Children's Museum of Acadiana

Subject: Science/Nature, History, Industry, Art

201 East Congress St.
Lafayette, LA 70501

(337) 232-8500 | General Information
(337) 232-8500 | Reservations
(337) 232-8167 | Fax

What you need to know!

General Public Hours and Admission Rates: Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 5:00pm, $5.00 per person, Free for children under 12 months old

School Tour Hours and Admission Rates: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm, Saturday 10:00am – 5:00pm; $3.00 Chaperones, $5.00 Children

Student to Chaperone Ratio Requested: 5:1
Advance Time to Make Reservations: Two weeks
Number of Students per Visit: Up to 150
Suggested Length of Time for Visit: 90 minutes
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Grade Level Appropriate: PreK – 4th ; Workshops for 5th and 6th grade students
Lunch Facilities: Picnic areas, fast-food and restaurants are in walking distance.
Gift Shop: Yes
Bus parking available

Tell Us About It!

The Children’s Museum of Acadiana’s motto is “Learning By Doing.” Children who visit the museum are delighted by a range of activities that stimulate their creativity and imagination, providing opportunities to learn through play. All the exhibits provide an opportunity to incorporate multi-sensory approaches into the school curriculum. Children learn about their environment and themselves through tactile, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimulation. Keeping with the museum’s location, this children’s museum has a heavy emphasis on French phrases and local lifestyles, for example, Petit Magasin features a grocery store where children take on the role of customer or store clerk and Café des Enfants is a role-playing restaurant exhibit. Students are sent to explore the colorful galleries in groups of five with an adult chaperone. Museum staff is in each gallery to help kids get into the fun-of-doing.

What Can We See and Do There?

Where to begin? Kids travel from exhibit area to role playing area, creating, deducing, deciding, planning, and experimenting. Kids are encouraged to try new things and to make connections to real life activities. Kid Care is a health information gallery and a hospital; Kids Cash simulates computerized banking where children can set up an account, deposit, and withdraw museum money. Leap in to Math offers 4th grade students fun with math concepts and The Reuseum invites children into art workshops using reusable materials. Les TV des Enfants spotlights a TV station where young visitors can broadcast news and weather reports. Art experiences are provided in Domino Designs and Dot, Doodles & Drawing. Science exhibits include: To Tell the Tooth, Light Table, and Stuffee, a large doll complete with internal organs. The Cypress Gallery includes social studies exhibits entitled “Oh, The Places You Will Know” with a curriculum guide available on-line and in the museum. Teachers and parents can plan a full morning or afternoon at this hands-on museum.

How Do We Get There?

From I-10 east or west, take Exit 103A south to Lafayette. This route becomes Evangeline Thwy. Proceed 2.2 miles right on Jefferson St., 0.3 miles left on Garfield St., right on Taylor St. Please call the museum for special directions for bus traffic.

Bad Weather! Now What Do We Do?

This field trip is indoors in a climate-controlled building.

Louisiana State Educational Benchmarks and Standards

K-4th grades: SI-E-A1-7; LS-E-A5; LS-E-B4; E-1A-E1-11;
E-1B-E1-5; N4-6; M1, 4, 5

What Can We Do In Class Before Our Field Trip?

Call for a copy or for information about the museum’s publications which outline connections to school curriculum. Museum staff are also available to assist teachers with connecting classroom content to the museum’s exhibits.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H Out Your Field Trip Benefits

For grades above kindergarten, teachers can contact museum staff who can suggest post-visit classroom activities. Ask about their language arts lesson plan for 3rd and 4th grades.