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.

Turner Field
This spectacular 50,000-seat ballpark started life as an 80,000-seat stadium built to host the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996. After housing the opening and closing ceremonies and numerous track and field events during the Olympics, the north end of the stadium (with approximately 35,000 seats) was demolished and the rest of the structure was modified to accommodate baseball.Turner Field is built in the style of old-time ballparks, but also includes a number of attractions besides the baseball game itself. The folks who run the stadium like to call it a baseball theme park, and it's not a bad idea to come to the game early and take in the various attractions, especially if you have children along. The Braves Museum and Hall of Fame features memorabilia commemorating legendary stars and key moments in Braves history (take a gander at the bat Hank Aaron used to hit his 715th home run). The museum is open to ticket holders on game days 3 hours before game time and 1 hour after the completion of the game. Scouts Alley is designed to teach fans about the fine art of scouting. Fans can test their hitting and throwing skills, call up scouting reports on former and current Braves, play a trivia game, call a play-by-play inning of a game, learn about Hank Aaron's "hot" spot, and much more. At The Cartoon Network's Tooner Field, kids can hang out with Cartoon Network characters or play interactive games in the Digital Dugout. At The East Pavilion, fans can have their images inserted into either a baseball card or a photo of a great moment in Braves history. The Braves Clubhouse Store is full of Braves-themed merchandise, some of which is available only at the stadium. Finally, it's possible, and fun, to tour Turner Field. Tours depart every half-hour Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 4pm and Sunday 1pm to 4pm on non-game days, and Monday to Saturday 9:30am to noon on game days. Prices are $7 adults, $4 children age 3 to 12; children under age 3 free. Call tel. 404/614-2311 for information. Tours include the museum, the dugout, the press box and broadcast booth, the clubhouse, Scouts Alley, and more. On non-game days, there's ample free parking in the north lot.If all this activity makes you hungry, head to The West Pavilion, where you can snack on famous food items from other ballparks, or to The Braves Chop House, a casual dining restaurant that overlooks the Braves' bullpen.Museum-only tickets are $3 on non-game days; the museum hours vary according to the game schedule.

Yellow River Game Ranch
Bordering the Yellow River, this 24-acre animal preserve offers close encounters of the 4-legged kind -- a chance to view, pet, feed, and generally mingle with some 600 animals (always including quite a few babies) who live in open enclosures or right out in the open, along a 1-mile oak- and hickory-shaded forest trail. Owner Art Rilling knows every animal on the ranch by name and can give you chapter and verse on each one's personality, preferences, and in some cases, romantic history. The animals know they're among friends here and are highly socialized, so you have a unique chance to study them up close. Keep in mind that all these animals smell like, well, animals. If a barnyard atmosphere bothers you, don't visit.Inhabitants include donkeys named Rhett and Scarlett, Georgia black bears that stand up and beg for marshmallows, goats, dozens of rabbits in Bunny Burrows (kids can pet the bunnies), an assortment of interesting-looking chickens, a herd of buffalo, sheep, burros, goats, ponies, a skunk named General Sherman (we are in Atlanta, after all), and a groundhog named General Beauregard Lee who lives in a white colonnaded Southern mansion complete with miniature satellite dish.Consider packing a picnic lunch. There are tables throughout the property, and one especially nice picnic area overlooks the river.

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Choose Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport North Hotel and you'll discover a hotel that puts every convenience at your fingertips. We feature 493 beautifully appointed hotel guest rooms, over 12,000 square feet of versatile meeting and banquet space to accommodate up to 300 is an ideal location for the business traveler. The hotel®s Bristol Bar & Grill restaurant, offers a superb breakfast, lunch & dinner fare in a friendly, fun environment. A pool and state-of-the-art fitness room along with ...

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