc | pdf )

The cafe requires that a final order and payment be submitted at least five business days prior to your group’s reservation date. You may also opt to immediately pay the entire cost in full.

Please note, outside food is not permitted in the museum at any time.

Regular café service and seating are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information on eating at the museum, please email Jazzman's Café or call 330.376.9186 x226.