Guided Tours
Free Guided Tours inside the Museum are now available. Highly trained Museum docents are offering 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.
Virtual Tours
Virtual Tours now available. In the interest of public health and safety due to COVID-19, docents are hosting Virtual Tours online. Each tour lasts approximately 50 minutes and is offered on the Zoom platform.
See the tour schedule below to view the calendar of virtual tours and register to attend. Prior registration for these free tours is required. Upon registration, the online link to the selected tour will be sent by email along with instructions.
Times and tour offering subject to change without notice.
Tour Schedule
See the calendar of upcoming virtual 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 on the Spot
Join free fifteen-minute mini-talks focused on a single work of art on view. Art on the Spot is specially designed to be both quick and engaging. Each pop-up talk is led by Museum docents, a special set of Museum volunteers trained to answer your questions about the Museum, works of art on view, and current exhibitions.
Visit the Docent desk in the Museum rotunda or stop when you see the Art on the Spot floor decal appear to join the next Art on the Spot tour.
Family Tour
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 list of tours offered for the month and look for Family Tour.
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 to offer tours to people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s. Outreach program serves student, senior centers, libraries, community organizations. Tours are currently being offered through Zoom. For more information please email info@sdmart.org or call 619.232.7931.
