Field Trip Friday - Fernbank Science Center

We've been talking a lot about space here, so when I found out that we'd be going to Atlanta for the weekend, I looked up planetariums in the area. There just happens to be a small science center there which has astronomy shows specifically for young children. Off we headed to the Fernbank Science Museum.
Crumpet went bananas when we walked in the door. It's just a small museum, but there was a little bit of everything he loves in there!
There was this space capsule:
And this piece from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft:

This is the star projector in the planetarium:

Crumpet was fascinated by the show. It was a compilation of many of the stories told in Africa about the constellations. I don't think he learned much, but just the fact that he was surrounded by stars inside was enough to keep his interest.

There was a small collection of live animals found in Georgia:

And a large collection of skeletons and stuffed animals found in Georgia, including bones of dinosaurs that once roamed here:

Behind the museum, there were some really nice walking trails. We found this stump and talked about counting rings to determine the tree's age:

We turned over several rotting logs on the side of the trail to study the creepy crawlies underneath:

The museum had a really neat collection of petrified wood found in the area. This stump was this color when they found it, due to mineralization. All they did was shine the surface. Crumpet wanted to bring it home as a jewel for his pirate collection!

We had a really fun trip to the museum. It may have been small, but there was so much to learn and experience!

For more field trip fun, head over to Live the Adventure to read about the adventures others had this week!