Fernbank NatureQuest Opens March 19, 2011

Get ready to explore the nooks and crannies of a multi-level clubhouse. Shimmy up spiraling netting to discover the insides of a mighty red oak tree. Walk through a virtual waterfall and investigate the rock work and live animals behind it. This new, exiting exhibition at Fernbank Museum of Natural History will be a hit for families everywhere.

A few updates and highlights of Fernbank NatureQuest:

* There are trees “growing” in the exhibition! Fernbank NatureQuest will be filled with nature-inspired trees, plants and more. Children love to climb big, sturdy trees, so they’ll be excited to see there are opportunities to explore a cypress tree and a red oak from the ground up!

* The virtual river that flows through the exhibition has been installed. Two areas of the river include special “motion recognition software” that allows visitors to “dip” a toe in the water and see how the fish respond. Will they scatter? Will they swim up to greet you?

* Work is nearly complete on the kids’ clubhouse. This unique “fort” will offer multiple levels of exploration and opportunities for programming such as storytelling.

* A theme throughout Fernbank NatureQuest is to discover what lives in each of the habitats. Live animals will live within many of the habitats featured in the exhibition, but visitors will have to discover them by investigating each region. A few of their live nature ambassadors have already moved in at Fernbank while their new homes are being built!

For more information and to see photos of the work-in-progress, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History. 

New Photography Exhibition at Fernbank Museum Reveals the Natural Artistry of Seascapes

Fernbank Museum of Natural History presents the gallery exhibition Seascapes: Photography of Sandra Gottlieb from February 5-August 14, 2011. With a keen eye for the fleeting phenomena of clouds and light, Gottlieb captures the skies and waters of the Atlantic Ocean in this exhibition with beautiful large-scale images that range from the abstract, to the painterly, to the highly dramatic.

Seascapes is a series of 40 large-scale color photographs that concentrate on the sky and water. The images were taken primarily from a single vantage point overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY. Some of the later pictures in the series were shot on the southeast coast of Florida.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road, NE in Atlanta. Other happenings at Fernbank include: The special exhibition Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids, on view February 19-August 14, 2011; the grand opening of the all-new children’s exhibition Fernbank NatureQuest in late March 2011; and blockbuster IMAX® films, including Animalopolis (showing through March 17, 2011), Journey into Amazing Caves (showing through March 17, 2011) and Greece: Secrets of the Past (currently showing Friday nights but will show daily beginning March 18, 2011).

For more information, visit fernbankmuseum.org.

New Martinis & IMAX® Season at Fernbank Museum

After the annual December break, Martinis &IMAX® is back on Friday nights at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. The 2011 season promises good times, lively music, fantastic films, delicious food, and refreshing cocktails—all beneath the world’s largest dinosaurs. Martinis & IMAX® is held every Friday through November from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and features a special Salsa Night on the third Friday of each month.

Atlanta’s original destination for cultural nightlife, Martinis & IMAX® will feature Journey into Amazing Caves at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Greece: Secrets of the Past at 8 p.m., and The Greatest Places at 10 p.m. on the five-story IMAX® screen through March 17, 2011. Fernbank will have a new film schedule in the spring.

One of the most popular nights for Martinis & IMAX® is offered in February when Fernbank features a special Valentine edition of Martinis & IMAX®. This year’s Valentine’s Celebration will take place on Friday, February 11 and will offer an all-inclusive package with two film tickets, a dessert, a bottle of wine, and more for only $45. Individual Martinis & IMAX® tickets are also available, which include one film ticket (no food or drink included), for $12 each.

Salsa Nights turn up the heat on the third Friday of each month with live Salsa dancing and great Latin tunes. Salsambo Dance Studio offers free dance lessons during the evening when they aren’t entertaining everyone with their electrifying moves on the dance floor.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta.  For more information, visit fernbankmuseum.org.

Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids At Fernbank Museum - February 19 - August 14, 2011

Discover how living and prehistoric animals inspired fantastic beings—some familiar, others unusual at a new exhibit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Learn how cultures throughout time have created dragons, unicorns, mermaids and more to explain the natural world, express thoughts and share beliefs.

Investigate authentic artifacts, fossils and dramatic models as you explore the stories, traditions and dances that celebrate mythic creatures around the world.


Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at  767 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30307.

