Tours

Photo: Tom Yi
Photo: Tom Yi

Group Tours

This tour introduces the permanent galleries at the Museum of the American West. Docents use hands-on carts and teaching replicas to explore western lands, cowboys, popular culture, changes and transformations of the West after the Civil War, and the diverse communities of people that shaped the American West in the late 19th century.

Please click here for group rates and to book group visit reservations.


Autry Audio Guides

NEW! Autry Audio Guides Autry Audio Tours
Museum of the American West
Southwest Museum of the American Indian

Free to Autry National Center Members
$3 for non-members

The Autry National Center is offering adults and children a whole new way to explore our galleries with audio tours. Visitors can choose the artifacts or works of art you want to learn more about and hear brief presentations, with quotes, music and sound effects to inspire a closer look. Families will find specially created scripts to help them talk about what they see, think about key moments in time and learn about the history of the American West.

Autry Audio Tours
Photo: Tony Bailey.
Have a portable MP3 player? Download the Autry audio tours here as podcasts:





School Tours & Programs

School Programs and Teacher Resources 2007/2008


“Thank you for providing our students the opportunity to visit your museum. The guides were wonderful. Their knowledge provided the students a better understanding of the exhibits.”

      - Teacher, Park School

Students enjoy Trails West
Students enjoy Trails West at the Museum of the American West in Griffith Park.

Each year, more than 40,000 school children from throughout Southern California take guided tours at the Museum of the American West in Griffith Park. Museum tours are designed to meet the needs of classroom teachers by addressing local, state, and national history and social studies standards and frameworks. Each tour is age-appropriate and relevant to classroom curriculum.








New School Programs

NEW! All the Saints of the City of Los Angeles: Stories of the City
There are nearly 100 streets named after saints in Los Angeles, for example, Santa Monica and San Fernando. Artist J. Michael Walker has spent time studying these streets, the saints, and how their stories come together in Los Angeles. His large scale artwork takes us through a fascinating history of the story of our city. This is a great opportunity to explore your own neighborhood stories.

  Grades: 2-12
  Times: Thursday through Friday
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Program available March 11, 2008 through June 13, 2008
  Maximum: 30 students per hour


NEW! Cowboys and Presidents
Explore the ways that U.S. Presidents have used the symbol of the cowboy to define themselves and their administrations to the nation and the world. Then see how the working nature of a real cowboy is often at odds with the symbolic myth employed in film and politics.

  Grades: 7-12
  Times: Tuesday through Friday
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
Program available April 22, 2008 through June 13, 2008
  Maximum: 30 students per hour


Guided Tours:

This tour introduces the permanent galleries at the Museum of the American West. Docents use hands-on carts and teaching replicas to explore western lands, cowboys, popular culture, changes and transformations of the West after the Civil War, and the diverse communities of people that shaped the American West in the late 19th century.

  Grades: 3-12
  Times: Tuesday through Friday
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
  Cost: $1 per student



”Please Touch!“ A student in the Discovery Gallery experiences some hands-on history. Photo: Tom Yi.
”Please Touch!“ Students in the Family Discovery Gallery experience some hands-on history. Photo: Tom Yi.

McCormick Tribune Foundation Family Discovery Gallery Tour:

Learn what life was like for the See family, a Chinese American family in the 1930s, by exploring their home, antique store, and restaurant. Click here to download the pre-visit lesson plan. Want to see the program in action? Click here to view a short video clip.

  Grades: K-5
  Times: Tuesday through Friday
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
  Cost: $1 per student



“I had never been to a museum where they let us learn and play.”

      - Student, Grade 4
        Euclid Avenue School



Early Opportunities Program Tours:

Investigate replica artifacts and role-play to discover the history of Western communities, Plains Indians, and cowboys and cowgirls.

  Grades: K-1
  Times: First and third Wednesday and Thursday
of each month
October through May only
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
  Cost: $1 per student



A student ”49er“ pans for gold at the Museum of the American West. Photo: Tony Bailey.
A young ”49er“ pans for gold at the Museum of the American West. Photo: Tony Bailey.

