Atlanta Fall Holiday Happenings: Exciting Attractions for All Ages
By Kevin Forest Moreau
By now, you might already know that metro Atlanta is filled with great
neighborhoods, restaurants, entertainment venues and other draws for adults. But it also has plenty to offer for families with children, including attractions filled with history, fascinating wildlife and exhilarating activities.Now that fall is here, it’s the perfect time to pack everyone into the car and explore your new city’s family-friendly destinations. Here are 15 that everyone can enjoy.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta is home to the Atlanta Braves, its own Major League Baseball team, and Truist Park, located just northwest of Atlanta, is the current home of the Braves. Travel to the ballpark, located inside The Battery Atlanta complex, to cheer on the team. Come early to watch batting practice, stay after the game on Fridays for the free Friday Night Fireworks show and check the team’s website for special themed days, giveaways, postgame concerts and more. 404-577-9100, braves.com.
Atlanta History Center
Dedicated to highlighting and celebrating Atlanta’s rich past, this 33-acre complex in the Buckhead neighborhood allows kids and adults alike to step back in time and tour the Swan House, an elegant 1928 mansion. Visitors can also experience a glimpse of life during the Civil War at the Smith Family Farm, where they can interact with characters from the period and participate in daily chores. The permanent exhibit Turning Point: The American Civil War features more than 1,500 artifacts, including cannons, flags and other items guaranteed to capture your child’s imagination.404-814-4000, atlantahistorycenter.com.
Center For Puppetry Arts
Learn about puppets from all over the world and create your own puppet at this entertaining and educational attraction in Midtown Atlanta. The center also hosts special exhibits as well as performances and film screenings for families, teens and adults (current shows include Brother Coyote, Sister Fox, Sept. 6-24, and The Rainbow Fish, Oct. 4-15). The center features the Jim Henson Gallery, an interactive exhibition following his life as a puppeteer. Visitors can view icons like Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. 404-873-3391, puppet.org.
Centennial Olympic Park
Located in downtown Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park opened in 1996, when the city hosted the Summer Games. Since then the 22-acre greenspace has served as a tribute to the Olympics with several landmarks and features, including the Fountain of Rings Plaza, the Gateway of Dreams sculpture and every child’s favorite, the Fountain of Rings. The park also includes more than 500,000 commemorative engraved bricks that were installed before the Games. 404-223-4000, gwcca.org/centennial-olympic-park.
Children’s Museum of Atlanta
Located in downtown Atlanta, the nonprofit Children’s Museum of Atlanta encourages creative, imaginative play with interactive exhibits. Watch your children climb through the layers of the Earth, catch colorful fish, create art on a giant paint wall, climb on a John Deere tractor and more. The museum’s current special exhibit, Emotions at Play with Pixar’s Inside Out (running Sept. 16-Jan. 7), provides children with experiences based on Disney and Pixar’s animated film. 404-659-5437, childrensmuseumatlanta.org.
Chick-Fil-A College Football Hall of Fame
Located in downtown Atlanta, the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to the game that dates back to 1869. While there visitors can do everything from testing out their skills at Kia Building a Champion or the Indoor Playing Field and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Skill Zone to taking in a short film at the Game Day Theater to checking out ESPN’s Celebrating 150+ Years of College Football at the Game Time Gallery. 404-880-4800, cfbhall.com.
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
From the bronze dinosaurs that greet you on your way inside to eye-popping documentaries screened in its IMAX theater, the Fernbank Museum is a fun mix of education and entertainment with indoor and outdoor exhibits. Walk beneath skeletons of two of the world’s largest dinosaurs in the Great Hall’s Giants of the Mesozoic exhibit, and explore the history of the planet and the state via A Walk Through Time in Georgia. Or catch the special exhibit Vikings: Warriors of the Sea (Oct. 7-Jan. 1), which sheds new light on the Viking Age. 404-929-6300, fernbankmuseum.org.
Georgia Aquarium
Home to more than several hundred species from around the world, this downtown Atlanta landmark offers a truly immersive experience. You don’t have to be a budding marine biologist to be amazed by the Georgia Aquarium’s impressive collection of whale sharks, beluga whales, manta rays, penguins and many more aquatic creatures—more than 100,000 in all, inhabiting more than 11 million gallons of fresh and marine water. Exhibit galleries include Truist Pier 225, featuring California sea lions in an intimate setting, and Aquanaut Adventure: A Discovery Zone, which permits guests to learn about aquatic life in some of the Earth’s most extreme environments. 404-581-4000, georgiaaquarium.org.
