K-12 School Tours

The Lightner Museum welcomes school groups at reduced rates for a minimum of 10 students. Guided and self-guided tours of the museum’s galleries are available. Tours take approximately 45 minutes and are available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. All school group tours must be scheduled at least one month prior to the desired visit date.

All field trip requests must be submitted through our reservation request form. For further questions or concerns, please email the Education Department at [email protected] or call 904.824.2874 ext. 107

Travel, Tourism, and Technology: Henry Flagler’s St. Augustine

Step into the Gilded Age and explore the story of Henry Flagler, whose vision helped transform Florida’s East Coast. Through railroads, grand hotels, and civic investments, Flagler played a major role in connecting communities, expanding tourism, and reshaping Florida’s economy.

Located in the heart of historic St. Augustine, the Lightner Museum offers students a one-of-a-kind setting to explore this pivotal period in Florida history. Housed in Flagler’s former Hotel Alcazar, built in 1888, the museum brings history to life through one of the buildings that helped establish St. Augustine as a world-class tourist destination.

During this docent-led tour, students investigate Henry Flagler’s contributions to Northeast Florida and discover how innovations in transportation and tourism changed the state.

This tour aligns with Florida’s 4th Grade Social Studies Standards:
S.S.4.A.4.1.: Explain the effects of technological advances on Florida
S.S.4.A.6.3.: Describe the contributions of significant individuals in Florida
S.S.4.A.8.4.: Explain how tourism affects Florida’s economy and growth

Make It Hands-On

Want to extend your museum experience beyond the 45-minute tour? Teachers can add a hands-on activity to their order, giving students an opportunity to deepen their learning through interactive exploration.

Gods and Heroes: The Classical Revival in the Gilded Age

The Lightner Museum’s Gods and Heroes tour invites students to discover how artists of the Gilded Age reimagined the myths of ancient Greece and Rome. Through painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and design, students will explore how these enduring stories were adapted to reflect the interests, values, and aspirations of a rapidly changing America.

Drawing from the Lightner Museum’s collection, the tour highlights works inspired by the classical world at a time when the United States was developing its own cultural identity. As American artists, architects, designers, and collectors looked to the traditions of Europe and antiquity, classical imagery became a powerful way to communicate sophistication, education, beauty, wealth, and social status.

This docent-led tour encourages students to look closely, make connections across works and media, and consider how art can reveal the values of a particular historical moment.

This tour aligns with Florida’s High School Social Studies and Visual Art Standards:

  • VA.912.H.1.1: Analyze the impact of social, ecological, economic, religious, and/or political issues on the function or meaning of the artwork.
  • VA.912.H.1.8: Analyze and compare works in context, considering economic, social, cultural, and political issues, to define the significance and purpose of art.
  • SS.912.A.1.4: Analyze how images, symbols, objects, cartoons, graphs, charts, maps, and artwork may be used to interpret the significance of time periods and events from the past.
  • SS.912.A.1.7: Describe various socio-cultural aspects of American life, including arts, artifacts, literature, education, and publications.

A note for educators: Some works of art featured on our God and Heroes tour include nudity. Artists have long used the human form to explore ideas about beauty, identity, emotion, culture, movement, and the human experience. When these works are encountered, our educators present them thoughtfully and in age-appropriate historical and artistic contexts.

Our rates for Tour Only:

  • Per Student: $3.00
  • Per Guardian Chaperone: $6.00
  • Public/Private/Charter School Teachers: Free


Our rates for a Tour & Activity:

  • Per Student: $6.00
  • Per Guardian Chaperone: $6.00
  • Public/Private/Charter School Teachers: Free

To receive the group admission discount, the group must have a minimum of 10 participants, with a maximum number to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

School tours require a minimum of two month’s advance notice. Head teachers must submit a completed reservation request form to the Group Tour Department at least two months prior to the proposed arrival date.

Requests are not confirmed until a representative from the Education Department sends written confirmation via email, along with an attached invoice for review.

Self-guided group visits without a docent may be scheduled with one week’s advance notice and are only for smaller upper-level High School groups or College students

Chaperones are expected to stay with their group, support student learning and be attentive participants during student visits. Lightner Museum requires one adult chaperone for every 10 students visiting the museum.

Group Arrival

Please plan to arrive at the museum 10 minutes prior to the designated time of your program. If your group is running late, please let us know as soon as possible by calling the main desk at 904.824.2874 or emailing [email protected].

To ensure that everyone has an enjoyable visit, please review the following expectations with all adults and students who will attend the visit.

  • Stick together. All students must stay with adult chaperones at all times when visiting the museum galleries. This includes students on self-guided visits.
  • Travel light! The museum cannot store coats and backpacks for large groups. Items should be left on your motor coach.
  • Discussion and Movement. There is a lot to talk about at the museum but please do so with inside voices and remind your group to walk inside the museum. Students are responsible for keeping their bodies and behavior under control at all times. Chaperones are responsible for behavior reminders.
  • Screen break. Everyone should turn off cell phones or set to silent when in the galleries. In order to preserve the artwork, flash photography is not permitted in any galleries.
  • Close looking encouraged, but not too close. Remind students to maintain a distance of at least 2 feet from artwork, even when pointing.
  • Museum Store. Groups are welcome to visit the Museum Store in groups of 10 or less while accompanied by a chaperone.

If you need to cancel or reschedule your field trip, please contact the Education Department at least 24 hours before the scheduled date. Cancellations made on the day of the scheduled tour are subject to a $50.00 cancellation fee*.

We understand that delays happen. Please notify the Museum as soon as possible if you are running late, so we can communicate this with our tour guides.

*Title I, St. Johns, Duval, Putnam, Clay, and Flagler Public Schools are exempt from the day-of $50.00 cancellation fee.

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