Homeschool Discounts in Louisiana (2026) — New Orleans Museums & the Audubon Zoo

New Orleans carries Louisiana's homeschool lineup. The Louisiana Children's Museum books group field trips at $7 a person against a $22.95 gate, and the Audubon Nature Institute drops its $30 zoo and aquarium to $12.50–$20 a student for visiting school and co-op groups. A homeschool group of 15 to 20 fills the minimums at either — and the city's free-museum density (the Cabildo, the Old U.S. Mint, the Historic New Orleans Collection) stretches a school day even further.

Upstate keeps pace. Shreveport's Sci-Port Discovery Center names homeschool groups outright at its $10-per-student field-trip rate (IMAX included), and Lafayette's Vermilionville living-history village runs $5-a-student group tours. Across the rest of the state, Louisiana's free admission days — first Sundays at the Baton Rouge art and history museums, free Wednesdays at the Audubon attractions for residents — give homeschool families a no-cost route too. Book group rates two-plus weeks ahead and gather a co-op to hit the 15–20 minimum.

Your Louisiana homeschool toolkit

Local resources worth bookmarking

Start here

Louisiana homeschool laws

Notice, recordkeeping & assessment rules — straight from the source.

Read Louisiana's requirements →

Check your local library

Free museum passes, classes, makerspaces & interlibrary loan — the cheapest field trips there are. Ask what they offer homeschoolers.

Find Louisiana libraries →

Always ask about homeschool rates

Many venues give 30–50% off (sometimes free) and never advertise it. Call ahead and ask for a homeschool, education, or co-op rate before you pay.

State parks & history

Free and cheap educational programming statewide — nature centers, historic sites, junior-ranger days.

State parks → · Louisiana history →

Free Louisiana homeschool printables

Print, pin & take along — no email needed

Free PDF worksheets to bring on any Louisiana field trip. Print as many copies as you like.

My Louisiana Study

A one-page state study your child fills in — capital, state symbols, flag, and a place to visit.

Download PDF →

Field trip scavenger hunt

A find-it checklist that works at any museum, park, or downtown outing. Reusable every trip.

Download PDF →

Nature journal

A draw-and-observe page for park, trail, and garden days — senses, sketches, and a leaf rubbing.

Download PDF →

Landmarks I want to see in Louisiana

A checklist to fill in — the parks and famous places in Louisiana you want to visit, with a box to tick off each one.

Download PDF →

See all our free printables →

Confirmed homeschool pricing

Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.

Offers

Field Trips

Wed–Fri · 2-hr blocks, 9:30/10 am

per kid · adult $7

Louisiana Children's Museum

New Orleans · GroupExperience@lcm.org or (504) 266-2402

The 56,000-square-foot City Park children's museum books homeschool groups at $7 a head — well under its $22.95 gate — for two hours across four play-based learning galleries. A co-op of 15 meets the minimum easily; the surrounding free City Park makes a no-cost afternoon after.

Regular admission: $22.95 / $18.95 seniors — Under a third of the gate

Homeschool page at lcm.org →

Offers

Field Trips

By booking · Groups of 20+

$12.50

per kid

Audubon Zoo

New Orleans · Group form; (504) 861-2537

The top-ranked Audubon Zoo — white alligators, tigers, an African savanna under moss-draped oaks — books school and youth groups (20+) at $12.50 a student for visiting co-ops ($7.50 for Orleans Parish schools), a fraction of its $30 gate. A homeschool co-op qualifies; the Aquarium & Insectarium downtown offer the same group structure.

Regular admission: $30 adults / $25 kids 2–12 — Well under half the $30 gate

Homeschool page at audubonnatureinstitute.org →

Offers

Field Trips

By booking · Groups of 10+

$10

per kid · adult $10

Sci-Port Discovery Center

Shreveport · reservations@sciport.org; (318) 424-3466

Louisiana's science center on the Shreveport riverfront names homeschool groups explicitly in its field-trip policy: $10 a head for 10-plus students, one teacher free per ten, with cheap IMAX add-ons. The space, water, and engineering galleries anchor the region's top STEM field trip.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $12 kids 3–12 — $10 with IMAX add-ons available

Homeschool page at sci-port.org →

Offers

Group Visits

Tue–Sat

per kid

Vermilionville

Lafayette · engagement@bayouvermiliondistrict.org; (337) 233-4077

Lafayette's 23-acre Cajun and Creole living-history village books student groups at $5 a head — costumed artisans demonstrate 1765–1890 Acadiana life across restored and replica buildings along Bayou Vermilion. A homeschool co-op of 20 meets the group minimum.

Regular admission: $12 adults / $7 students 5–18 — Student group rate plus costumed living history

Homeschool page at bayouvermiliondistrict.org →

Offers

Field Trips

By booking · Groups of 20+

$12+

per kid

Louisiana Art & Science Museum

Baton Rouge · reservations@lasm.org; (225) 344-5272 x149

Baton Rouge's riverfront art-and-science museum — a real Egyptian mummy plus the Pennington Planetarium — books school and homeschool groups of 20-plus at a published floor of $12 a student for two hours of programs; group leaders go free and parents pay the same per-head rate. A co-op of 20 meets the minimum, and first Sundays are free for everyone if you'd rather skip the booking.

