Center for Puppetry Arts
Don't miss this place if you're traveling with the kids. In fact, you might not want to miss it even without kids in tow. The center is dedicated to expanding public awareness of puppetry as a fine art and to presenting all of its international and historic forms. Opened in 1978, with Kermit the Frog cutting the official ribbon (he had a little help from the late Jim Henson), it contains a 300-seat theater, a smaller theater, gallery space, and a permanent museum. The puppet shows are marvelous -- sophisticated, riveting, full-stage productions with elaborate scenery. Some are family oriented; others, with nighttime showings, are geared to adults. Call ahead to find out what's on; reservations are essential. You can also call a week or so in advance to enroll yourself or your kids in a puppet-making workshop.The center's permanent exhibit, "Puppets, The Power of Wonder," is stunning, featuring one of the largest and finest puppet collections in North America. The exhibit includes such treasures as ritualistic African figures, Punch and Judy, Henson's Pigs in Space, turn-of-the-century Thai shadow puppets, Indonesian wayang golek puppets used to tell classic stories (a centuries-old tradition), Chinese hand puppets, rod-operated marionettes from all over Europe, original Muppets, pre-Colombian clay puppets that were used in religious ceremonies circa A.D. 1200, and Turkish shadow figures made of dried animal skins. Visitors have the opportunity to use joysticks to manipulate over 350 of these puppets. A video hosted by Jim Henson provides an overview of puppetry and takes visitors around the world to meet masters of the art. Another gallery features visiting exhibits from all over the world. Reservations are required for guided tours of "Puppets, The Power of Wonder"; the tour lasts about an hour.The gift shop is like no other, with oodles of marionettes, one-of-a-kind handmade puppets, masks, videos, and other related items.

Georgia Dome
Atlanta's $214-million, 71,500-seat domed megastadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, hosted Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994, several Olympic events in 1996, and Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000. In addition, it is the site of the annual Peach Bowl each January, and hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four in 2002. The Dome also hosts tennis matches, tractor pulls, college basketball, track and field events, and Supercross events. The stadium's oval shape provides a good view of the action from every seat. Check the papers or call the number below to find out what's on during your stay. Parking is extremely limited and expensive; take MARTA and walk to the Dome.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
The largest museum of natural sciences in the Southeast, this architecturally stunning facility borders 65 acres of pristine forest. Architect Graham Gund has achieved a marvelous integration of interior/exterior space The building, which nearly eclipses the attractions inside, centers on a soaring three-story, sky-lit Great Hall -- an Italianate brick atrium with spiral staircases, lofty columns, and windows revealing the woodlands beyond. Look closely at the museum floors, where ancient fossil remains from the late Jurassic period are embedded.When the Great Hall was designed, it was meant to one day be the home of a large-scale permanent dinosaur exhibition, and in 2000, Fernbank became the only place in the world to display a complete mounted skeleton of Argentinosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever found. The dramatic permanent exhibit, "Giants of the Mesozoic," features the 90-foot-long plant-eater as it defends its nest of eggs against the 45-foot-long Giganotosaurus, the largest meat-eater ever classified. Hovering above in the 86-foot-tall hall are two flying pterosaurs. Dinosaurs just don't get any bigger than this, and it's a little hair-raising to walk into the hall and see these beasts towering over the tiny humans below.There are several other permanent exhibits, including "A Walk Through Time in Georgia," which uses the state as a microcosm to tell the story of the earth's development through time and the chronology of life upon it. Visitors travel back 15 billion years to experience the origins of the universe (the Big Bang) and the formation of galaxies and solar systems, and into the future to consider the fate of our planet. Eighteen galleries re-create landform regions from the rolling pine-forested foothills of the Piedmont Plateau to the mossy Okefenokee Swamp, from the Cumberland Plateau (where you can walk through a typical "limestone cavern") to the marshy Coast and Barrier Islands. Exhibits are enhanced by creative films and videos, informational audiophones, interactive computers, sound effects, and old-fashioned field guides -- not to mention more than 1,500 fabricated plants and mounted specimens of birds and animals."Sensing Nature" tantalizes your senses with hands-on exhibits that explore how we experience the natural world. The room swims with computers, colored lights, and mirrors, and you can step into a life-size kaleidoscope, play with perspective, gaze into infinity, see physical evidence of sound waves, and mix colors on a computer.The "Children's Discovery Room," open daily June through August and on a limited basis during the school year, includes Fantasy Forest, a colorful play area designed for preschoolers (ages 3-5), where kids can become bees and pollinate flowers, climb a treehouse, walk through a swamp, and play at being farmers. The state-shaped Georgia Adventure is a similar discovery room for ages 6 to 10.While you're here, be sure to catch a stunning IMAX film (buy tickets as soon as you enter the museum; they sometimes sell out). The immense IMAX screen -- 5 stories high and 72 feet wide -- puts you right in the middle of all the action.Other museum attractions include a wetlands exhibit, a dramatically colorful living coral reef aquarium, a unique shell display, a gemstone collection, and the McClatchey Collection of jewelry and textiles from the old Silk Road countries. A museum store is stocked with entertaining and educational gifts and books, and there's a restaurant with arched windows overlooking Fernbank Forest and outdoor patio seating.

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