Endangered Animals
Students who love ecology and conservation will be thrilled with a visit to the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, about an hour’s drive from New Orleans across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway Bridge. This attraction is home to more than 4,000 exotic, endangered and threatened animals from all over the world.
The largest free-roaming wildlife preserve in the country, this 900-acre complex includes 12 ponds and a lake, as well as numerous bison, giraffes, zebras, camels and elands and many more wild animals. Groups can take an hourlong wagon safari through the refuge, where they can see the animals up close and even feed some of them. Private jeep safaris are available for groups of eight or fewer.
The Global Wildlife Center offers special programming for school groups, as well as a gift shop and other amenities. Visitor areas can become crowded during peak seasons, so travel planners are encouraged to make reservations for their groups several weeks in advance.
An Intimate Aquarium
The newest student-focused attraction in the state is the Shreveport Aquarium, which opened in northern Louisiana on November 1, 2017. Groups that visit the aquarium will find more than 3,000 animals on display, representing more than 270 species.
The Shreveport Aquarium is designed to be smaller and more manageable than the famous aquariums in large cities throughout the United States. That small size doesn’t limit the immersion experience, though. Visitors travel through brightly colored coral reefs, alongside re-created shipwrecks, through dark ocean caves and into beautiful tropical lagoons. Along the way they see a wealth of exotic sea creatures and get the opportunity to interact with sharks, rays, jellyfish and other marine animals at touch tanks throughout the aquarium.
The aquarium was designed to be environmentally friendly and features renewable energy, water recycling and educational messages on conservation. Groups can plan to have a meal at the on-site restaurant, Salt, which can provide casual or upscale fare.