Martinis & IMAX® - Fridays at Fernbank Museum of Natural History

January 7,14, 21,28 - Martinis & IMAX®

Who says a museum needs to be quiet? Shake it up with Atlanta’s perfect mix of culture and cocktails! Enjoy cool cocktails, stunning films, live music or a DJ, and creative cuisine beneath the world’s largest dinosaurs from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30307. For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Film in IMAX® - Journey into Amazing Caves At Fernbank Museum From January 10 Through February 18, 2011

Journey into Amazing Caves tells the story of Nancy Aulenbach and Dr. Hazel Barton, who share a love for caves and cave exploration. Join these two accomplished cavers as they explore unusual caves, like ice caves in Greenland and underwater caves in the jungles of Mexico, looking for important clues about the Earth's past and microorganisms that inhabit its most extreme environments. On the giant screen, this unique story will transport viewers on an adventure to some of the most extraordinary environments on earth.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30307. For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Water Exhibit At Fernbank Museum Through January 9, 2011

Get swept away in this hands-on, family-friendly experience. Look beneath the surface, above the clouds and all around the world as you discover the amazing life-giving power of water in this engaging exhibition. Enjoy a variety of exhibition interactives including build your own dam, a video microscope to see what comes out of your tap, and a picture block puzzle challenge for the youngest visitors.

Learn more about life in water and how animals have adapted to live in a variety of water conditions. Come face-to-face with tetras, mudskippers and leopard frogs. Test your water usage IQ with a game-show-style quiz. Experience a towering walk-through reconstruction of a water-carved slot canyon and see how water shapes the Earth.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30307.

Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids Exhibit Opens At Fernbank Museum On February 19, 2011

Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids, a new exhibition at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, traces the natural and cultural roots of some of the world’s most enduring mythological creatures from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond.

On view from February 19 through August 14, 2011, this fascinating exhibition includes eye-popping models, paintings, textiles, and other cultural objects from around the world to reveal the ways people throughout time have been inspired by nature to envision and depict these strange and wonderful creatures. Along the journey, visitors will encounter life-sized models of some of these creatures, including a mermaid, a unicorn and a kraken.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Going Natives: The Lives and Uncertain Fate of American Wood Storks At Fernbank Museum Through January 9, 2011

This special exhibition features 19 large-scale black and white drawings, primarily in charcoal, by artist Lynne Moody. The artwork showcases wood storks as they feed, pair, nest, fly, socialize and enjoy other typical behaviors.

The collection also features man-made creations and animals that have a significant impact on wood stork ecology and survival. With water directly affecting the survival of wood storks, Going Natives, located on the gallery walls of the Museum’s Upper Level, is featured in conjunction with the special exhibition WATER.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History. 

Fernbank's Winter Wonderland Features Traditions From Around The World

On view November 17, 2010 – January 5, 2011

Enjoy a season of cultural celebrations in Fernbank’s new holiday exhibition and programming series.

Light up the holiday season with a festive tree display decorated by local community partners and Consulate offices.

Fernbank’s first annual Winter Wonderland will feature more than 20 trees that will twinkle with lights, glimmer with color, and shine with a variety of cultural ornaments and emblems celebrating the diversity of groups, traditions, holidays and events around the world.

For more information, visit Fernbank Musuem of Natural History. 

Fernbank Museum Transforms into a Winter Wonderland during Cultural Exhibition, Celebration and Programming Series

Fernbank Museum of Natural History will celebrate holidays, traditions and cultures this holiday season with Winter Wonderland: Celebrations and Traditions Around the World, a new exhibition and programming series offered from November 17, 2010 through January 5, 2011.

Featuring trees and other displays decorated by local community partners and Consulate offices, the exhibition will twinkle with lights, glimmer with color, and shine with a variety of cultural ornaments and emblems that recognize the diversity of celebrations, holidays, traditions and events around the world. Festive programming will accompany Fernbank’s Winter Wonderland on select days as cultural groups entertain visitors with performances, dancing, music, craft demonstrations, storytelling and more.

Winter Wonderland trees, displays and performances will showcase the cultures, celebrations and traditions from the Arab world, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Israel, Japan, Liberia, Mexico, Ukraine, Peru, Philippines, Switzerland and Turkey. Fernbank and Callanwolde Fine Arts Center will also decorate trees and will offer a joint ticket package that includes a ticket to Winter Wonderland and Christmas at Callanwolde.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

It’s a Pirate’s Life for Families at Fernbank Museum’s Pirate Weekend

 © Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Set sail for a swashbuckling adventure at Fernbank’s second annual Pirate Weekend November 6 -7, 2010. It’s time for some Yo-Ho-Ho and H2O during this special weekend inspired by Fernbank’s newest family-friendly exhibition Water: H2O=Life, which looks beneath the surface, above the clouds and all around the world on a hands-on exploration of the amazing power of water.

