School Programs

Students are challenged to use deductive reasoning, visual literacy and critical thinking skills as they experience the Frick.  Why is the queen in the painting without a crown? How did you charge an electric car in 1902?  What would it take to get a house ready for a visit from President Teddy Roosevelt?  And what in the world is an orchestrion? Whether making art in our studio, examining banana trees and cactus in the greenhouse, struggling to fasten shoes with a buttonhook or figuring out how to start a Model T, students will gain new perspectives as they interact with art and history through engaging, hands-on discovery.

As students look closely at sculpture or handle century-old household objects, learn the personal histories of chambermaids and countesses and even use math skills to solve perspective or convert nineteenth-century value into modern dollars, they can apply concepts learned in the classroom with a new context at the Frick.  Our programs communicate wide-ranging experiences, stories and emotions that make sense to today’s students.

Students explore a wide range of cultures and times at the Frick, including European history and Gilded Age America.  Themes of labor, aesthetics, economics, industrialization and human struggle can all be addressed in our inquiry-based tours and workshops.  Whether you are looking to help your students understand the formal properties of art or the impact of automobile design on society, we can help you find the right program to enhance your curriculum.