Fernbank Museum of Natural History554

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located adjacent to the 70 acres of grounds where Emily Harrison, a young girl growing up in the late 1800s, played. It's named for her favorite spot in the forest, a creek bank covered with ferns.

The floors of Fernbank Museum are made of 40,000 limestone tiles, each containing fossil remains of animals that lived in a shallow reef more than 150 million years ago.

The Museum's expansive (7,000 square feet!) new permanent children's exhibit features more than 100 interactive (meaning hands-on) experiences for guests to explore and engage with the ecosystems of Georgia, ranging from oceans and estuary, swamp, pine flatwoods, forest, waterfall, and river, and caves. Learn more about NatureQuest here.

The museum's most recent permanent exhibit is the Giants of the Mesozoic, featuring the world's largest dinosaur. A Walk Through Time in Georgia tells the two-fold story of Georgia's natural history and the development of our planet. Seventeen galleries combine with theaters and dioramas to explain this complex and fascinating tale.

Visitors can stimulate their senses with lasers, mirrors, water, acoustics, and more as Sensing Nature playfully demonstrates, via interactive stations, the role our senses play in interpreting our environment.

The Cultures of the World gallery contains approximately 200 jewelry, costume, and textile items representing various cultures around the world, including many from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. The gallery also includes an extensive collection of gemstones that provides the visitor with information about many of the precious and semi-precious minerals utilized by people across the globe.

The World of Shells explains how shell material is formed, the numerous ways animals use their shells, and the life processes of shelled animals. The history of the Georgia oyster is highlighted. A 900-gallon living reef saltwater aquarium provides a window into the habitat of sea creatures native to Georgia's coast.

At an overview of Georgia's prehistoric human inhabitants, First Georgians, visitors can view delicate artifacts from Georgia's first societies, learn how archaeologists study these cultures, and become acquainted with the history of the human experience in Georgia.

Flower fans should visit the 1300 roses in the Robert L. Staton Memorial Rose Garden, in bloom from April through November.

Located at the entrance to the IMAX® Theatre, The Star Gallery gives visitors the insight about the stars, constellations, and celestial objects that can be seen with the naked eye in Atlanta's nighttime sky. Every Wednesday at 3:30pm, a museum astronomer leads Star Talk, a program about constellations, folklore, and astronomical events currently visible in the evening sky and how to find them using The Star Gallery's ceiling.

Children's birthday parties can be held at the museum, and a variety of options are available, including live animal encounters.

The museum hosts an annual summer camp program for children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. Weekly camp sessions are offered during June and July, and kids work alongside of biologists, geologists, ecologists, and more. All programs are offered weekdays from 9am-1pm. Call 404.929.6342 for more information.

Family Memberships begin at $95/year, and provide benefits for two adults and up to four children. It is tax-deductible and offers reciprocal admissions to ASTC member museums.

Value passes and double feature tickets are available; check the website for current offerings.

The museum is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.