Thanks to Fernbank Museum of Natural History for complimentary tickets. Affiliate links may be included. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.
I think it’s fair to say that almost every child, at least for a brief period of time, wants to be an paleontologist when they grow up, and dig in the dirt to make awesome discoveries of dinosaur bones. Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta is an absolutely incredible place to visit for anyone who currently has that dream, or who has had that dream in the past.
So…basically everyone!
Room after room in this museum is filled with displays that will pique your curiosity, launch your imagination, and cause you to simply stop and admire with a sense of awe and wonder. I was truly blown away again and again in this beautiful museum.
I also couldn’t help but notice just how child-friendly the place was. And when it comes to visiting a museum, this is CRITICALLY important. If a museum skews too heavily toward its adult visitors and offers too little for the young ones, a family visiting is going to be miserable because the kids are bored and the adults are desperately trying to read interesting information at lightning speed instead of getting to enjoy the exhibits. Fernbank strikes the balance beautifully. And their showcase pieces will make folks of any age stop dead in their tracks to stare for a while. Whale skeleton, anyone???
I couldn’t even snap a photo of the Argentinosaurus, which is the largest known dinosaur ever to walk the earth. The skeleton they have set up of it takes up a huge portion of a large rotunda. If you don’t see anything else in the entire museum, and only see this display, you’ve gotten your money’s worth, I promise! 🙂
But you aren’t going to want to stop there, friends! Be sure to take your kids to Nature Quest, which is a play area that makes kids positively squeal with delight. There are various scenes from nature that kids can explore. Our little mermaids-in-training spent quite a bit of time in the ocean!
This area also had cool tree houses and a rendering of a river and caves and really just all kinds of stuff. My little ones played there for an hour and a half!
I also wanted to point out for our mamas of infants and younger toddlers that near Nature Quest they have a bathroom area that is rather tucked away, and inside of it, I found a nice, private nursing and changing area, including a play area for the older kids while mom is nursing the baby. Yay for a comfortable, quiet place to nurse!
As we toured the facility, we also came across museum interns in a few different spots offering some educational crafts and activities. I thought they did a great job of sharing some age-appropriate information with our 4-year-old and also just giving her a chance to learn by doing. She’s stamping a picture of pottery here, using a design that has been found in the Atlanta area!
Ticket Prices
Ticket prices for Fernbank are as follows (as of May 2014):
- adults: $18
- students (with ID) and seniors $17
- children 3-12 $16
- 2 and under: free
So if you are a family of 4, and 1 of your little ones is 2 or younger, your bill for the day would be $52. I believe it is absolutely worth the admission price, especially since Nature Quest is going to provide a space for your kids to run around and play for a while. There is a cafe on site that has reasonably priced meals, so I recommend going and planning on spending 3-4 hours there! You are going to love it!!
The best deal on tickets, however, is found through CityPass. If you are going to visit more than one major Atlanta attraction (speaking of which, don’t miss my Georgia Aquarium review and my World of Coca-Cola review!), this is totally the way to save big on your admission fees! Definitely check it out!
Have you been to Fernbank? Are you a BIG fan like I am???