Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum — Attraction in Atlanta

This educational, entertaining self-guided tour taught me much I never knew and helped me remember lots I'd forgotten. I urge persons in the Atlanta area to visit.

Jimmy Carter has accomplished much over the course of his life. The exhibits here cover his childhood, military experience, state political offices, Presidency, and his humanitarian work around the world since his Presidency. The impressive exhibits indicate why he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

Exhibits show pictures of him as a child and working on the family peanut farm. Exhibits discuss his campaigns for state office, then the Presidency. Enlightening videos discuss the Presidential campaign and the way it was conducted. And his work with the Carter Center is also covered.

I especially enjoyed watching parts of four of Jimmy Carter's Sunday School lessons at the small church where he has taught Sunday School for decades. He shared some nice insights. Amazingly?, as I took a few notes and pointed out to another visitor the display where one accessed those Sunday School lessons and was telling the person about them, the electric power went off in that portion of the building. A staff member took us to the lobby, where we waited and looked at displays there for a few minutes until power was restored. I didn't ask what caused the outage. Perhaps it was related to rain storms that were occurring in the area, or maybe it was God in some way?

It was nice to see the replica of the Oval Office as it was during the Carter Presidency. A plaque there describes a few personal items that were in the office. And an audiotape plays repeatedly a nice, short narration by Carter about his time in the Oval Office.

A video about Presidential Carter's negotiations between Egypt and Israel ( the Camp David Accords) to achieve peace was also enjoyable and informative.

Displays about the Carter Center's work to reduce diseases, monitor elections, and achieve peace provided much information about the Center's work.

A restaurant in the building is open during lunch hours. Many of the seats at the tables in the restaurant offered a beautiful view of part of the magnificent gardens on the grounds of the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum and the Carter Center through the numerous large windows in the restaurant. It made for an awesome atmosphere.

The museum includes a gift shop that offers various souvenirs for sale, including copies of some of President Carter's books.

The staff were all friendly and helped make my visit even more enjoyable.

I devoted a total of about seven hours to the museum and could have happily devoted another hour or so. I would like to have devoted a couple of hours to leisurely strolling through the grounds as well. But my time was limited. However, I did enjoy walking part of the grounds when I first arrived (shortly before 9 a.m. opening time for the museum) and admired some of them from the restaurant, as noted above. Plaques on the grounds tell some of the history of the site where the Carter Center was built.

The average visitor could probably tour the museum and grounds in half the time I did or less. But there is much to see for those of us especially interested in it.

A sign on the door of the museum lists its hours as 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 12 noon to 4:45 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for senior citizens (age 60 or over).

Overall, I am very impressed with the museum and its grounds, hope to visit again, and encourage persons in the area to devote some time to a visit. The price is very reasonable to tour the museum. And the magnificent grounds with their gardens can be visited free of charge. It would be a great place for a peaceful stroll, I think.

Atlanta's MARTA has at least one bus route that goes right by the...

Jimmy Carter is the first President that I fully remember being in office. I have a partial memory of the end of the disgraced Nixon's tenure and the brief Administration of Ford. So it was a walk down memory lane to visit Carter's Museum. It is a beautiful campus and a calm, tranquil place just to sit outside and enjoy the scenery. Once you enter the building you go through the gift shop to start the tour. You learn the history of Carter's life in Georgia and the world in which he came of age. Then you discover that his time in the US Navy as a Submariner made a great impact on his life. His marriage to Roslyn probably kept Carter from making a career of the Navy. His family drew him back to Georgia where the inequality and lack of positive political change pushed him to get into politics to make a difference in the lives of his neighbors and for the citizens of the state. He was a popular Governor who was a genuine outsider to the Beltway politics of Washington. The museum does a great job of putting this history into the context of the time with Carter's intentions and then showing the consequences of his actions. You see what the pressing issues of the day were and how Carter ran against Ford to win the Presidency. Carter had many highs in office but the Museum doesn't shy away discussing the difficulties of the Administration including the Iranian Hostage Crisis; the Energy Crisis and the economy. While he left office feeling that there was more to be accomplished he did not fade quietly into the night. The Museum also details his great humanitarian work as an ex-President including Habitat for Humanity, addressing world hunger and health issues, monitoring elections in emerging democracies, etc. I left the Museum with a much great appreciation for the accomplishments of President Carter. The Museum put Carter's life in context which is what you need in understanding history. I highly recommend taking a day to visit this Museum when you are in the...

The peaceful tranquility and humility of Georgia is captured in the Poncey-Highland area of Atlanta.. and never more is that present than on the grounds of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Just the majestic grounds in and of themselves are worth a trip from anywhere.. and unmatched as far as I'm concerned... Having once been a resident of this fine state I'm old enough to remember James Earl Carter as one of our more decent and generous presidents. A kind heart and compassion man, whose acts of kindness can only be compared to High Members of Clergy. If not for the hostage crisis one can only wonder how history would have turned... regardless this is a solid and trustworthy Testament to a fine Administration and a truly incredible humanitarian. Not only is the multi-screen rendition of "A day in the life of a president" a sense reeling ride ..but narrations by Martin Sheen don't hurt either and definitely add to the flavor and context of this incredible Legacy Monument. The recreation of the Oval Office with narration by the president himself is definitely an achievement and worth the ride. Also artifacts from dignitary and defense had to the texture of this structure. Almost HALF of this museum is filled with post presidential achievements and that must be acknowledge. Its like he never left office and forgot to stop caring. This a timeline of challenges as well as commitments two peace. It educates. It entertains. You cannot take away from this individual his long-range depth for caring. Single-handedly the man himself as well as his wife have shed light on mental illness, infectious disease and voter fraud. They truly have done more around the world than any couple in my lifetime. I would compare both of them to the Roosevelts. Come to the museum and find...