Cajun Swamp Tours
Few experiences are more quintessential to Louisiana than the swamp tour. In and around Lafayette, the capital of Cajun country, numerous swamp tour companies offer groups the opportunity to explore the bayous and the fascinating plants and animals that inhabit them.
Cajun Country Swamp Tours is run by a father-son team focused on eco-tours that make as little environmental impact as possible. Guests sail aboard crawfish skiffs through a cypress swamp. Another company, McGee’s Louisiana Swamp Tours and Adventures, takes groups through the Atchafalaya Swamp on high-powered airboats for fast-paced 90-minute adventures.
More active groups may choose to explore the wetlands in canoes or kayaks. Numerous outfitters in the area, such as Champagne’s Swamp Tours, rent equipment and provide guides who can keep students safe and informed on narrated expeditions. Along the way, participants will paddle through the oak-draped cypress groves of Lake Martin and see wildlife such as alligators, bald eagles, osprey, egrets and nutria.
Art and Science Center
In the capital city of Baton Rouge, student groups of all ages will find wonderful educational opportunities at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum. In a historic 1925 railway station downtown on the Mississippi River, the museum is designed to inspire students with a love of creativity and knowledge.
Many museums focus on either fine art or science, but this institution combines elements of both. Visitors will find a permanent collection of more than 4,000 works of art, including classics from America and Europe, as well as contemporary and modern art created by Louisiana artists. An exhibition on ancient Egypt includes a mummy dating to around 300 B.C., as well as many other artifacts. And other galleries direct visitors’ attention to outer space, with exhibits on the solar system and points beyond.
Nearly half of the Art and Science Museum’s visitors are schoolchildren, so the staff offers a variety of programs for groups, including hands-on galleries, planetarium shows and interactive theater experiences.