Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Museums, Est. 1992

Fernbank Museum of Natural History, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the largest natural history museums in the southern part of the United States. It is home to some of the largest dinosaur skeletons known to man. The museum is one of only a few in the world that was built adjoining an old-growth forest. That forest, now called Fernbank Forest, measures 65 acres and is the largest virgin, urban, piedmont forest in the nation.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History was established on October 5, 1992, by Fernbank, Inc. That organization was chartered in 1938 by an eminent naturalist named Emily Harrison and her friend Dr. Woolford Baker. Harrison, who grew up in Atlanta, was particularly fond of a forest area that contained a variety of ferns. Fernbank, Inc. was established with the view of protecting that forestland.

The Fernbank Forest was initially leased to the DeKalb County School System for its training programs in biological sciences and also for the preservation and maintenance of the forest. The school system, with the help of the Fernbank trustees, opened the Fernbank Science Center in 1967. The popularity of the science center inspired the trustees to add newer facilities, which was the impetus for the conceptualization of the natural history museum. The famous Graham Gund Architects of Cambridge, Massachusetts were hired to design the new museum.

Since its establishment in 1992, the museum has added many artifacts and displays to its collection. One of the prime displays is a 123-foot long, 100-ton Argentinosaurus, the world's largest dinosaur. Other featured members of the dinosaur family include a 47-foot long, 8-ton Giganotosaurus, a flock of 21 Pterodaustro, and Anhanguera. All these dinosaurs are arranged in a manner that represents a scene from the pre-historic era, which are featured in a permanent exhibition entitled “Giants of the Mesozoic.” Another major exhibition is the “A Walk Through Time in Georgia,” which is the museum’s signature exhibition, containing 17 galleries of theaters and dioramas that focus on Georgia's natural history. This exhibit, presented in a two-fold story form, also delves into the evolution process of the earth.

The museum’s dinosaur collection is complemented by the floors, which have been covered with genuine fossil tiles. The tiles contain the fossil remains of animals that lived in a shallow reef more than 150 million years ago. More than 40,000 limestone tiles have been used for the flooring.

Of special interest to children is the exhibit titled “Sensing Nature.” This exhibit contains interactive displays designed to stimulate the senses. Using an array of lasers, mirrors, water, acoustics and various other gadgets, the manner in which the human senses interpret the events are demonstrated. Other interesting exhibits include a collection of ornaments and artifacts from different parts of the world and a huge collection of more than one million artifacts belonging to the tribes and the European settlers of Georgia and other parts of the nation. Many of those objects date back more than 4,000 years. Other attractions attached to the museum include a rose garden containing approximately 1,300 roses, a star gallery depicting the night sky, and a huge IMAX theatre.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History functions as a private not-for-profit organization. It works in close collaboration with the Fernbank Science Center and offers special educational programs for the students. Such advanced facilities of the Naturalist Center as laboratories, computers and a scanning electron microscope are available for research programs and experiments. The staff and scientists from the museum and the Fernbank Science Center regularly organize classes, special programs and summer camps in the laboratories.