Alabama 2022 - 12 July: Fernbank

We visited the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (and dinosaur park).  It is about a 2-hour drive from Auburn, and in a different time zone.  So, we had an early start.  For me, that meant 5:45 out of bed - a time before the heat of the day becomes an issue. We left shortly before 7am (8am at our destination) and before the traffic got crazy.  Driving in Alabama is not like driving in the UK. The roads are wide and not massively overpopulated with cars.  Once off the main roads, the part of Atlanta we drove through could easily have been suburban Surrey.

We arrived 20 minutes before opening, early enough to get a Shady parking space.  As you enter the museum, you are greeted by a family of dinosaurs, it is an impressive display.  When the doors opened, there was only a small queue and entry was easy.  We walked around the forest first, looking at the wildlife and the various displays.  There were wooden walkways and paths made of stone chips, so the walking was easy, especially while it was still cool. We found 'Elephant Rock', a large outcrop that could just about be imagined as an elephant, and was by far the least interesting part of the day.

A Stegosaurus, with the grandchildren for scale

The stegosaurus is an outside model, there are bigger dinosaur skeletons inside.  There was a dinosaur talk in the afternoon, where Robbie and an older boy were the only two that really knew their dinosaurs.

There is also a large display showing the wildlife of Georgia and some of the history of the state.  I enjoyed spotting all the different creatures in the display with the grandchildren. Some creatures were carefully hidden in their 'natural' habitat.

There is also a small science area with different things that the children and adults can try.  Both of them seemed to enjoy this display, as they did the play area on the top floor.

The last event of the day was a short film about life in Antarctica in  Mesozoic era.  In those times the continent was not covered in ice and wildlife thrived, with its own unique species.

All things considered, the museum does a very good job, even to the point that the floor is made of tile that includes fossils.

The drive home was not too bad.  We had a Chick-fil-a takeaway for dinner, and later watched the tree frogs jump up the patio doors.  I tried to video one of them, it's a bit jerky, but just about good enough to see what's happening.