Whether you’re a matey or lass, don’t forget to wear your best pirate ensemble to avoid walking the plank as you enjoy a bounty of Pirate Weekend activities, on Saturday, November 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, November 7 from noon to 4 p.m.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Dinosaur Sideshow Filled With Novelties And Activities At Fernbank Museum October 23-24, 2010

Fernbank Museum embraces the quirky atmosphere of carnivals and celebrates the world’s long fascination with dinosaurs with its Dinosaur Sideshow, a special programming weekend offered October 23-34, 2010. Featuring dinosaur illustrators, sculptors, authors and comic book publishers, Fernbank’s Dinosaur Sideshow reveals the many ways these prehistoric “real-life giants” have captured imaginations and shaped folklore.

Among the variety of programs, Fernbank’s Dinosaur Sideshow will entertain with dinosaur-related carnival games, photo opportunities, caricatures, activities, presentations and discussions that embrace the many incarnations of dinosaurs in pop culture. The event will also feature demonstrations on drawing and sculpting dinosaurs, dinosaur caricatures for purchase, and a trunk show of unique dinosaur merchandise available during this event only.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History. 

Get Swept Away With The New Water Exhibit At Fernbank Museum Of Natural History

 Get swept away in this new hands-on, family-friendly experience. 

Now on display through January 9, 2011.

Look beneath the surface, above the clouds and all around the world as you discover the amazing life-giving power of water in this engaging exhibition.

* Enjoy a variety of exhibition interactives including build your own dam, a video microscope to see what comes out of your tap, and a picture block puzzle challenge for our youngest visitors.
* Learn more about life in water and how animals have adapted to live in a variety of water conditions.
* Come face-to-face with tetras, mudskippers and leopard frogs.
* Test your water usage IQ with a game-show-style quiz.
* Experience a towering walk-through reconstruction of a water-carved slot canyon and see how water shapes the Earth.

Be sure to visit the The Local Connection, created by Fernbank Museum. This section reveals Atlanta’s history with water and some of the issues affecting Atlanta and the metro region. Visitors will learn about the uniqueness of the region’s local watershed, the basics of where our water comes from, and some possible solutions to issues in the area.

Admission to WATER is included with Museum admission and is FREE for members.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History. 

Set Sail For An Exhilarating Giant-Screen Adventure At Fernbank's IMAX Theatre With Grand Canyon Adventure

Grand Canyon Adventure - River at Risk Now Showing in the IMAX Theatre at Fernbank Museum of Natural History through January 9, 2011.

See the world in a new way when you dive into the heart of the most beautiful canyon—the Grand Canyon. Awe-inspiring landscapes surround you as you rush down the mighty Colorado River on a whitewater raft with environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., anthropologist Wade Davis and their daughters.

This thrilling expedition combines river rafting, family adventure and a message of conservation. While exploring the depths of the Grand Canyon, learn how ordinary people can make a difference when it comes to water conservation. Music by the Dave Matthews Band further sets the mood for every twist and turn of this unforgettable voyage.

For more information, visit  Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

New Water Exhibition Set To Make A Splash with Visitors At Fernbank Museum

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is ready to make a splash with the new special exhibition Water: H2O=Life, opening October 2, 2010. Visitors will look beneath the surface, above the clouds and all around the world as they discover the amazing and vital role of water—from sustaining life to shaping the Earth’s peaks and canyons.

Filled with interactive stations—from building your own dam to playing a water quiz show, and from seeing live animals suited for various water conditions to using a video microscope to explore what comes out of the tap—Water engages visitors throughout the exhibition as they are challenged to reconsider the way they view and manage this life-giving, but finite, resource.

Water reveals the beauty and essential nature of our planet’s lifeblood using imaginative presentation techniques, including a 68-inch globe displaying satellite images and 3-D video of the Earth as well as walk-through dioramas that give visitors a firsthand experience of the power and importance of water. Along the way, the exhibition addresses the compelling issues surrounding water quality and availability that are facing today’s societies and ecosystems. Live tetras, frogs and mudskippers provide opportunities for visitors to gain an appreciation for animals that have adapted to life in, and sometimes out of, the water.

Read more here.

For more information about the museum, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Photo courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History

Fernbank Adds Latin Sizzle to Martinis & IMAX® With Hot And Spicy “Salsa Nights”

Everyone in Atlanta has been feeling a little hot lately, but the temperature has nothing to do with it on Salsa Night Fridays at Fernbank Museum. Always a popular special occasion, Martinis & IMAX® will now feature Salsa Night on the third Friday of every month.

