Visit the museum and participate in our grade-specific, guided school experiences, which can include both tours and hands-on workshops, all curated around different themes reflected in Walt's life, work, and legacy.
Grades 1‑3
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri 10am–noon
In the galleries, students discover the importance of storytelling in animation by engaging in interactive activities focused on the concepts of character, setting, and plot. In the Learning Center, they will illustrate and animate a story using a zoetrope, a device that produces the illusion of motion in a sequence of drawings.
Grades 3‑6
Wed, Thu & Fri | 10am–noon & 1–3pm
Thanks to a new partnership with The Society of California Pioneers (located just steps away from the museum), students begin this program at The Society’s research library engaging with primary source materials, creating a narrative, and collecting images. The second half of their hands-on...
Grades 4‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu, & Fri 10am–noon
In the galleries, students discover how Walt encouraged his staff to experiment with special effects to make animation more interesting and realistic, and how the resulting advancements in technology enhanced Disney animation and inspired the industry as a whole. In the Learning Center, students experiment with a Multiplane Camera, explore how depth is created in animation, and create their own digital short films.
Grades 6‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri | 10am–noon & 1–3pm
Classes tour the core galleries in search of unique hand-drawn special effects in Disney classics from 1937 to 1966. Students discuss The Walt Disney Studios’ technological innovations, like the Multiplane Camera that brought Walt’s stories to life. In the Learning Center, students are challenged to...
Grades TK‑1
Mon, Wed, Thu, & Fri | 10–11:30am
On this tour, our littlest students learn all about the importance of color in animation. In the galleries, children explore how color is used as a form of storytelling to set the mood of animated movies. In the Learning Center, they enjoy story time and create their own color scripts to gain a hands-on understanding of how colors can help tell a story.
Grades 1‑3
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri 10am–noon
In the galleries, students step into Walt’s shoes, using their imaginations as they discover exciting moments in his life and the history of animation. In the Learning Center, students star in their own short animated movie using an engaging stop-motion technique called “pixilation” to gain a hands-on understanding of the animation process.
Grades 6‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu, & Fri | 10am–noon and 1–3pm
In the galleries, students consider the work of Walt’s Imagineers, who worked at WED Enterprises during the 1950s and ’60s to imagine, research, design, and build some of Disney’s most iconic and revolutionary projects and attractions. In the Learning Center, students apply these concepts to...
Grades 6‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri | 10am–noon & 1–3pm
In the galleries, students encounter Audio-Animatronics, a technology first invented by WED Enterprises during the early 1960s. As a forerunner to contemporary robotics, the Audio-Animatronics technology inspires students to apply critical thinking skills during this hands-on workshop.
Grades 3‑6
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri | 10am-1pm
With HI USA, It's a Shared World explores Walt Disney's lifelong commitment to environmental education, international travel and intercultural understanding. From driving an ambulance in Europe during WWI to pioneering nature documentaries, Walt Disney wanted to make a difference on a global scale....
Grades 4‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu, & Fri | 10am–noon
In the galleries, students discover the importance of storytelling in animation by engaging in interactive activities focused on the concepts of character, setting, and plot. In the Learning Center, they work collaboratively to create a polished storyboard that illustrates the key components of a story.
Grades TK‑1
Mon, Wed, Thu & Fri | 10–11:30am & 1–2:30pm
Students learn about Walt Disney and his team of Imagineers to see how their creativity and dreams led to the construction of Disneyland. During the workshop, students create a ride blueprint, collaboratively prototype designs by assembling and testing a variety of ride tracks, and (like real...
Grades 1‑12
Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri | 10am–4pm
School groups are welcome to explore the museum’s galleries on their own at a discounted school rate. Self-guided school groups have access to the museum’s core galleries, special exhibitions, and film screenings. Be sure to pick up a STEAM Self-Guide handout for each student to use while touring the core galleries.
Additional Resources
Scholarship Programs
We are committed to quality education and providing every student with the opportunity to benefit from our curriculum-based school experiences. To ensure that under-resourced schools can take part in our school experiences, we offer two scholarship programs.
Admission Waivers
Scholarships are available for museum admission for all Title I schools. Please indicate your Title I status on your registration form or contact education@wdfmuseum.org for more information.
Bus Scholarships
Bus scholarships are available for field trips scheduled during the academic year for Title I schools in the San Francisco Unified School District. Teachers are responsible for booking their own buses.