Your Guide to Museum Hopping in DeKalb County

Take a walk on the wild side at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, where prehistoric beasts clash in exciting exhibits, live animals scamper through an old-growth forest, and visitors discover the natural world through hands-on adventures.

Imagine the sounds of the world’s largest dinosaur, the 100-ton Argentinosaurus, when you enter the museum’s Great Hall. Its fossil cast towers over the Giants of the Mesozoic exhibit, which features replicas of animals and plants that lived in the badlands of Patagonia some 145 to 165 million years ago.

Outside the museum, 75 acres of new nature experiences await in Fernbank Forest. Follow an elevated walkway into WildWoods to look for animals from the tree pods, hike to a wetlands meadow and wildlife sanctuary, or explore a Nature Gallery and interactive exhibits. Drop in on a fun educational program, or join a guided nature walk.

In Fernbank’s signature exhibit, A Walk Through Time in Georgia, galleries, theaters, and dioramas tell the story of modern-day Georgia and help explain how Earth developed over millions of years. You’ll take a virtual journey from the state’s oldest geographic region, the Piedmont, to its youngest, the Coastal Plain.

Catch an award-winning science film in the museum’s new Giant Screen Theater. Its state-of-the art 4K laser projection system uses 2D and 3D technology to transport moviegoers to destinations that range from outer space to hidden animal burrows in their own backyards.

After dark, explore the constellations in Fernbank’s Star Gallery, or check the museum’s schedule for adults-only nights, which offer music, food, and science activities.

Discover treasures from the distant past at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, located in the heart of the Emory University campus. Each year, more than 100,000 visitors explore the museum’s extraordinary collections of art from ancient Greece, Egypt, Nubia, Rome, Africa, Asia, the Near East, and the Americas.

With more than 17,000 art objects, as well as works on paper dating from the Renaissance to the present, the Michael C. Carlos Museum is the South’s premier museum for ancient art.

The collections began in 1876 in a museum housed on Emory’s first campus in Oxford, Georgia. As the university grew, so did its acquisitions. The Emory University Museum was founded in 1919 after the campus moved to Atlanta. Over the years, Atlanta businessman and philanthropist Michael C. Carlos donated millions of dollars to the museum, which was renamed in his honor. A new building to house the collections, designed by Michael Graves, opened in 1993.

Today, the Michael C. Carlos Museum is known for its teaching lab and conservation center, educational programs, and fine exhibits. More than 30,000 school children attend its educational programs each year, and the museum also opens its doors to scholars, students, tourists, and art and history buffs.

Check the museum’s online calendar for a schedule of tours, chamber music concerts, lectures, classes, workshops for adults and children, book discussions, and other events. A temporary exhibition, Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, is on view February through November 2018. It traces the roles of cats, lions, and even dogs and jackals in Egyptian myths and daily life.

Old-fashioned detective work and cutting-edge technology combine to solve the mysteries of disease at the David J. Sencer CDC Museum. This museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, uses award-winning exhibits and collections to show how scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigate public health issues like Ebola, Lyme disease, and antibiotic resistance.

The CDC was founded in Atlanta in 1946 to prevent outbreaks of malaria, typhus, and other infectious diseases. The David J. Sencer Museum, originally called the Global Health Odyssey Museum, opened in 1996 when the CDC celebrated its 50th anniversary. It took on its current name in 2011, when it was renamed to honor its longest-serving director.

The Story of CDC tells this public agency’s history though documents, photographs, and artifacts that include an iron lung and a wooden intelligence test. A multimedia presentation traces the CDC’s role in eliminating polio, identifying Legionnaire’s disease, and more.

Guided student field trips, group tours, and self-guided tours are available. Speakers may be available upon request to discuss the museum’s exhibits or specialized topics like environmental health. A highlight of each guided tour is the opportunity to try on a Biosafety Level 4 lab suit, so bring a camera (cameras are allowed only in the museum area).

Today, the CDC continues to battle current, new, and emerging diseases around the world. It’s recognized as the top federal agency for promoting health, preventing disease and injury, and responding to bioterrorism and other health emergencies.