New tour designed for Louisiana students

• By CYNTHIA V. CAMPBELL
• Travel editor
• Published: Aug 24, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The Randall Oak Marker on La. 1 in New Roads was where the song “Maryland, My Maryland” was written. True or False?

Louisiana students and their families can find the answer by visiting the oak in Pointe Coupee Parish. At the same time, they can have fun participating in the new True or False Tour put together by 10 parish visitor centers in the Louisiana Capital Region.

Participating parishes include: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, Tangipahoa, West Baton Rouge and the River Parishes of St. Charles, St. James and St. John.

“The main focus was to create something educational, something for families to do together that was fun,” said Sharon Stam, director of the West Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Stam said that with high gas prices, the visitor bureaus and tourism commissions wanted a program that would be cost effective and provide a tour that people could do in their own backyard.

“And, you might find things that are not on the list,” said Stam. “It’s like a scavenger hunt in a way.”

The program is geared to students in third through fifth grades who are studying Louisiana history, but anyone can make the tour — and get the prizes.

Here’s how it works:
The student must go to the tourist center or bureau in their home parish to receive their booklet.

The tourist center will mark the date the tour was started in the book. The center will keep a list of the child’s name, school and parish for its records.

The student must be accompanied by an adult when visiting an attraction or site listed in the booklet. Three attractions or sites must be visited per parish (three attractions for the River Parishes Region include St. James, St. John and St. Charles).

When a student visits an attraction listed, employees of that attraction will check their question and mark the appropriate box with their assigned stamp.

When a student visits a historic site marker, the tourist center will check that box.

When a student completes each parish, they will go to the tourist center in that respective parish and the tourist center will certify that all the questions were answered and will place a special stamp on that parish page to confirm completion of that parish. The student will receive a pin or special gift from that parish center.