Regular admission: $16 adults / $13 kids 3–12 — Free first Sundays for all

Homeschool page at lasm.org →

When everything’s free

Big-ticket museums with a recurring free-admission day — open to everyone, no homeschool sign-up needed.

Year-round

13 museums

FREE

Admission days

Free-for-all guide

Free museum days across Louisiana

New Orleans · Baton Rouge · Shreveport · Monroe

No group minimums and no booking forms — just show up on the right day. From free weeknights and weekend days to resident-free museums, these are the recurring free-admission days at Louisiana’s major museums, each verified on the museum’s own site.

Why it’s here: the cheapest field trip there is — no per-kid ticket and no reservation.

See all Louisiana free museum days →

Worth calling about

These venues run homeschool programs but don't publish pricing online. Call before you go.

Offers

Field Trips

By booking · Self-guided school field trips

Call

no public price

Capitol Park Museum

Baton Rouge

The state's flagship Louisiana-history museum in downtown Baton Rouge welcomes school and homeschool groups for standards-based self-guided field trips, but publishes the rate only on booking — a homeschool co-op should request it. First Sundays are free for everyone.

Regular admission: $10 adults / $8 students

How to reach them: Louisiana State Museums welcome school groups for self-guided field trips every open day; the Capitol Park Museum field-trip rate isn't published online — book through the state-museum field-trip page.

Homeschool page at louisianastatemuseum.org →

Gear up for your field trip

A few inexpensive things that turn a museum or nature day into a richer lesson — favorites from homeschooling families.

Kids' field journal

Sketch and note what they see at each stop

Shop on Amazon →

Compact binoculars for kids

Zoos, nature centers, living-history farms

Shop on Amazon →

Bug viewer & magnifier

Turn any nature trail into a science lesson

Shop on Amazon →

Kids' sketchbook

Art-museum and outdoor sketching days

Shop on Amazon →

Scavenger hunt cards

Keep little ones engaged on long visits

Shop on Amazon →

Junior ranger activity book

Pairs with park and museum trips

Shop on Amazon →

Homeschool resources we love

Homeschool curriculum Science experiment kits Kids' art supplies Educational workbooks

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Plus more free and cheap educational outings in Louisiana

Already on DiscoverCheapUS — free and low-cost Louisiana attractions homeschool families plan whole field-trip days around.

Baton Rouge

9 free or cheap

Louisiana's Old State CapitolFree
LSU Hilltop ArboretumFree
Louisiana State Capitol (New)Free / Observation deck currently closed for renovations
Capitol Park Museum$10 adults / $8 seniors, military, students / Free 6 & under
BREC's Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center$3 adults / $2 youth 3–17 / Free under 3
Independence Park Botanical GardensFree
Louisiana Art & Science Museum$16 adults / $13 kids 3–12 / Free first Sundays
LSU Museum of Art$5 adults / Free under 13 / Free first Sundays
LSU Rural Life Museum$12 adults / $10 kids 4–11 / Free under 3

See all Baton Rouge attractions →

Lafayette

5 free or cheap

Acadiana Park & Nature StationFree
Vermilionville Living History & Folklife Park$12 adults / $7 students 5–18 / Free under 5
Hilliard Art Museum at UL Lafayette$10 adults / $8 seniors / Free under 10 / Free with Library Museum Pass
Cathedral of St. John the EvangelistFree
Lafayette Science Museum$15 adults / Lower for kids and seniors

See all Lafayette attractions →

Natchitoches

6 free or cheap

Natchitoches National Historic Landmark District Walking TourFree
Cane River Creole National Historical ParkFree
American CemeteryFree
Roque HouseFree
Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site$6 adults / $4 seniors 62+ / Free under 7
Kaffie-Frederick General MercantileFree entry

See all Natchitoches attractions →

New Orleans

8 free or cheap

Jackson SquareFree
St. Louis CathedralFree (donations appreciated)
Historic New Orleans CollectionFree
Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMAFree
Louis Armstrong Park & Congo SquareFree
New Orleans Jazz National Historical ParkFree
Louisiana Children's Museum$22.95 / $18.95 seniors / $4.95 Museums for All
Audubon Zoo$30 adults / $25 kids 2–12 / $5 Community Connect

See all New Orleans attractions →

Shreveport

7 free or cheap

R.W. Norton Art GalleryFree
Sci-Port Discovery Center$15 adults / $12 kids 3–12
Louisiana State Exhibit MuseumFree
Shreveport Water Works MuseumFree (donations welcome)
Red River National Wildlife RefugeFree
Gardens of the American Rose Center$5 per person / $10 family / Free under 3
Shreveport Municipal AuditoriumFree to view / tours by appointment

See all Shreveport attractions →

Lake Charles

5 free or cheap

Creole Nature TrailFree
1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural CenterFree
Charpentier Historic DistrictFree
Children's Museum of Southwest Louisiana$16 per person / Free under 2
Imperial Calcasieu Museum$5 adults / $3 children / $2 seniors 60+

See all Lake Charles attractions →

Monroe

5 free or cheap

Masur Museum of ArtFree
Chennault Aviation & Military MuseumFree
Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife RefugeFree
Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo$10 adults / $7 seniors & youth / Free under 2
Biedenharn Museum & Gardens$12 full tour / $6 gardens & Bible museum / $6 children

See all Monroe attractions →

See all 64 Louisiana attractions on the directory →