NEW ORLEANS - -- If one looks hard enough in the Crescent City, there is something for every Marine, aside from the lights and allure of the famous Bourbon Street.
The Audubon Institute, which started in the 1970’s, runs Audubon Park, Zoo and Aquarium. The park and zoo are both located in uptown New Orleans, across the street from each other. The zoo features a swamp exhibit, two white tigers, komodo dragons and Monkey Hill, which is the tallest naturally made point in New Orleans, a city well below sea level. Audubon Aquarium of the Americas has a theater built into the facility. There are also penguin and sea otter feedings, a sea horse exhibit, and a white alligator.
The Louisiana Children’s Museum in downtown New Orleans is made especially for children, while having a wing for adults to sit and rest. Kids can shop in a miniature-sized Sav-A-Center, play pilot a Mississippi River tugboat, become a news anchor in a mini news station, and role play in the Kids Café.
For Marines without young children and into the art scene, The New Orleans Museum of Art, located in City Park, houses works from Monet to Picasso, and also boasts a sculpture garden. Periodically, the museum has artist exhibitions and major exhibitions centered around a theme. Service members stationed in New Orleans may attend the museum free of charge.
The Contemporary Arts Center, located in downtown New Orleans, not only includes paintings and sculptures, but also holds performances throughout the year, ranging from jazz performances to stage theater. The center holds less traditional art than the New Orleans Museum of Art. Most of the events at the center are fund raisers that help either the performing groups or the center.
Though rightly famous for the nightlife on Bourbon Street, the Crescent City offers many family-oriented attractions.