(05/06/26) BATON ROUGE, La. — Summer is right around the corner, and Burden Museum & Gardens has a new slate of activities and events for the whole family. Learn a new art style and local traditions over the next few months at Burden.

The LSU Rural Life Museum’s annual summer camp Rural Life Apprentice Program returns, and this year it will bring participants back to the 18th century in celebration of 250 years of the United States.

Students will be able to hone skills and explore life from rural Louisiana in the 1700s as they learn blacksmithing, quill-pen writing and open-hearth cooking, among others. Local artisans, museum professionals and others will teach the students.

This camp is made for students entering fourth through eighth grades. It will be from Monday, June 1, until Friday, June 5, with each day beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 12:30 p.m. at the Rural Life Museum.

Registration for this camp is required in advance. For more information, contact Christina Brown at cgbrown@lsu.edu or 225-765-2437.

As a part of the Community Days Series, Fiddlin’ with the Finest! A Celebration of Louisiana Fiddling will teach visitors to the Rural Life Museum about the continuing legacy of Louisiana folk fiddling on Saturday, June 13 at 2 p.m. This free event will feature three past Louisiana State Fiddle Champions, and they will perform various regional fiddle styles as well as demonstrate fiddle stick plating and twin fiddling. A Q&A session on participating in fiddle competitions will follow. Fiddlers of all experience are invited to bring their instruments for a jam session at the end of the event.

For one Saturday a month, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens will host a guided bird tour for Birding at Burden, which gives birders of all experience levels the chance to find any number of the 183 species of birds that fly around the grounds. Admission is $12, and registration can be found at https://tinyurl.com/49ny757j. The dates are June 20, July 19 and Aug. 15 from 7 to 9 a.m.

On Saturday, July 25, the LSU Rural Life Museum will host the second annual Antique Engines Showcase, a day of crank machinery and history. On display will be flywheel engines, rope making machines, antique cars and tractors. There also will be demonstrations of the machinery as well as other family-friendly activities.

The event will be from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and admission is included with entrance to the museum.

Learn a new painting technique at the Icon Painting Workshop from Aug. 16 to 22 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens. The workshop will teach participants about Byzantine icon painting techniques that date back 2,000 years. The five days will give participants a peaceful, contemplative retreat.

No previous artistic skill or experience is required. Registration is required. For more information, contact Diana Wells at dianawells1548@gmail.com

Continuing Activities

The birding loops at Burden consist of six loops that wind through formal and informal gardens, grasslands, croplands, wetlands and forest. The loops are designed for both beginners and advanced bird enthusiasts. Kiosks about the birding loops can be found at the Rural Life Museum Visitors Center and the Ione Burden Conference Center.

Trees and Trails, a 3-mile system of pedestrian, recreational and educational trails in the Burden Woods, provides opportunities for hiking and interpretive and educational activities for youth and adults. The Mosaic Boardwalk at Black Swamp guides visitors through a hardwood swamp more than 200 years old. The trail system is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

The Children’s Garden offers a place to learn about gardening and nutrition. This model garden also provides a location for youth-related organizations and individual families to experience the outdoors, focusing on vegetable, herb and butterfly garden plantings.

The Rose Garden is part of the American Garden Rose Selections program, a nationwide network of approved public gardens, and the American Rose Trials for Sustainability program, maintaining an inventory of 1,100 plants representing 150 varieties. Starting each April, the Rose Garden offers an exclusive preview of the coming year’s outstanding new varieties.

Windrush Gardens comprises majestic live oaks and ancient crape myrtles to create a shady canopy over azaleas and camellias, evoking a sense of tranquility and peace. Steele Burden, who was influenced by the gardens of Europe and the surviving gardens of 19th-century Louisiana plantations, designed Windrush. The winding paths are ideal for strolling and enjoying the 25 acres of landscaped spaces.

About Burden Museum & Gardens

Located at 4560 Essen Lane, just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge, Burden Museum & Gardens is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and includes the LSU Rural Life Museum, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and Windrush Gardens.

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens is an expansive collection of specialty gardens, woodlands, wetlands and arboreta. Trees and Trails offer 3 miles of serene walking paths through the Burden Woods. The Rose Garden, Children’s Garden and All-America Selections Display Garden showcase the beauty of plants and flowers and provide educational experiences for gardeners of all ages. No admission is charged to tour the gardens.

The LSU Rural Life Museum focuses on the ways of life of rural Louisiana during the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum also provides educational and research resources that advance an understanding of the material and cultural heritage of the region. Adjacent to the Rural Life Museum, the historic Windrush Gardens comprises 5 acres of semiformal gardens of the Burden family.

Admission to the Botanic Gardens and Trees and Trails is free of charge and open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission to the Rural Life Museum is $10 for adults 12 to 61, $9 for seniors and $8 for children 6 to 11. Admission to Windrush Gardens is $3 per person. Both are free for kids under 6. The LSU Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens are open daily 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on major holidays.

Young people in the LSU Rural Life Museum Apprentice Program get a hands-on taste of history as they learn the art of 18th‑century open‑hearth cooking. Photo by Michael Wilcher

Participants in the Icon Painting Workshop immerse themselves in the centuries‑old craft of Byzantine iconography, learning intricate techniques in the serene, contemplative surroundings of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden. LSU AgCenter file photo