General Information
The Spurlock Museum welcomes group visits by children and adults of all ages. Reservations are required. There are several options for group visits, including guided tours, programs with a craft, programs with hands-on artifact opportunities, and self-guided tours. These are available to groups of ten or more visitors on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Fees, group size limitations, and chaperone requirements are listed with the tour and program descriptions.
Available dates and further information about reserving programs and tours is also available. There is a downloadable booklet with information on our available programs in PDF form (1MB). Please visit these pages when planning the date for your program.
To schedule a tour or program, contact Brook Taylor (office hours Tuesday through Saturday) at (217) 265-0474 or taylorb@illinois.edu (email link) at least 3 weeks prior to your visit date with the following information:
Required information to schedule a program
- the desired program
- the date and time you wish to visit—check the Museum’s availability webpage
- the grade level and number of students involved
- your contact name, phone number, and email address
- any questions you may have about your program or the Museum
- special needs and other relevant information
Most of the tours and programs are presented by only one or two members of our Education staff. As a result, the availability of these tours and programs in limited. Please contact the Museum early in the school year to reserve your dates.
Documentation: The Spurlock Museum staff frequently videotapes or photographs visitors enjoying Museum programs, tours, and special events or individual time in our galleries. All videotape and photographs are used at the Museum’s discretion and become its sole property. Images are used in various Museum publications and as documentation for grant reports. The names of the people recorded are not used.
Tours and Programs by Theme
Every year, the Museum offers a variety of established tours and programs in addition to those that accompany special temporary exhibits. We have grouped our regular offerings under four thematic categories—Around the World, Oral Traditions, Ancient Connections, and Medieval European Life—to help you browse and identify the options that best suit your classroom. A brief introduction to the theme is listed with each category.
Around the World
What is a world cultures museum? From statues to armor, mummies to masks, we exhibit artifacts that evidence the shared challenges of humanity and the diverse ways cultures respond to them. Why do food, art, and technology differ from culture to culture? Many of our tours address the factors that influence the needs of body, mind, and spirit and, in turn, the ways in which human beings live differently.
Each of the Around the World tours begins in the Central Core Gallery, where these shared cultural concepts are introduced to the visiting students.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to the Spurlock Museum | 4-12 | 75 | 75 min | free |
| Human Connections | 5-8 | 75 | 105 min | free |
| Masks around the World | 3-8 | 30 | 45-90 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
Oral Traditions
Learn the values, histories, and traditions of cultures around the world through their folktales and myths.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stories around the World | preK-8 | 40 | 45-90 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
| A Tapestry of Stories | K-4 | 40 | 45-75 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
| Greek and Roman Mythology | 4-12 | 40 | 60-90 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
Ancient Connections
These popular programs explore the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. There may be special funding available for participation in all of our Ancient Connections programs.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the Shadow of the Pyramids | 4-7 | 36 | 105 min | $1 per student |
| Life in the Polis | 4-7 | 30 | 90 min | free |
| Greek and Roman Mythology | 4-12 | 40 | 60-90 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
Medieval European Life
Students go back in time through hands-on experience with medieval technologies, games, stories, and artifacts.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Day as a Knight | 3-4 | 36 | 90 min | $1 per student |
| The Blacksmith's Apprentice | 5-7 | 36 | 105 min | $1 per student |
Special Exhibit Tours and Programs
The Transforming Arts of Papua New Guinea
The two tours listed here are special opportunities offered in conjunction with the fall 2009 temporary exhibit The Transforming Arts of Papua New Guinea, which runs September 1, 2009 - January 31, 2010.
Papua New Guinea, a Pacific Island nation-state, is home to a remarkable diversity of grand artistic traditions. This exhibition, featuring artifacts from the Museum’s own collections, explores the arts of several regions, and illustrates over half a century of change in design, media, and audience. Of special significance is discussion of artistic developments sparked by the country’s independence in 1975. Visitors to the exhibit are introduced to the artistic traditions of Papua New Guinea and the ways that familiar emblems of community distinction are used and transformed to present provocative aesthetic commentary on the cultural, political, and economic struggles of an emerging nation.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stories of Papua New Guinea | 2-6 | 30 | 45-75 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
| Lifeways and Artworks | 6-12 | 30 | 60-90 min | $1 per student if craft is added |
Korean Funerary Figures: Companions for the Journey to the Other World
In conjunction with our spring Campbell Gallery Exhibit Korean Funerary Figures: Companions for the Journey to the Other World, which runs March 2, 2010 - July 7, 2010, the Spurlock Museum is offering a special program for students in the 5th through 12th grades.
Death is a given of the human condition that touches everyone in every age. In almost all cultures, the trauma of death is countered by artistic expressions of great richness. In Korea during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, artisans carved wooden figures—called kkoktu—that were used to decorate the funeral bier. This exhibition features a collection of over 70 kkoktu that offer rare insights into characteristically Korean attitudes towards death. The figures of acrobats, clowns, and whimsical mystical animals included among kkoktu expresses a joyfulness that may seem incompatible with mourning, but the inclusion of such figures actually reflects a sophisticated appreciation of the fleeting nature of all experience. The use of kkoktu in funeral rites also expresses a deeply held wish that the transition to the other world will occur in an atmosphere of joyful celebration supported by many helpers.
| Program | Grade | Size | Length | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Culture of Death: Burial and Family Commemoration around the World | 5-12 | 24 | 75 min | $1 per student (for craft expenses) |