Camp and Youth Groups
The Met invites all camp and community youth groups to request either a guided visit led by trained Museum educators and volunteers or a self-guided visit, which allows you to lead your own group through the Museum.
Appointments are required for all groups visiting the Museum.
To request a guided or self-guided group visit at The Met Fifth Avenue or The Met Cloisters, please complete the request form.
Read our Group Guidelines and Visitor Guidelines.
Group Fees
Non-profit organizations, community outreach programs, and other groups with limited resources may qualify for the rates below. Please ask for details when you request a reservation.
Schools and other youth groups, including tourism professionals working with camp and youth groups, pay standard school group fees. See K-12 School Groups for more information.
Membership benefits and other passes are not valid for group admission.
Group Admission
*One adult chaperone required for every 10 children
Guided Tour
Guided Visits
Guided visits led by Museum educators and volunteers offer extraordinary opportunities for children to make the most of their encounters with great works of art. Interactive tours inspire children to build strong content knowledge across disciplines, and support their confidence, curiosity, and creativity.
Each tour lasts 60 minutes; feel free to continue exploring the galleries with your group after the tour!
How to Book
To request a guided visit at The Met Fifth Avenue or The Met Cloisters, complete the Camp and Community Youth Group Visit Request Form at least three weeks in advance.
Please have ready:
- Preferred date and possible alternatives
- Numbers of children and supervising adult chaperones
- Preferred guided visit topic
- Details of any educational or accessibility needs
Guided Visit Topics
At The Met Fifth Avenue, thematic topics introduce students to a range of art from different cultures. All materials are provided by the Museum.
- Exploring Art Across Cultures
See the world! Develop visual-analysis and evidence-based reasoning skills during a thematic, cross-cultural exploration of The Met collection. - Stories and Legends
It's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words; discover the power of storytelling in art across cultures.
At The Met Cloisters, tours explore the collection of medieval European art and architecture, and gardens.
- A Medieval Bestiary
Search for animals—both real and imaginary. Popular legends come alive with beasts portrayed in a variety of media and settings. - Art and Society in the Middle Ages
Explore works of art and architecture that reveal daily life, beliefs, and cross-cultural exchange in medieval Europe.
Group Size
For guided tours at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters, groups may have no fewer than ten children and no more than fifty children, with one chaperone required for every ten children. Larger groups will be divided into smaller ones in order to offer more individual attention to children in the galleries.
The Museum reserves the right to limit the number of adult chaperones participating in camp and community youth group guided visits.
Visit Schedule
Guided visits are conducted at each location as follows:
The Met Fifth Avenue: Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday, 10 am–3 pm (July-August); Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Friday, 3–3:45 pm (September-June). Limited appointments are available on weekends. Closed Wednesdays.
The Met Cloisters: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 am–3 pm, with some availability Friday through Monday, (July-August). Limited appointments are available September-June. Closed Wednesdays.
Resource for Students on the Autism Spectrum
A social narrative (PDF; best viewed in Chrome, Safari, or Firefox) prepares students on the autism spectrum for a guided school visit.
Self-Guided Visits and Lecturing
Self-guided visits offer camp and community youth group leaders the opportunity to lead their own groups on independent explorations of the Museum's collection. We encourage group leaders to familiarize themselves with The Met before bringing groups to the Museum.
Lecturing may be prohibited in some special exhibitions. The Museum cannot guarantee access to all galleries at all times.
How to Book
To request a self-guided visit at The Met Fifth Avenue or The Met Cloisters, complete the Camp and Community Youth Group Visit Request Form at least two weeks in advance.
Please have ready:
- Preferred date and possible alternatives, plus time of arrival
- Numbers of children and supervising adult chaperones
- Which collection areas you wish to visit
Group Size
Self-guided groups at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters may have no fewer than ten students and no more than fifty students, with one chaperone required for every ten students. Groups larger than 25 must divide into smaller groups before entering the galleries.
Visit Schedule
Self-guided appointments are available at each location as follows:
The Met Fifth Avenue: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 10 am–3 pm. Limited appointments available on weekends. Closed Wednesdays.
