Art4Kids Youth Education Program

The Art4Kids Youth Education Program includes a gallery tour and an onsite art program that features a short art project inspired by the current exhibition in the Community Gallery. The program offers hands-on arts education in classrooms, with an option for follow-up art lessons after the museum visit. Shortened lessons, self-guided lessons, and self-guided tours are available upon request, and each visit can include a tour of the Museum of Sonoma County.

• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Docent-led tours need at least 2 weeks advance request.
• Price: The Art4Kids Youth Education Program is described as a free art program.

In 2015, the Museum of Sonoma County launched the Art4Kids Youth Education Program. As of 2023, the program is open for grades K through 12th and is available to all schools in Sonoma County with Title I classification. The program curriculum is developed each season based on the California Visual Arts Content Standards and is inspired by the museum's current exhibition. Museum Docents and Teaching Artists use Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to engage students with artwork, and each program consists of one gallery tour and onsite art program with optional follow-up classroom lessons.

The Art4Kids program is supported by funding provided by the Community Foundation Sonoma County and Creative Sonoma. The Museum of Sonoma County is a Smithsonian Affiliate and participates in the Smithsonian Affiliations program to facilitate the loan of Smithsonian artifacts and traveling exhibitions and to develop educational collaborations locally and nationally. The museum’s historic 1910 post office building is a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places, and the downtown campus includes two buildings, multiple galleries, and a sculpture garden.

The Museum of Sonoma County leadership team connected to the program includes Carissa Nacol, Education Coordinator; Karen Wise, Executive Director; Eric Stanley, Deputy Director and History Curator; Jenny Bath, Development and Membership Associate; Jennifer Bethke, Art Curator; Jon Del Buono, Exhibitions and Facilities Manager; Lana Michaels, Director of Programs and Education; Al Reis, Visitor Services Manager; Maura Wilson, Collections Manager; and Visitor Services staff Ashley Alvarez, Ariana Bloom, Henry Nugent, and Kathleen Ferrington. The mission of the Museum of Sonoma County is to engage and inspire a diverse community with art and history exhibitions, collections, and public programs that are inclusive, educational, and relevant.

Last updated June 26, 2026.