School Programs

The Frick Pittsburgh believes in creating meaningful, engaging learning experiences for students, whether they take place online or in-person. We offer a wide variety of student programming at every grade level.

Digital Learning Experiences with the Frick

For the first time ever, The Frick Pittsburgh’s learning programs are going digital! Using some of our favorite on-site school programs as inspiration, our digital learning experiences bring the Frick’s collections straight to you and your students. Digital learning experiences are live online programs facilitated by a Frick educator. Each digital program relates to one of our three museums and includes follow-up activities and art projects to keep the learning going even after your program has ended. For the rest of the 2020–2021 school year, we’re offering all four of our digital learning experiences free of charge! To learn more about our new digital learning experiences, download the program guide.

View our Digital Learning Experience Guide

To see how the Frick’s digital school programs align with Pennsylvania academic standards, click here.

Things to Know About Digital Learning Experiences

All digital learning experiences take place via Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent to you ahead of your program date.
Digital learning experiences take place live and require an advance reservation. Programs take place Monday through Friday; the earliest a program can begin is 9:30 a.m. We recommend contacting us at least 3 weeks before your desired program date.
Students can participate as a group from the classroom or individually from their own computers at home. At least one teacher must also be present.
For the remainder of 2020–2021 school year, all digital learning experiences are free.

Scheduling your Digital Learning Experience

To schedule a digital learning experience for your students, simply fill out our online request form. Our staff will contact you within two business days to discuss your program and complete your reservation.

Request a digital learning experience

School Programs at the Frick

The Frick Pittsburgh’s on-site school programs are facilitated by Frick educators in a small-group format and are designed to be hands-on, interactive and interdisciplinary. School programs at the Frick are customized by grade level and include experiences in one or more of our three museums, as well as the Frick’s grounds. Please note: Due to safety concerns relating to COVID-19, our on-site school programs are not available at this time

View our School Programs Booklet

To see how the Frick’s on-site school programs align with Pennsylvania academic standards, click here.

Grade Level Experiences

Grades K-2

Kids in Clayton or The Frick Art Museum? Not a problem! Younger students can enjoy a multidisciplinary morning designed just for them. Lively interaction is the norm as students delve into the world of artists and their creations, compare and contrast modern childhood with that of Victorian boys and girls and imagine what travel would be like in the days of horse-drawn carriages and rickety Model Ts. Games, rhymes, and hands-on projects make these visits to The Frick Art Museum, Clayton, and the Car and Carriage Museum memorable experiences for your students.

Grades 3-5

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.

Grades 6-8

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.

Grades 9-12

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.

Enjoy special discounts

Teacher Membership

Did you know there’s a category of membership just for teachers and administrators? You can enjoy all the regular benefits of membership at the individual level, receive free admission for two to all lectures and discounts on Act 48 programs.

Purchase Teacher Membership

The Roy A. Hunt Foundation Award for Commitment to Education in the Arts and Humanities

Each year, the Roy A. Hunt Foundation Award for Commitment to Education in the Arts and Humanities is presented to a teacher who has demonstrated a commitment to participating in the Frick’s education programs, and who has successfully integrated the arts and humanities into the students’ learning experience.

Learn More