Although Martinis & IMAX hibernates for winter during the entire month of December, Fernbank has shaken things up with one bonus Salsa Night on December 17, 2010.

Salsa Nights bring Salsambo Dance Studio to Martinis & IMAX, offering incredible opportunities to enjoy Latin dancing (or appreciating the dance skills of others) with early-evening lessons for those who want a little practice before they heat up the dance floor. A special guest DJ provides the rhythmic beats.

Traditional Martinis & IMAX nights always feature cocktails, dinner, IMAX films and music every Friday from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Hip, cool and fun new jazz bands have been added to the regular line-up.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Geckos: Tails To Toepads Exhbit At Fernbank Museum Through September 5, 2010

Explore the amazing world of geckos in this collection of more than 18 live gecko species, from shadowy nighttime hunters with unbelievable camouflage to neon-colored nectar eaters that scamper around in daylight.

Learn about their night vision, magnify gecko toepads, listen to gecko voices, watch video clips of geckos in action, try to spot camouflaged geckos and build a custom gecko for various environments.

The exhibit runs through September 5, 2010 at Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

For more information, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Fernbank Hosts Dino-Sized Birthday Party to Celebrate Giants of the Mesozoic Dinosaurs

They may be over 90 million years old, but age hasn’t diminished the fun in having a birthday party for the dinosaurs featured in Fernbank Museum’s permanent exhibition Giants of the Mesozoic. The world’s largest dinosaurs will celebrate their ninth anniversary at Fernbank with the popular Dinosaur Birthday Bash, a Fernbank Family Fun Day, on Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Dinosaur Birthday Bash is included with Museum admission and will offer:

Birthday Treats, courtesy of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Great Hall

Celebrate this special occasion with free treats provided by Bruster’s Real Ice Cream (Toco Hill and Decatur locations). Available while supplies last.

Special Appearance by Triton the Triceratops

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Meet walk-around character Triton the Triceratops and take a photo with this friendly dinosaur.

Birthday Wishes

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Great Hall

Help create birthday wishes with special dinosaur stamps and coloring, and then share your birthday wish with the dinosaurs by adding your design to the giant present box.

Dinosaur Photo Opportunities

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Great Hall

Bring your camera for a variety of special dinosaur photo opportunities around the Museum, including pictures in in front of the Lophorhothons in the Dinosaur Entrance Plaza, in front of a Giganotosaurus skull and more

Dinosaur Birthday Craft

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Great Hall

Create a dinosaur birthday hat to wear at the party.

“Dr. Dinosaur” Puppet Show by Lee Bryan, “That Puppet Guy”

11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. 3 p.m., Auditorium

Join Dr. Dinosaur on an exciting prehistoric expedition. (Limited seating; puppet show runs approximately 20 minutes.)

Georgia Bubbleman

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Enjoy an interactive demonstration with bubbles of all sizes, including bubbles inside other bubbles and bubbles ranging from tiny to some as big as the juvenile Lophorhothon in the Dinosaur Entrance Plaza.

Dinosaur Birthday Party Games

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Enjoy a variety of traditional birthday party games with a dinosaur theme, such as pin the tail, a giant crossword puzzle, and an egg balancing game.

Sidewalk Sale at the Museum Store

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sale continues through Sunday)

Don’t miss the opportunity to find great deals at the Museum Store’s Sidewalk Sale, featuring unique items at discounts up to 75% off.

The Dinosaur Birthday Bash is featured as part of the Museum’s summer-long summer series 97 Days (and Ways) to Play, which features a variety of programming and events to celebrate the special exhibition Geckos: Tails to Toepads, the IMAX film Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure, and many of the museum’s most popular residents including dinosaurs from around the world.

For more info, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Winged Beauty Exhibit At Fernbank Museum Through September 6, 2010

Winged Beauty: Butterflies and other Insects

Award winning nature and wildlife photographer Bill Harbin decorates the entry level walls at Fernbank with 33 astounding photos of bright flowers and fluttering insects.

This returning exhibition, Winged Beauty: Butterflies and Other Insects, is an astounding collection of images. Vibrant, unbelievable colors illuminate the entry level walls in an array of insect photos. Delicate butterflies rest on sturdy flowers; buzzing dragonflies glide motionlessly through the air; beetles feed on flowers covered in dew drops.

For more info, visit Fernbank Museum of Natural History