Tips for Planning Your Visit to SAM

Plan Ahead

Registration at least three weeks in advance is required for school groups visiting any of SAM’s three locations. Guided and self-guided visits to SAM must be scheduled online; requests are processed in the order received. Mail, fax or phone requests are not accepted. The museum cannot accommodate unscheduled groups. If you would like your group to stay in the museum and continue viewing exhibits after a guided program, please be sure to request a self-guided visit on your registration form. There is no additional fee for a self-guided visit on the same day as a guided program, and self-guided visits have no time limit.

Resources

The Wyckoff Teacher Resource Center, located at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, is a lending library with over 4000 resources for educators. For resources to enhance your classrooms visit to the museum call 206.654.3185 or visit the TRC online.

Group Size + Chaperones

A single group can range from 1–35 students. At least 1 chaperone is required for every 6 students in grades K–2 and 1 chaperone for every 10 students in grades 3–12. Chaperones receive free admission and are expected to engage with students in the artistic experience as well as manage student discipline. Students must remain with chaperones at all times.

Museum Guided Visits

A museum or park guide (docent) will contact you approximately one week before your visit to confirm your reservation and answer any questions you may have. Please avoid giving students assignments to complete during the guided tours and workshops. These experiences are interactive and require dialogue between guides and students.

Storage Space

If possible, leave items such as lunches or backpacks in vehicles. Limited storage bins are available on site. Self-guided groups should inquire at the Admission Desk about available storage bins for lunches.

Name Tags

To encourage interaction and assist museum staff with idenfitication of scheduled self-guided groups, each student should wear a name-tag with their first name and school.

Photography

Photography of the artwork is not permitted in the galleries. The art objects are copyrighted and flash photography can damage the artwork.

Pencils Only

Pens may not be used in the museum. If you plan to have your students draw or write after the tour, you must supply clipboards and pencils.

Emergencies

Although we do not anticipate any emergencies occurring during your visit, it is always best to be prepared. Immediately contact the nearest Visitor Services Officer (Security) for assistance with any medical or other emergency.

Museum Stores

Only 5 students accompanied by a chaperone may visit a SAM SHOP location at a given time.

Lunch

SAM Downtown

Groups may eat sack lunches on the Art Ladder staircase or outside on the University Street stairs. These spaces are not guaranteed, so we advise that you plan alternate locations for eating lunch.

Seattle Asian Art Museum

Volunteer Park is an ideal place to have a picnic. In case of rain, groups may be able to eat lunch in the Alvord Board Room vestibule. Please ask a representative at the Admissions Desk if access to this space is available. This space is not guaranteed, so we advise that you plan alternate locations for eating lunch.

Olympic Sculpture Park

The Olympic Sculpture Park is a great place to eat sack lunches outdoors! In light rain, we recommend you eat under the eaves on the north PACCAR Pavilion Terrace. Limited indoor space may be available during extreme inclement weather. Please inquire at the Information Desk upon arrival.

School Bus and Car Transportation

SAM Downtown

Groups meeting a museum guide (docent) should enter the museum at the First Avenue and University Street entrance by the Hammering Man.

Self-guided school groups enter the museum at either the First Avenue and University Street entrance, or the First Avenue and Union Street entrance and proceed to the Admissions Desk in Brotman Forum.

Bus parking is not available at the museum; however, parking is available at the following locations:

• Alaskan Way: Free bus parking on the west side of Alaskan Way, north of the Seattle Aquarium
• Western Avenue: Free bus parking on Western Avenue behind Pike Place Market
• First Avenue: Free bus parking on First Avenue between Atlantic and Massachusetts Avenues near Safeco Field.

Additional directions to local parking areas will be included with your confirmation letter.

Seattle Asian Art Museum

Students should be dropped off and picked up in front of the museum. Free bus parking is available in Volunteer Park. The best place to park is north of the museum along the street; however, buses are not limited to that area. Free car parking is also available in Volunteer Park. Many spaces are in front of the museum or along the side streets.

Olympic Sculpture Park

Students should be dropped off and picked up in front of PACCAR Pavilion on Western Avenue, just north of Broad Street. School bus parking is available in metered areas on streets south of the park and on Alaskan Way just north of the Seattle Aquarium. Paid car parking is available in the parking garage below PACCAR Pavilion and on neighboring streets.

Bus Funding

Partial reimbursement for school bus transportation costs is available on a first-come, first-served basis to classes with 40% or more students on a subsidized lunch program. Please indicate your interest in partial bus reimbursement on your registration form.

Public Transportation

For detailed information, contact Metro Transit at 206.553.3000.

• SAM Downtown

  Many Metro buses serve SAM downtown along First Avenue. Detailed rider information is available by calling Metro at 206.553.3000, Sound Transit at 206.398.5000 or Community Transit at 206.353.7433.

• Seattle Asian Art Museum

  Metro bus #10 stops along 15th Avenue behind the museum. Follow one of the walking paths through Volunteer Park to the museum.

• Olympic Sculpture Park

  Metro buses #1, 2, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, and 56 stop along First Avenue just one block east of the park on Broad Street. Other buses service Second Avenue.
  
  

Weather at the Olympic Sculpture Park

We hope you will have a lovely sunny day for your visit! However, in Seattle, we know inclement weather is possible. Please prepare your students for all conditions. We advise that each student bring an umbrella and/or rain gear. We will only cancel a tour or an outdoor Art in Action workshop for extreme weather conditions. If a program is cancelled, you will be notified so we can reschedule your group for another day. Call the Tour Coordinator at 206.654.3123 with any weather-related concerns.

Tour Coordinator

If you need to reach the museum about your visit, please contact the tour coordinator at 206.654.3123 or schooltours@seattleartmuseum.org.