The West Baton Rouge Museum will officially mark the Louisiana Statehood Bicentennial with the opening of exhibits Louisiana's Top 200!: A Bicentennial Celebration and Becoming Louisiana: The Path to Statehood on May 6, 2012, 2-5pm. The public is invited to the opening reception at the West Baton Rouge Museum that will include the performance of the one-act play "Poydras 1812 Overtures," from 2:30 to 3:30pm. The play was specially commissioned by the Pointe Coupee Historical Society and tells the story of Julien Poydras negotiating Louisiana Statehood in front of the U.S. Congress.

The exhibition, "Louisiana's Top 200! A Bicentennial Celebration," was curated by Lauren Davis. Davis used surveys and social media to cull public opinion on what citizens considered were the most notable people, places, products, and events in our state's history. This method is called 'crowd sourcing' and has led to a rich exhibit filled with art, history, sports, food, music, personalities and a variety of Louisiana trademarks that make our state truly unique. Dozens of artifacts fill the gallery including paintings, decorative arts, memorabilia, tools, textiles, photographs, and trophies from some of the state's outstanding collections including The Historic New Orleans Collection, Louisiana State Museum, State Parks, Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana Arts and Science Museum, Foundation for Historical Louisiana, and the West Baton Rouge Historical Association.

"Becoming Louisiana: The Path to Statehood" is a traveling exhibition commemorating 200 years of Louisiana statehood that begins its statewide tour in April 2012. The traveling exhibit is presented by the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission and is on display in museums and libraries through April 2013. Inaugural sties for the exhibition include the West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen; Kent Plantation House, Alexandria; Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, Homer; Audubon State Historic Site, St. Francisville; public libraries in Calcasieu, East Feliciana and East Baton Rouge parishes, and the State Library of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Refreshments will be served. The opening events are free and open to the public. The West Baton Rouge Museum is located at 845 N. Jefferson Avenue, Port Allen, LA, 70767.

As an educational supplement, we are happy to provide the full text of all 200 panels which make up the body of the exhibit.

Download Here (PDF, 7.96 mb)