Lay Center for Education and the Arts is SLU’s meeting space, sculpture park and sleeping quarters located near Louisiana, Missouri. It features beautiful grounds and an atmosphere conducive to learning and reflection. For your safety, Lay Center will be closed each year in mid-November during deer season. Please call ahead during that time to ensure access to the park at 573-754-4726.Lay Center provides sleeping accommodations for up to 48 guests. The 12 bedrooms are equipped with dressers, reading lamps, coat racks and desks. Showers and restrooms are conveniently located near all rooms.Meeting spaces vary in both size and style. The spacious auditorium provides seating for up to 75 people, while four smaller classrooms (two of which are laboratories) seat up to 20.With a seating capacity of more than 50, the cafeteria is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and can be used as a meeting space. The kitchen is complete with all cooking amenities and food service can be provided to meet your needs.This 350-acre property is a nature lover’s dream. The five-mile walking trail winds through a primarily oak-hickory forest with several open fields and two lakes. Throughout the trail, signage has been posted to help guests identify the seasonal flora and fauna. This trail is perfect for science class field trips.A well-maintained path in the Sculpture Park takes guests on a 40-minute walk through a working Maple Grove, the McElwee Cemetery and most importantly a plethora of sculpture.Visitors to the Henry Lay Sculpture Park will have the opportunity to read, play on and picnic in Story Woods…a collaboration between artists Michele vandenHeuvel and Henry Lay. It allows guests the opportunity to experience literature and artworks as various artists interpret them in natural settings. This children’s area provides a place where imagination and learning can be stimulated through visual, tactile and spiritual encounters.