Baton Rouge - Louisiana State University

Ten different flags have flown over Louisiana and the lifestyles and cultures of these pre-industrial Louisianan's are presented at the LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge.

Highlights include Louisiana Folk Architecture, a collection of seven buildings that illustrate the various cultural influences of Louisiana's settlers; The Barn with items from prehistoric times to the 20th century; and The Working Plantation, a complex of buildings furnished to reconstruct the activities of life on a 19th century working plantation. Among the Folk Architecture are a church, cabin, Acadian house, potato house, and others.

Tours are generally self guided but docent-led tours are available for adults or children if the group is large enough and reservations are made in advance. While most of the complex is wheelchair accessible, half of the historic buildings are not.

The Andonie Museum is dedicated to sports related memorabilia, as well as artifacts and art objects significant to the history and development of Lousiana State University. The museum began with a donation of 13,000 pieces of sports memorabilia from Jack and Priscilla Andonie.

The LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge is located in the Shaw Center for the Arts and contains original 17th through mid-19th-century period rooms from England and America. Collections include prints and original works of art, New Orleans-made silver, Newcomb College crafts, 19th-century lighting devices, and oil and watercolor paintings.

The LSU Museum of Natural Science in Baton Rouge is located in Foster Hall at Louisiana State University. The museum features nine dioramas depicting the flora and fauna of North America and examples of Louisiana's diverse animal life.

The Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge is a 125,000 square-foot art museum and theatre The museum, located on the fifth floor, features more than 17,000 square feet of space with temporary exhibits and permanent collections. It looks out over the Mississippi River. The Manship Theatre offers a venue for a variety of performing arts, from music and dance to theater. The space offers seating for up to 325 people.

The Shaw Center opened in 2005 and is an award winning building. The exterior shows channel glass and aluminum and was designed to protect against hurricanes. Inside can be found a number of restaurants and a coffee house, as well as the LSU Museum of Art Store.

The Center was also designed with education in mind. It is also home to the LSU School of Art Gallery, along with classrooms for art and music.