Guided Tours
Free Guided Tours inside the Museum are available daily. Highly trained Museum docents offer multiple tours each day. Each tour lasts approximately 40-50 minutes. No pre-registration required, but space may be limited. Meet your tour guide at the Docent desk in the Museum rotunda prior to the posted tour time.
Tours are also regularly available in Spanish and Mandarin.
- Spanish Tours are available the second Thursday and third Tuesday of each month at 11:15 a.m.
- Mandarin Tours are available the fourth Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m.
Guided docent tours are also available in French, Russian, Tagalog, and Ukranian with advance registration. RSVP at outreach@sdmart.org.
Times and tour offering subject to change without notice.
Tour Schedule
See the calendar of upcoming tours at the Museum below.
In-person guided tours are currently offered throughout the day. See the upcoming schedule below or check-in with the Visitor Relations team at the Museum entrance for the day’s schedule and tour topics. No pre-registration required, but space may be limited. Meet your tour guide at the Docent desk in the Rotunda prior to the posted tour time. Guided tours are free with Museum admission.
Times and tour offering subject to change without notice.
Specialty Tours
Art + Wellbeing Experience Tour
Art + Wellbeing Experience, also known as AWe Tours, is an immersive program integrating wellness practices such as movement, breathwork, meditation, journaling, and sound within the Museum galleries. Participants will engage with selected artworks through guided self-reflection and learn about the health benefits of these practices in a contemplative setting.
Enjoy an hour of unhurried attention, where each artwork becomes a conversation, a meditation, a mirror. Join us on the fourth Sunday of the month to gather in a small group, move gently through select pieces, and linger. No rush. No agenda. Just the art, and the space to see.
Free with Museum admission. Registration requested.
Family Tours
Interactive tours are now being scheduled specifically for family groups of one or more adults and children of elementary to middle school age. Tour topics include “Highlights,” “Face to Face” (focusing on portraits), and “Place to Place” (focusing on landscapes.) These tours include a variety of interactive activities: possibly including sketching, role-playing, and opportunities for family discussion. Check out the events calendar and look for Family Art Adventures.
Group Tours
Private group tours are available by appointment. Explore group tour options at the below link or contact tours@sdmart.org for more information.
Memories at the Museum | Alzheimer Tour
Participate in “Memories at the Museum” a collaboration with UCSD’s Alzheimer’s Research Center, the Timken Museum, Mingei International, and MOPA@SDMA to offer tours to people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s. Outreach program serves student, senior centers, libraries, community organizations. For more information please email info@sdmart.org or call 619.232.7931.