For a suburbanite or a visitor to Atlanta, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History may be a little bit difficult to find. You can find it tucked away within the trees, next to a gorgeous golf course. It is worth the search - what a fun time we had today!
"Mommy...", she said, with a most serious look on her face, "Mommy - the ice is melting!"
Our visit to Fernbank started with the new IMAX show, To the Arctic. Clearly, the message was not lost on us, not even for a 4-year-old. She watched in amazement as the beautiful scenes flew before our eyes. We felt the tug at our heartstrings for the family of polar bears, a mama and her sweet cubs, as they continually fled for their safety. We marveled at the majesty that was a huge pack of caribou mothers, traveling to safer land for the birth season. Amelia stayed quiet, eyes wide, occasionally pointing to something beautiful on the giant screen ahead.
Definitely worth seeing - we loved every minute.
After the film, we explored the museum. Fernbank has fun for all ages. Giant fossil cast dinosaur skeletons, hands-on science exhibits, and Nature Quest - undoubtedly, Amelia's favorite part.
For the young children, Nature Quest is a wonderland with a treehouse, tunnels, magical streams of water (that don't get you wet!), caves, and an area for "undersea" exploration. We played in this area first - which may be a bad idea, as she asked "when are we going back to NatureQuest?" every four minutes throughout the rest of the exhibits.
We paused for some photos with the dinosaurs, of course:
And yes, we went back for a second round of playtime in Nature Quest before making our way to the car.
Fernbank also houses exhibits showcasing animals and wonders of Georgia ("A walk through time in Georgia") and several more dinosaurs to make you tilt your head up to the sky just to say hello.
Fernbank gets an A+ on our list of Atlanta family attractions.
After about 7 minutes in the car, she asked when we can go back.
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Disclosure: I received admission to the museum and IMAX show from the wonderful folks at the Fernbank Museum. However, all opinions are 100% mine. I visited Fernbank in the past and loved it - and it was even better today as my daughter discovered it for the first time! :)