Baton Rouge Parents Magazine

Planting the seeds of STEAM: A look inside LASM’s newest interactive, STEAM-based gallery

By LASM

In 2022, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum began a four-phase capital improvement campaign to renovate the museum’s hands-on areas into four interactive, STEAM-based spaces, beginning with Science Station’s transformation into “The Seed” gallery. LASM is excited to unveil this newly renovated space to the Baton Rouge community with its grand opening on Saturday, January 27th.

In “The Seed,” aspiring artists and scientists will be able to explore Earth’s 118 elements with LASM’s Interactive Periodic Table, sponsored by BASF; solve engineering challenges with LASM’s Rube Goldberg Machine Wall, sponsored by Canadian National Railway; engage in hands-on activities inspired by the wide array of items in the museum’s permanent collection in “The Seed’s” Curiosity Zone, sponsored by the Dudley W. Coates Family; and much more.

“STEAM is the future of our workforce, and LASM’s newest hands-on gallery represents the ultimate convergence of STEAM with hands-on education,” states LASM Board Chair Elizabeth Canfield. “LASM will ‘plant the seeds of STEAM’ by providing our community with new opportunities to engage with interactive exhibits and hands-on activities that will encourage critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity.”

Updates to the STEAM Lab (Phase 2), Discovery Depot Workshop (Phase 3), and Discovery Depot (Phase 4) will follow the opening of “The Seed” to complete a renovated area of LASM called “The STEAM Station.”

“We are so grateful to the many generous donors, community partners, and Gala supporters who have made these renovations possible,” continues Canfield. “We are already looking forward to our next phases of upgrades and are eager to complete ‘The STEAM Station.’”

All funds raised by LASM’s annual Galas in 2022 and 2023 directly supported this four-phase capital project. The final Gala raising funds to complete “The STEAM Station” will be LASM’s 39th Annual Gala on Friday, October 4, 2024.

To learn more, visit lasm.org.