Lego Discovery Center
Located on the top floor of Phipps Plaza in the Buckhead neighborhood, the Lego Discovery Center Atlanta features 10 different zones for children ages 3 and older. Kids can learn how Lego bricks are made at the Factory Tour, destroy trolls and skeletons in the Kingdom Quest ride, create their own spaceships and check out Miniland, a replica of Atlanta’s landmarks. Guests can also participate in the Great Lego Race VR Experience, where they can ride both on the ground and in the air in a virtual reality competition. 404-848-9252, legodiscoverycenter.com/atlanta.
Six Flags Over Georgia
Featuring everything from pulse-pounding thrill rides to kid-friendly entertainers, this amusement park is on every Atlanta kid’s todo list. Your little ones can take a tour of the park on a steam-engine locomotive, indulge in good-natured fun in the bumper cars or take a ride in a log down a mountain river.Don’t forget the Dare Devil Dive and exciting roller coasters including Goliath, Georgia Scorcher, Great American Scream Machine and Superman: Ultimate Flight. There’s also a water park, Hurricane Harbor, which offers a wave poll along with several rides. 770-739-3400, sixflags.com/overgeorgia.
Skyline Park
Located at Ponce City Market, situated right on top of the building, you can hit the skies at Skyline Park. Enjoy fun carnival games, the Skyline slide, mini golf and more as you look out at the amazing view of the city. Skyline Park has fun events throughout the year, such as Rooftop Igloos to dine in during the winter, so keep an eye on its calendar to plan your visit around the perfect event for you! 770-999-1530, skylineparkatlanta.com.
Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History
The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw is the place to be for all train enthusiasts, offering locomotives of all sizes. It features The General steam locomotive, the train used in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War. The facility includes permanent exhibits on not only the Chase and The General but also Civil War railroads and the Glover Machine Works collection. Its 8,000-square foot Jolley Education Center hosts the weekly Mommy & Me preschool program and the monthly Homeschool Workshop series. The museum, which opened on April 12, 1972, celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. Each January the museum hosts Trains, Trains, Trains!, a locomotive lover’s dream. 770-427-2117, southernmuseum.org.
Stone Mountain Park
One of Georgia’s most popular attractions, this beautiful 3,200-acre park offers a non-stop array of events and activities. Climb (or take a cable car) to the top of the mountain, brave the SkyHike adventure course or cool off in the Geyser Splash Pad. Go camping, fishing or hiking on the property, enjoy a train ride around the park or play a little golf while the kids enjoy some live entertainment. Then cap it all off with the famous Lasershow Spectacular. 800-401-2407, stonemountainpark.com.
Woodruff Arts Center
Located in Atlanta’s Midtown community, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and the High Museum of Art. The Alliance, which hosts award-winning plays and musicals, including children’s ones, will bring The Shining to the stage Sept. 15-Oct. 1 and Into the Burrow: A Peter Rabbit Tale Oct. 14-Dec. 23. The High, which boasts of a variety of art genres and exhibitions, will host In the City of Light: Paris, 1850-1920 Sept. 1-Dec. 31 and A Long Arc: Photography and the American South since 1845 starting Sept. 15. ASO hosts a variety of concerts ranging from classical to rock and roll. 404-733-4200, woodruffcenter.org.
Zoo Atlanta
Sprawling over nearly 40 acres in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Zoo Atlanta is home to more than 1,000 animals representing over 200 species. The zoo boasts one of the largest populations of gorillas in North America, and it is one of only four in the country to house giant pandas. Other famous residents include crocodiles, lions, meerkats, Southern white rhinos, macaws and a Komodo dragon. The zoo also features train rides and Savanna Hall, its event space overlooking African animals such as elephants and giraffes. 404-624-5600, zooatlanta.org.
Family Fun destinations: A Short Drive From Atlanta
Lookout Mountain (Chattanooga, TN):
Featuring three top-rated, world-famous natural attractions—including America’s deepest cave and largest underground waterfall accessible to the public—Lookout Mountain is the perfect getaway for extraordinary experiences and breath-taking beauty. 800-825-8366, lookoutmountain.com.
Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC):
As the largest private home in the country, this 8,000-acre property sits in the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers visitors tours of the historic locale built by George Vanderbilt along with sweeping vistas from its spacious gardens. 800-411-3812, biltmore.com.
Amelia Island (Amelia Island, FL):
Enjoy one of the Sunshine State’s best-kept secrets with this beach town nuzzled up to the Georgia border at the Atlantic coast that boasts an array of lovingly preserved Southern Victorian homes. 904-277-0717, ameliaisland.com.
