Louisiana’s Art & Science Museum (LASM) in Baton Rouge, USA, has a new star – The Irene W Pennington Planetarium.

The attraction will present planetarium programmes, laser projections, large format films and high-resolution video projections in the ExxonMobil Space Theater.

The US$16m planetarium, designed as an addition to the LASM, features a 60ft, 150-seat dome theatre, 5,000sq ft of exhibits, two large classrooms, a retail store and additional museum support space. It replaces an older planetarium next to the Old Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge, which was closed in 1988.

The new attraction is being funded by the City of Baton Rouge and the State of Louisiana, as well as private contributors. An endowment has been created to keep the attractions up to date in future years.

The new planetarium is expected to more than double the LASM's attendance and bring over 100,000 visitors to the downtown area each year. There are also hopes that the venue will be a draw for conventions and other corporate events. The planetarium is already hosting the Southeastern Planetarium Association's conference this summer.

The project team that put the new attraction together includes: Managing principal architect, Ken Tipton Jr of STPB in Baton Rouge; associate architect, Sheldon P Haizlip of the Haizlip Firm in Memphis; planetarium design and technology consultant, Philip Groce; exhibit designer, Ben Kozak of Exhibit Central in Chicago. Philip Groce also curated the exhibits. Details: www.lasm.org