Entry No. 65 — the New Orleans file — filed under: after-dark

LIGO Science Education Center (Livingston)

One of two twin LIGO detectors in the U.S. (its sibling sits in Washington State) that proved Einstein right by catching two black holes colliding more than a billion light-years away. The free Science Education Center sits beside two 4-km laser arms that stretch off into the pine forest, and on Science Saturdays you can tour the control room where those ripples in spacetime are actually recorded. The exhibit hall has roughly 40 hands-on physics stations built with San Francisco's Exploratorium. It runs the first Saturday of every month, 10 AM to 4 PM, free with no registration needed.

The move: Take the detector tour together, then race each other through the 40 interactive exhibits in the hall before the 2:30 tour cutoff.

📍 Before you go Free, drop-in on the first Saturday of each month, 10 AM-4 PM; arrive by 2:30 PM to catch a detector tour. About an hour east of New Orleans near Livingston. No food on-site.

• 📍 Livingston
• 💸 $
• ⚡ Low-key
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 19100 LIGO Lane, Livingston, LA 70754

Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.

⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4

last checked: 2026-06-23