Students interested in art and want to learn more about it can take a trip on the NIU “Get on the Bus” program.

This program allows for students, staff, faculty and community members to take a bus ride and visit art fairs, art exhibitions, art museums, art studios, private collections, architecture and archeological sites, said Jo Burke, director of the NIU art museum.

“I generally find that the amount of time people will devote to looking at art varies tremendously,” Burke said. “Unless we are on a guided tour, that our trip participants appreciate the independence of looking at artwork at their own pace.”

The trips include visits to Sheboygan, Des Moines, Racine, Milwaukee, Iowa City, Springfield, Champaign and Chicago.

Burke said the excursions have included the Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies Van de Rohe sites, the Pompeii and Cleopatra exhibits at the Field Museum, the arts and crafts collection at Crab Tree Farm, special exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Renaissance Society.

Prices depend on the cost for labor, gas and vehicle rental, which have all gone up in the past few years. In general, the prices include $12 for transportation for NIU Art Museum members, $15 for students and seniors 65 years old and up and $18 for all others, Burke said.

Burke hopes participants learn and discover the city of Chicago and meet new people who are interested in art.

“I like that our trips are intergenerational,” Burke said. “It gives NIU students an opportunity to meet community members and for the community members to meet our students.”

NIU accountant Terri Smialek has participated in the program for five years. She said she enjoys taking these trips to learn and to see new exhibits.

“It’s a way to see different forms of art and artists,” Smialek said. “It’s an opportunity to be involved with something different.”