Free
The Joslyn provides digital resources to use in classrooms and during visits to the Museum. Discover gallery activities, lesson plans, teaching posters, and more to enrich your curriculum.
Learning Resources
Self-Guided Resources
Need materials to prepare for or engage your students during a self-guided visit? Review, print, and distribute these resources to your chaperones to ensure your students have a meaningful experience in The Joslyn’s galleries. Writing and sketching with pencils only is allowed.
Art Chats
Art Chats may be used in The Joslyn’s galleries or in your classroom to start a conversation about a work of art. Organized by the collecting areas, these are adaptable for learners of all ages; available in English and some are also available in Spanish.
Download and distribute before your visit or in your classroom.
Collecting Areas:
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Arte mediterráneo antiguo
Digital Guide
Prepare for or enhance your visit with The Joslyn digital guide available on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Use one of the tours we created or assign specific works for your students to access (choose from over fifty works with bilingual content).
How to use the digital guide: While at the Museum, when you see the mobile device icon, enter the three-digit number next to it to “lookup” and access content related to a work of art or area of The Joslyn. Use the map to find your way around the Museum and travel to the exhibitions on view. Bring a charged mobile device and headphones (for listening to the audio content).
PK-12 Teacher Note: Preview all content before sharing with your students.
Gallery Activities
Art Cards provide ideas to make your visit more engaging. Adaptable for learners of all ages; available in both English and Spanish. Download and distribute before your visit or pick up in the Cafe Atrium near the big screen.
BIG PICTURE QUESTIONS – For Art Curious Adults
HOW TO LOOK AT ART – Four Easy Steps For Art Curious Adults
IMAGINATIVE PLAY – For All Ages
PREGUNTAS GENERALES – Para adultos curiosos por el arte
COMÓ MIRAR EL ARTE – Cuatro sencillos pasos para adultos curiosos por el arte
JUEGO IMAGINATIVO – Para todas las edades
TÓMENSE SU TIEMPO – Para todas las edades
Temporary Exhibitions
Café Society: Art and Sociality in Paris, 1855–1914 learning resources:
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The Café Society Teaching Poster features artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s Divan Japonais print, the lithography process, and information about café nightlife in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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COMING SOON! Café Society bilingual mobile tour. Free resource; available on Bloomberg Connects. PK-12 Teacher Note: Preview all content before sharing with your students.
- The Joslyn on Pinterest: Café Society features digital curriculum resources.
Regarding Nudity
Galleries display work produced throughout history, and some depict nudity. The Art Institute of Chicago’s Talking with Students about the Human Body and Nudity in Art educator resource provides helpful talking points for common questions to facilitate conversations:
Why do so many works of art focus on the body or nudity?
Every person has a body. And artists have always been curious about people—how they look and how they act.
Why has this artist used nudity in their art?
Artists make choices in the creation of their work, including in how they show the human form.
Why does this art make me feel awkward?
Art can make us feel many different ways: inspired, curious, delighted, awkward, silly, embarrassed, angry, confused, etc. That’s okay!
Access the Art Institute of Chicago’s educator resource to learn more.
Curriculum Resources
Art Starts are creative engagement sheets meant to spark inspiration for classroom lessons, including writing and sketching prompts. You may also use these tools to enhance conversations before, during, and after your visit to The Joslyn.
Download the elements’ sheets individually:
Download the entire suite:
Teaching Posters
Explore art in the classroom with Joslyn’s Teaching Posters! Each download pairs a stunning image from the Museum’s collection with engaging background information—about the artist, the artwork, and its time and place. Perfect for PK–12 and beyond, these posters make art approachable, inspiring, and ready to spark curiosity.