+1 404 929 6300/ +1 404 929 6400
site: Fernbank Museum of Natural History
| RealTravel Rating | A |
|---|---|
| Popularity | A+ Top 2% |
Description
Description
The largest museum of natural sciences in the
Southeast, this architecturally stunning facility borders 65 acres
of pristine forest. Architect Graham Gund has achieved a marvelous
integration of interior/exterior space: The building, which nearly
eclipses the attractions inside, centers on a soaring three-story,
sky-lit Great Hall -- an Italianate brick atrium with spiral
staircases, lofty columns, and windows revealing the woodlands
beyond. Look closely at the museum floors, where ancient fossil
remains from the late Jurassic period are embedded.When the Great Hall was designed, it was
meant to one day be the home of a large-scale permanent dinosaur
exhibition, and in 2000, Fernbank became the only place in the
world to display a complete mounted skeleton of
Argentinosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever found. The
dramatic permanent exhibit, "Giants of the Mesozoic," features the
90-foot-long plant-eater as it defends its nest of eggs against the
45-foot-long Giganotosaurus, the largest meat-eater ever
classified. Hovering above in the 86-foot-tall hall are two flying
pterosaurs. Dinosaurs just don't get any bigger than this,
and it's a little hair-raising to walk into the hall and see these
beasts towering over the tiny humans below.There are several other permanent exhibits,
including "A Walk through Time in Georgia," which uses the state as
a microcosm to tell the story of the earth's development through
time and the chronology of life upon it. Visitors travel back 15
billion years to experience the origins of the universe (the Big
Bang) and the formation of galaxies and solar systems, and into the
future to consider the fate of our planet. Eighteen galleries
re-create landform regions from the rolling pine-forested foothills
of the Piedmont Plateau to the mossy Okefenokee Swamp, from the
Cumberland Plateau (where you can walk through a typical limestone
cavern) to the marshy Coast and Barrier islands. Exhibits are
enhanced by creative films and videos, informational audiophones,
interactive computers, sound effects, and old-fashioned field
guides -- not to mention more than 1,500 fabricated plants and
mounted specimens of birds and animals."Sensing Nature" tantalizes your senses with
hands-on exhibits that explore how we experience the natural world.
The room swims with computers, colored lights, and mirrors, and you
can step into a life-size kaleidoscope, play with perspective, gaze
into infinity, see physical evidence of sound waves, and mix colors
on a computer.The Children's Discovery Room, open daily
June through August and on a limited basis during the school year,
includes Fantasy Forest, a colorful play area designed for
preschoolers (ages 3-5), where kids can become bees and pollinate
flowers, climb a treehouse, walk through a swamp, and play at being
farmers. The state-shaped Georgia Adventure is a similar discovery
room for ages 6 to 10.While you're here, be sure to catch a
stunning IMAX film (buy tickets as soon as you enter the museum;
they sometimes sell out). The immense screen -- five stories high
and 72 feet wide -- puts you right in the middle of all the
action.Other museum attractions include a wetlands
exhibit, a dramatically colorful living coral reef aquarium, a
unique shell display, a gemstone collection, and the McClatchey
Collection of jewelry and textiles from the old Silk Road
countries. The museum store is stocked with entertaining and
educational gifts and books, and there's a restaurant with arched
windows overlooking Fernbank Forest and outdoor patio
seating.
Note: This information
was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice.
Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the
companies in question before planning your trip.
Price
Admission $12 adults ($17 includes an IMAX Theater ticket), $11 seniors and students ($15 includes an IMAX Theater ticket), $10 children ages 2-12 ($13 includes IMAX Theater ticket); children age 2 and under free. IMAX Theater admission alone $10 adults, $9 seniors and students, $8 children ages 2-12, free for children under 2Area
Off Ponce de Leon Ave
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