A Louisiana State University capital campaign has raised more than $5 million for a new visitor center set to open this fall at the LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge. The 20,000-square-foot, air-conditioned building will feature exhibit space, craft demonstrations, classrooms, an interpretive movie room and expanded gift shop.

The outdoor museum consists of more than 25 historic buildings, including a shotgun house, jail, pioneer’s cabin with potato house and corn crib, and a 1710 Acadian house, the oldest building in Louisiana. The Barn contains hundreds of tools, vehicles and other artifacts dealing with everyday rural life up to the early 20th century. In the working plantation area is a complex of buildings authentically furnished to depict major activities on a 19th century plantation. The adjacent Windrush Gardens contains 25 acres of semiformal gardens.

Student group tours are available for grades pre-K through 12. Click here for reservation information.

For more information about the museum, visit http://www.rurallife.lsu.edu.

The West Virginia State Museum, a popular attraction for student travel groups,  recently reopened on June 21. With more than 24,000 square feet of exhibit space, the newly designed museum features the state’s land, culture and people. Located on the lower level of the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, it tells the state’s history along a show path that includes more than 6,000 historic artifacts, documentaries and news films, photography and art murals.

The show path begins at 300 million BC with a look at the geology and prehistoric cultures of the state and continues to modern day with a focus on our traditions, arts and culture. Along the way, visitors will see the state’s history through frontier times, the Civil War and industrialization. The museum includes a special tribute to West Virginia’s service men and women with a discovery room dedicated to their patriotism and service. The museum is designed for self-guided tours so visitors can enjoy the museum at their own pace.

The West Virginia State Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. There is no admission charge. Information about student group tours is available from the museum’s guest services staff at 304-558-0220. Information about the museum can be found on the Division of Culture and History website.