Gold Rush Program:

Eureka! There are tales of gold in Trails West. Pan for gold, see how far money goes towards purchasing mining equipment at the General Store, and learn about the people who came to California to strike it rich (or in many cases, go bust). This outdoor activity is weather dependent. Click here to download the pre-visit lesson plan. Want to see the program in action? Click here to view a short video clip.

  Grades: 2-12
  Times: Tuesday through Friday;
10:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
  Cost: $1 per student



“Thank you for teaching us a lot about the Gold Rush. It was really interesting to learn how to pan gold! It was really fun to pretend like we were forty-niners.”

      - Student, Grade 4
        Palisades Charter Elementary



“I realy (sic) like when we saw what people used to wear. I also liked when we saw the real buffalo. I enjoyed going to the museum. Our family is looking forward to going to your museum.”

      - Angie, student



Self-Guided Tours:

Teachers who wish to additional time in the museum, or who want to explore on their own, can reserve a self-guided tour. Tripsheets are available to download, copy, and use during your visit. To best prepare for this activity, take advantage of our complimentary Teacher Passport. Contact 323.667.2000 ext 336 to receive your free Passport.

  Grades: K-12
  Times: Tuesday through Friday;
Beginning at 12:15 p.m.
  Cost: $1 per student



Download your Trip Sheet here.
Trip Sheets:

Are you a teacher planning a field trip, a parent bringing your family, or a visitor who just wants to know how much a bison weighs? Then these trip sheets are just for you.

Download and print out these sheets and bring them with you to the Museum of the American West. They highlight an object in each gallery and include fun facts and questions. On the back of each sheet there is an activity for you, your students, or your family to complete.


All Aboard! Free bus program

All Aboard! provides Title I schools with free bus transportation to the museum. Teachers are given curriculum materials, free Outreach Kit rentals, and teacher workshop scholarships, enabling them to create and reinforce classroom learning. Students are exposed to diverse cultural points of view in both the classroom and museum settings. Further, the Autry National Center offers each student free family access to the museum for one year, which allows families to explore, learn, and grow together. Click here to view a short video clip.

Name Tags
We encourage all students to wear name tags on the day of their visit. Being able to call a student by his or her name creates a more personal experience for your students. Click here to download a name tag template – or create your own in the classroom.

Visit Evaluation—Tell Us What You Think!
As your educational partner, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please take a moment to give us your feedback by clicking here.

Click here to fill out the All Aboard! online application



Southwest Museum of the American Indian

NEW! Casa de Adobe Program

Featuring the Junior Docents from the Arroyo Seco Museum-Science Magnet School
Built in 1918, the Casa de Adobe is a reproduction of the traditional Spanish-style haciendas that marked the period of Mexican rule in the Southwest (1821-1846). Learn about the ancient process of adobe brick-making, the skill and style of the vaquero, and the role of Native Americans and Californios in the history of our region.

  Grades: 4
  Times: Thursday
11 a.m. (this is a 70-minute program)
Program available from January to June 2008
  Maximum: 30 students per hour


The Southwest Museum

The Autry has embarked on extensive renovations to upgrade and improve the Southwest Museum of the American Indian making access to the galleries limited in 2007-2008. For this reason, we regret that we cannot accept reservations for school tours this year.


All Aboard! A Passage to the Past

Participate in any of the above tours through this exciting program, which is open to Title I schools. Receive free school bus transportation to the museum and pre- and post-visit materials for your classroom.

To receive more information and fill out the required on-line application, visit www.museumoftheamericanwest.org and click on the Education page.



“It is truly impressive to read about the creative educational programs planned for the Center and we are pleased to support your effort to ensure a museum experience for children that complements their classroom studies. We hope that, over time, every child in Southern California will have the opportunity to benefit from these visits.”

      - Norman C. Osbrow
        Joseph Drown Foundation



Southwest Preservation Tours and special interest lectures

Members and their guests are invited to an insider's tour of the preservation efforts at the Southwest Museum and special-interest lectures by Autry staff. By reservation only; please call 323.667.2000, ext 391.

Click here for dates and lecture subjects.

  Open to: Members-Only
  Times: Fourth Saturday of each month
  Cost: Free to Members-Only




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