Baton Rouge | Nuts & Bolts | Venues | Tours | Getting Here
Baton Rouge
The Louisiana Art & Science Museum and Irene W. Pennington Planetarium are pleased to host the International Planetarium Society's 21st biennial conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, July 22-26, 2012. The Pennington Planetarium is located on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge, the historic and bustling capital of Louisiana.
IPS 2012 Nuts & Bolts
The official IPS conference dates are Sunday, July 22 through Thursday, July 26, 2012. The IPS Council meeting will take place on Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22, 2012. After the conference, on Friday, July 27, 2012, there will be post-conference tour options and, possibly, an IMERSA summit.
Conference registration fees are estimated at $375. Hotel fees are locked in at $149 nightly, plus tax. Mid-conference tour fees will be $35 and the banquet fee will be $95.
IPS 2012 Conference Venues
All of the conference venues for IPS 2012 are conveniently located within short walking distance. Cick here for an aerial shot of the venues. The Baton Rouge River Center will be the epicenter for IPS 2012 conference activities. With 200,000 sq. feet / 18,500 sq. meters of available space, there is plenty of room for vendors, workshops and conference sessions. The official conference hotel is the 4-Diamond rated Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center. We have 300 rooms and suites locked in for IPS delegates at this recently renovated, historic hotel. The Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center will serve as our overflow hotel. Between the planetarium theater and flatscreen auditorium, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum can seat 350 delegates at one time. We will also be using the 325 seat Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts for large group sessions.
IPS 2012 Conference Tours
During IPS 2012, we will showcase the best that south Louisiana has to offer in the worlds of science, culture, and technology. Spread along the Mississippi River, from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, are numerous restored, antebellum plantation homes. A bus tour to one or two of these historic homes will be a perfect opportunity to learn about the cuture and heritage of the region. During IPS 2012, delegates will also be able to visit LIGO Livingston, the LITE facility in Lafayette, or tour the French Quarter in New Orleans. Post-conference tour opportunities include NASA's Stennis Space Center and the Michoud Assembly Facility, both of which play key roles in the new Constellation program.
Getting Here
Baton Rouge is easily accessible by land or from the air. 514 cities on six continents are one stop or less from either the Baton Rouge or New Orleans airports. The New Orleans airport is about an hour away from downtown Baton Rouge, and while it does offer more daily flights, and slightly lower prices than the Baton Rouge airport, a rental car or expensive shuttle will be necessary to reach the conference site. However, if you fly into the Baton Rouge airport, a free shuttle will take you right to the door of your downtown hotel. Continental Airlines is the official airline of IPS 2012 and will offer a discount on air travel to all delegates.