Fernbank Museum of Natural History

A Dinosaur Welcome

A family of bronze dinosaurs greets visitors at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s entrance.

The plaza also serves as a friendly outdoor gathering space for families arriving or departing the museum.

Dinosaur Conflict

When you step inside the museum, you enter a light-drenched, six-story arena. An Argentinosaurus, the largest classified dinosaur, has encountered a Gigantosaurus. Overhead, a flock of pterodaustros survey the predator vs. prey combat.

Interestingly, these dinosaurs are among South American creatures that roamed the badlands of Patagonia, Argentina up to 100 million years ago.

This is a classic museum photo stop. Take your time. There’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.

A Walk Through Time in Georgia

A Walk Through Time in Georgia is an 18-gallery exhibit designed to entertain and educate you about how Georgia evolved – from coast to coast and border to border – in concert with the Earth’s landscapes and life forms.

Journey from Georgia’s Piedmont to its coast and barrier islands. Encounter towering dinosaurs. Investigate a dazzling underwater habitat, and examine a realistic Okefenokee Swamp. Monitors positioned throughout the exhibit tell more of the story.

Stories from St. Catherines Island, Georgia

One of the great pleasures of visiting the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is that you get insights from a Georgia-perspective, and the tales of St. Catherines Island are doozies in history.

The museum’s collection contains a million artifacts and finds from St. Catherines. The 10-mile long, 3-mile wide Georgia barrier island has been a treasure trove of information. Native American burial sites date to 1350 B.C. A Spanish mission was established 200 years before California missions. English colonials, Creek Indians, and freed slaves have played a role in the island’s history.

You can see a bit of how archaeologists have pieced together these stories from fragments found on the island.

Sensing Nature

Make a bubble so big, you’re inside it. Pretend you’re a Weather Channel forecaster in front of the green board. Gasp at the controlled creation of a tornado. Is that an optical illusion – do your eyes deceive you?

Sensing Nature is a hugely popular area of adventure and exploration. Interactive stations use mirrors, lenses, and other tools to help us investigate the properties of light and sound, the role our senses play – and how our brain makes sense of it all.

Fernbank’s IMAX Theatre

Films vary, but you are guaranteed to see breathtaking imagery splashed across a screen that’s 5 stories high and 72 feet wide.

Visit fernbank.org for the latest selection and schedules.

Winged Beauty: Butterflies and Other Insects

May 28-Sept. 6, 2010 – Included with CityPASS

Award winning nature and wildlife photographer Bill Harbin decorates the entry level walls here 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.

Geckos: Tails to Toepads

May 28-Sept. 6, 2010 – Included with CityPASS

Explore the amazing world of geckos in this collection of more than 15 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.