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Tours
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 
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.
Photo: Tony Bailey.
Have a portable MP3 player? Download the Autry audio tours here as podcasts:
“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 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! 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 |
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!“ Students in the Family Discovery Gallery experience some hands-on history. Photo: Tom Yi.
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
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 young ”49er“ pans for gold at the Museum of the American West. Photo: Tony Bailey.
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
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 |
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! 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.
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
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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