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Atlanta - what's there to do around the area?


ChristusG
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This summer (or maybe early fall when it is not quite as hot) I'm possibly thinking of taking a trip towards the Atlanta area. It's not too long of a road trip (about 6 hours) but not too short either (I really hate road trips....I get car sick as well as DD5).

 

It's been years, but I've been to Stone Mountain and Callaway Gardens....we'll probably want to hit both of those while in the area. I also definitely want to take my girls to the American Girl store, as they've never been to one.

 

Other than that, I'm not sure what there is to do! Anything neat? Interesting? Unique? We've been to the Atlanta Zoo about 8 years ago and I didn't think it's anything too spectacular, so we won't be going there.

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There's a college, I want to say Emory, that has a amazing Egyptian exhibit, if you are or have studied the Ancients.

 

It's the Michael Carlos Museum at Emory. It's wonderful. There are also sections on Greece and Rome and usually a travelling special exhibition.

 

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens will be beautiful that time of year, if you don't mind be outside in the heat (early fall for most people is still summer here!) The Children's Garden there is lots of fun.

 

There is a Children's Museum downtown (near the aquarium and olympic park). Ds was getting too old by the time it was built, so I was never that impressed, but it might have improved through his teen years.

 

The High Museum has days for kids to come learn about and make art projects. Check the calendar closer to your trip time.

 

Fernbank Museum has new children's education rooms, IMAX movies, a neat walk through time and usually an excellent travelling exhibition. (There is a science center down the road with a planetarium, but there isn't much else there worth the extra trip.)

 

The Center for Puppetry arts has fun shows and make-a-puppet workshops. They also have a neat puppet museum with some of Henson's collection. Take a look at the schedule before you come and see if the current show sounds good for your kids.

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We pass through Atlanta every summer and do something different every time. This summer, we did the zoo for various reasons and I was pleasantly surprised by it, actually. They have pandas. :) And some nicely done zoo exhibits. We live walking distance from our zoo, so we often give zoos a skip, but it was better than I remembered.

 

Since your girls are young, I would do Fernbank, the Aquarium, and the Center for Puppetry Arts definitely. The Children's Museum is disappointingly small. I thought such a large city would have a larger children's museum, especially since it's right downtown, but it's not even as big as the new one in Greenville, SC. That said, we went when my boys were 6 yo, I think, and they certainly had a good time, so it wasn't wasted.

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The Children's Museum is disappointingly small. I thought such a large city would have a larger children's museum, especially since it's right downtown, but it's not even as big as the new one in Greenville, SC.

 

That was my thought as well. Our favorite children's museum was in Chattanooga, so if you are getting here via I-75 that would make a fun stop. Oh, and the Tellus Science Museum is between Chattanooga and Atlanta, if you come in that way. We've always liked to visit there and it's an easy just-off-the-interstate stop.

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Any chance you are baseball fans? If so, the Braves may be in town. Also, if there is a show at the Fox that you want to see, the Fox is a great place to see, and it is indoors, to boot, which would be a nice reprieve.

 

The Atlanta History Center is not a "wow" visit for littles, but it is lovely.

 

There is a water park, Whitewater, and Six Flags, of course--not my favorites, but plenty of perfectly intelligent adults do enjoy them.

 

I agree on others who have suggested the aquarium. I like Chattanooga's better because they have better penguins, but Atl's is really nice also.

 

If you need to see something besides pavement, you can climb Kennesaw Mountain, which plenty of little kids do just fine on. There is a nice visitor's center with a small museum and movie on the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, but the place is covered up in people who run and walk up and around the mountain.

 

Terri

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