The Met Cloisters: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 12 pm–3 pm. Limited appointments available on weekends. Closed Wednesdays.*
*The Met Cloisters closes at 4:30 pm November-February.
Audio Guides
Audio Guide devices are not currently available. Stream or download the latest Audio Guide content to your personal device. Enhance your visit to The Met Cloisters with the Bloomberg Connects app.
Collection Areas
View pre-visit guides to help prepare for your group visit at The Met Fifth Avenue:
- Art of Africa
- Art of The American Wing
- Art of the Ancient Americas
- Art of the Ancient Near East
- Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia
- Art of China
- Art of Ancient Egypt
- European Paintings
- Art of Ancient Greece and Rome
- Art of Japan
- Art of Medieval Europe
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Nineteenth-Century European Painting
Frequently Asked Questions
Appointments are required for all groups visiting the Museum. To request an appointment, please fill out the School Group Visit Request Form for K–12 school groups or the Camp and Community Youth Group Visit Request Form for summer camps and community youth organizations.
Unfortunately the Museum does not have indoor lunchroom facilities. Bag lunches can be stored while you are in the galleries, but please plan to eat outside or on the bus. We encourage groups visiting The Met Fifth Avenue to picnic in neighboring Central Park before or after your visit (weather permitting). Groups visiting The Met Cloisters are encouraged to picnic in surrounding Fort Tryon Park.
Yes. The Museum welcomes children of all abilities. When requesting your youth group visit, please let us know what accommodations we can provide in order to meet your needs. You can also reference a social narrative (PDF; best viewed in Chrome, Safari, or Firefox) that prepares children on the autism spectrum for a guided visit.
Please notify us as soon as possible at schoolvisits@metmuseum.org so that we can assess the feasibility of your request. We typically permit only three chaperones per assigned guide and may not be able to accommodate the additional adults. If this is the case, the additional adults are more than welcome to do a self-guided visit and meet up with the group afterward.
All requests to change or cancel existing appointments must be made via email to schoolvisits@metmuseum.org. Please include your name, phone number, confirmation number, name of organization, and date and time of your visit. If you need to reschedule or cancel a guided visit, we kindly ask for as much advance notice as possible so that we can assign your guides to another group.
There is no school or charter bus parking in the vicinity of the Museum. We recommend referencing the New York City Department of Transportation website for bus layover locations.
Our parking garage can accommodate smaller vans. The clearance is six feet, six inches (6' 6"). Designated spaces are available in the parking garage for visitors with disabilities. Alternate arrangements can be made in advance for visitors with disabilities traveling in oversized vehicles. Please call 212-650-2010, between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
Due to the number of groups scheduled throughout the day, we ask that you arrive at your scheduled time. Your group is more than welcome to explore the rest of the Museum after your scheduled visit.
Yes, our guides will contact you seven to ten days prior to your visit to discuss your tour in more detail. They usually write to the email address you provided when you requested your visit, so be sure to check your email a week or so prior to your visit.
Yes, NYC school groups are welcome to visit during the summer. All fees are waived for verified NYC DOE summer school programs and District 75 schools. Summer enrichment programs and summer camps that operate out of NYC schools are subject to Camp and Community Group rates.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Met before bringing your group to the Museum. There are a range of resources for you, including:
- Lesson Plans
Search for lesson plans with keywords, or sort them by age, subject area, collection area, and theme. - Curriculum Resources
These comprehensive and fully illustrated guides provide useful background information and ideas for engaging children. - K–12 Educator Workshops
The Museum offers a variety of programs designed for K–12 educators that explore objects in the Museum's collections, interdisciplinary curriculum integration, and methods for teaching with objects. - Museum Map
The Museum's fully interactive map allows you to learn more about the building's layout and the artworks currently on view. - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History presents The Met collection via a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of global art history. - Curatorial Departments
Read about the Museum's seventeen curatorial departments and how they study, exhibit, and care for the objects in the collections.
Please also review Group Guidelines before bringing your group to the Museum.
I have another question that is not answered here.
We are happy to help. Contact us at schoolvisits@metmuseum.org.