10 Fun Facts About the Louisiana Art & Science Museum

1. The Louisiana Art & Science Museum is housed in a historic railroad station. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 1994, as the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Co. Depot and will celebrate its 100^th anniversary in 2025. 

2. When Mike the Tiger I came to town on October 21, 1936, he arrived at the train station that currently houses the museum. That day, classes were canceled as students paraded through the city awaiting Mike's arrival. 

3. LASM offers art classes for seniors. Thanks to a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), “Healthy Aging with LASM” is a three-year arts and wellness program serving senior adults in our eleven-parish capital region. This program is supported through a partnership with the Capital Area Agency on Aging, the Baton Rouge General Arts in Medicine Program, and Dr. Rebecca Bartlett. Healthy Aging with LASM is also supported by the Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation and the Louisiana Department of Revenue's Louisiana Nonprofit and Small Business Assistance Program.

4. LASM's Ancient Egypt gallery houses Ptolemaic period (323BC—30BC) artifacts, including a Ptolemaic-era mummy resting in a rock-cut tomb. The museum will celebrate the 60^th anniversary of the mummy joining LASM’s collection in 2024.

5. LASM is also home to a 65-million-year-old Triceratops skull, on loan from Raising Cane’s and the Graves family. Nicknamed "Jason", the skull was unearthed in 2011 on a private ranch in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. It measures 86 inches long. 

6. Pinpointing the Stars, in LASM's Universe Gallery, features works from the permanent collection highlighting the planetarium’s history, the timeline of its development, and its focus on the stars. The Irene W. Pennington Planetarium will celebrate its 20^th anniversary in 2023.

7. Illustrating Health, in the upstairs Main Gallery, sheds light on the importance of medical illustrations, featuring 72 pieces by more than 50 Louisiana Tech students that focus on physical, mental, and community health, biomedical research, and community engagement. 

8. LASM is home to the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in Louisiana and one of the largest in the southeastern United States. The  171-seat planetarium features sky shows, large-format films, visual music shows, and weekly Stargazing. Check out the two-story Planet Tower on your way out of the planetarium!

9. LASM's permanent collection features work by prominent Louisiana artists including Ed Pramuk, Malaika Favorite, Libby Johnson, and Randell Henry. Work by New Orleans artist Ashley Longshore is currently on display in LASM's Main Gallery with her exhibition titled, Diamonds of History: Mighty Women by Ashley Longshore.

10. LASM’s executive directors have all been women. In its sixty-year history, Adalié Brent (1963-1979), Carol Gikas (1980-2018), and Serena Pandos (2019-present) shaped LASM’s legacy as an iconic educational and cultural institution in Louisiana.