About

Mission, Vision, & History

Our Mission

We seek to enhance the understanding and appreciation of art and science for general audiences and students by presenting unique, educational and entertaining experiences that encourage discovery, inspire creativity, and foster the pursuit of knowledge.

Our Vision

We envision a community of lifelong explorers inspired by art and science.

The Louisiana Art & Science Museum is defined by the belief that the disciplines of art and science shape and inform one another and that interdisciplinary experiences enhance the audience’s ability to make connections and discover new ways of seeing and thinking. The Art & Science Museum is located in a 1925 historic railway station on the banks of the Mississippi River in a thriving downtown area. The Art & Science Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and has an annual attendance of 175,000, with over one-half of this audience being school program participants.

The Big Picture

Our History

Housed in a historic railroad depot on the banks of the Mississippi River, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum offers educational entertainment for visitors of all ages. The art galleries showcase changing fine art exhibitions and selections from the permanent collection. In the interactive art and science galleries designed just for children, creative and enlightening fun comes in many forms. The Ancient Egypt Gallery houses ancient artifacts and a Ptolemaic-era mummy that rests in a re-created rock-cut tomb. The Irene W. Pennington Planetarium features sky shows, large-format films, visual music shows, and galleries devoted to space science. In the Museum Store at the Art & Science Museum, visitors enjoy shopping for unique handcrafted merchandise, books, toys, and a large selection of objects related to the Museum's exhibits.

Louisiana Art & Science Museum serves the community through lectures, workshops, classes, teacher in services, camps, and other programming. The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers.

The Art & Science Museum receives generous operating support from the East Baton Rouge City Parish Government and members of the Museum. Louisiana Art & Science Museum is also supported in part by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal agency.

The Museum is located at 100 River Road South in downtown Baton Rouge. The building is next to the Mississippi River and is west of and across River Road from the Old State Capitol. Metered parking may be available in front of the Museum on River Road. Additional street parking is available on North Boulevard, Convention Street and adjacent parking lots. For a complete parking guide for the downtown area, please visit the Baton Rouge Downtown Development District.

1960 The Baton Rouge Art and Science Center (BRASC) adopts its Articles on Incorporation.
1963 Act 26 of the state legislature creates the Louisiana Art and Science Center (LASC). The Committee for a Better Baton Rouge campaigns to acquire the vacant Old Governor's Mansion, which the museum moves into the following year.
1967 The city-parish government issues bonds to fund a Zeiss planetarium as part of LASC.
1971 The former Illinois Central Railroad passenger station built in 1925 by the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Company is leased to the City of Baton Rouge with the provision that it be used only by LASC. The train depot serves as a complement to the main museum housed in the Old Governor's Mansion.
1972 LASC receives accreditation from the American Association of Museums.
1976 LASC fully moves into Baton Rouge's former Illinois Central Railroad passenger station after two years of renovations. This location was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
1980 Restoration of the Old Governor's Mansion as a historic house museum is completed.
1996 LASC begins working with the State to transfer stewardship of the Old Governor's Mansion back to the State. LASC begins transferring ownership of the mansion's collection to the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, allowing the mansion to continue as a historic house museum.
2001 LASC's name is changed to Louisiana Art and Science Museum (LASM).
2003 An extensive phase of additions to the building is completed, and LASM opens the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium and the Bert S. Turner Family Atrium. In the year following the additions, attendance increases from 55,300 to 298,016.
2016 The Museum completes the main chase of a full rebranding project that began in early 2013. The initialism of "LASM" is discontinued, a new website is created, and a new logo is launched.

Our Supporters

Many philanthropic individuals, businesses, and corporations help the Art & Science Museum provide our community with quality programming. Sponsorships help bridge the gap between the high cost of first-rate educational programs and the reduced fees charged to participating school groups from disadvantaged areas.