So, last night, I bought tickets for Clara, Jonas, Logan and I to go visit the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Non-refundable tickets.
Alas, I woke up this morning with a cold. 🤧🤧🤧 And like I said, non-refundable tickets.
So… after putting the twins down for a nap, off we went.
At this point, in Georgia, masks are no longer required. And so, I opted to drug myself into oblivion😏😏😏, wear a mask and use copious amounts of hand-sanitizer while we were there, so as not to infect everyone.
Upon entering the museum, one of the first things you see, in the front atrium, are several casts of dinosaur bones, including the world’s first fully-mounted Argentinosaurus, which is the largest dinosaur ever classified. It was ENORMOUS: it weighed over 100 tons and was 123 feet long (aka the length of nearly 4 school buses!!)
They also had a Gigantosaurus, the largest known carnivorous dinosaur, at 47 feet and 8-10 tons. It’s skull is the length of a full-grown man (about 6 feet).
There were several other kinds of dinosaurs represented as well.
The forecast was projecting that it would rain for most of the day beginning about an hour after we arrived, and so we decided to start our explorations in the outdoor areas while it was supposed to be clear.
The outdoor area is in an old growth forest. And as you know, I am a sucker for a boardwalk. So we had a lovely walk in the woods.
As you walk, there are a few small exhibits like a weather station and some exhibits about native plants and animals. But let’s be honest, the “Adventure Outpost” play area was the favorite.
After checking out the outside areas, we came inside and decided to work our way from the bottom of the museum to the top. And so, our first stop was the “Knights in Armor” exhibit. There was lots of information about jousting, the code of chivalry, knight training, and lots of examples of armor and weapons. It was really interesting to see. Some of the weapons and the armor were incredibly intricate.
When I am sick, I am sometimes rather dumb (the drugs probably didn’t help 😏😏)
I had forgotten to eat lunch. And so, by this point, I was starving, and so we dropped by the little cafeteria and got food. The kids were more than happy to have second lunch. And I had a surprisingly good ham and cheese sandwich. After eating, we were ready to check out some more exhibits.
Next up, was the ‘World of Shells’. It was a fairly small area, and it was filled with every kind of seashell you could possibly imagine, and then some.
Clara and I are both seashell lovers, so we really enjoyed this one.
We then went upstairs to the “Walk through Georgia in time”. This was a really interesting exhibit that covered A LOT of ground. It starts at the VERY beginning with the Big Bang, and the formation of our galaxy and solar system.
Once life appears on the scene, you travel through the various epochs with the flora and fauna of each time period being highlighted.
And then eventually, with the appearance of humans on the scene, it starts narrowing in on Georgia more specifically and highlights the earliest people to live in the area.
The Georgia through time exhibit was so large that it took up most of the second floor, all that was left was the gift shop and we wanted to hit that at the end. And so we moved on up to the third floor.
To the delight of our little bird nerd, there was an entire exhibit about native Georgian birds. It was small, but awesome. I was impressed by how much Clara knew on her own.
Right next to the Bird exhibit was the indoor play area: Nature Quest. And it was surprisingly awesome. And also, really big. I was impressed. We hung out here for quite a while.
Baby Alligators! 
A few nature themed computer games 
This was my favorite thing. A log that had been hollowed out for me to lay in. 
I was surprised by how comfortable it was and by how perfectly I fit. 
Heaven. 
And then everyone else wanted a turn. 
And then everyone else wanted a turn. 
And then everyone else wanted a turn. 
Culture
This exhibit was all about how we adorn and alter our bodies and how these things are a reflection of our values and our cultures. It was quite interesting. Naturally, it highlighted a lot of non-western cultures, and also included the adornments and modifications of western cultures as well: tattoos, designer shoes, etc. Which was cool, cause you don’t really think of your own culture really…. It’s just like the air you breathe. You take it for granted. So, seeing it in this context was so interesting and thought provoking.
Fantastic Forces
This was, by far, the favorite exhibit. It was also the most interactive exhibit. And I’m pretty sure those two things are correlated.
We got to explore the various forces that make the world work the way that it does: gravity, tectonic plates, aerodynamics, levers, pulleys, etc. We spent a long time at this exhibit.
Eventually, it was getting close to closing time. So, I dragged the children away from the exhibit, and we went to the museum gift shop. We made our purchases, and then headed on home. When we arrived home, Jonathan and the twins had dinner just about ready to go on the table. They’re the best. It was a great day (despite the cold).
And the kids thought so as well, on our way out of Atlanta, this was cited by all three kids as one of the favorite things that we did while we were there.
