Summer Series: Fernbank~Brain, the Inside Story

Are your kiddos getting bored?  Running out of ideas to keep them busy? Let me tell you about one of our favorite places to spend the day exploring and learning.  

Earlier this month I took my son and his cousins to visit the new exhibit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History.  It's called Brain: The Inside Story and it was fascinating!

First, we watched the 9 minute movie at the beginning of the exhibit.  It was really informative and I'm glad we took the time to stop and see it.  Then we started exploring.  

There are some fun and interesting experiments and tests to try out.  The kids especially enjoyed the one where there was a list of colors side by side.  The first one had the colors printed in the same color as the name (orange in orange, blue in blue, etc) and the second had the colors mixed up.  The challenge? To say the second list but say the color by name, not by the color it was printed in!  It was tough to do - your brain wants to use the color it is printed in!

We learned about the brain and love, emotions, forming memories, and lots more.  Tons of hands on activities in this exhibit! Samantha said she liked learning about the advances in medical technology.  Brain: The Inside Story will be on display at Fernbank through August 23, 2015.

We also got to check out some old favorites at Fernbank!  Sensing Nature is a FUN room full of all kinds of optical illusions, hands on experiments for sound and sight, giant bubbles, a weather forecasting set and much more.  It's always a fun time when we visit this awesome room!

Jeremy enjoyed this hands-on Archaeology cart - lots of cool things to discover!

My kids & I have loved visiting Fernbank for years. We especially love Fernbank NatureQuest, which is an interactive play area with literally hundreds of hands on activities!  I even reviewed NatureQuest back in 2011 when it opened.  The huge clubhouse has several levels, there's a huge red oak tree to climb and explore.  You can follow a stream, explore a cave, and see live alligators and turtles!  Learn about the Georgia coast, and other regions too.  Plan to spend plenty of time in this fabulous permanent exhibit!

David and Jeremy checking out the baby alligators!

There is plenty more to see - the IMAX theater, the Star Gallery, Walk Through Time in Georgia, World of Shells, follow the  fossil floors throughout the museum, check out the Dinosaurs, Fernbank Forest, and much more.

Fernbank Forest

There is a nice cafe where you can have lunch, and a gift shop with great gifts and souvenirs.  We spent almost 5 hours at the museum and still didn't see everything this visit! It's a great family destination for days that are too hot, rainy, or when the kids say "Mom, I'm so bored"! (You can find out about upcoming activities and events here)   We had a wonderful time and look forward to going back again for the next traveling exhibit.   Don't forget, Brain, the Inside Story is only there until August 23.  I encourage you to check it out - it will be a great day of family fun, exploring and learning.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
767 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30307

Get directions to Fernbank here.   You can purchase tickets at the museum or online.

Have you been to Fernbank Museum of Natural History? What is your favorite thing to see there? Leave a comment below and let us know!



Fernbank provided complimentary tickets to the museum so I could write this review - no other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own!