David J. Sencer CDC Museum — Attraction in Decatur

The David J. Sencer CDC Museum is one of Atlanta’s hidden gems and an incredibly inspiring place to visit. It offers a powerful journey through the history of public health and the global fight against infectious diseases—efforts that have profoundly changed and saved millions of lives.

The story of the CDC begins right after World War II, when malaria was still a major threat in the southern United States. In 1946, the U.S. government established the Communicable Disease Center (now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) specifically to tackle this deadly disease. Atlanta was chosen not only because malaria was widespread in the region, but also because of the strong public health presence already established here.

Emory University played a pivotal role in making the CDC's founding possible: Emory granted 15 acres of land to the fledgling agency—land adjacent to its Druid Hills campus—allowing the CDC to build its headquarters and begin operations. This strategic partnership laid the foundation for what would become the world’s leading public health institution, with Emory and CDC remaining strong neighbors and collaborators to this day.

Today, the CDC’s impact reaches across the globe.

At the museum, you’ll see how CDC played a leading role in eradicating smallpox, contributed to the near-eradication of polio, pioneered early HIV/AIDS interventions, and responded to major global health crises like Ebola, Zika, SARS, and COVID-19. You’ll discover their legacy of vaccine innovation, pandemic preparedness, health equity leadership, and scientific research excellence.

The exhibitions are thoughtfully curated, moving, and intellectually engaging. You’ll find artifacts like the historic iron lung from the polio era, original smallpox vaccination devices, early field epidemiology tools, and the stunning "Global Symphony" installation celebrating global health milestones. It’s science, bravery, and compassion captured in living history.

The museum is free, meticulously maintained, and deeply educational. Visiting the CDC Museum is not just a tour—it's a profound reminder of how far we have come in public health and how critical these efforts remain today. If you’re ever in Atlanta, this museum is an absolute must-visit. You’ll leave more informed, more inspired, and...

This is a really cool place and is loaded with information. A quick breakdown

Good: free!! loaded with information on diseases and epide.ics from the recent Ebola outbreak in Western Africa to the AIDS scare of the 90's and even earlier epidemics like Polio and smallpox. they have a lot of real world items that would have been used in handling outbreaks, helps make these events feel real.

(MINOR) Bad: you're not allowed to take pictures of the outsides of the buildings in the compound and even certain areas inside the museum. This isn't apparent and they don't have signs posted anywhere, when I went to take a picture, I got yelled at by security guards. What's the big deal, they showed it all on The Walking Dead anyway 😂 the exhibits are really information dense, they're almost daunting to approach because you feel like you're surrounded by walls of text, and they have videos playing in many places with the sound on, (and some areas with headphones). I get easily distracted and wasn't able to read some of the exhibits because of the videos playing around me. due to security concerns, you must have a state id to enter, so international visitors may not be able to enter.,

If my rating didn't say it: these negatives are MINOR. I found the museum to be extremely informative and would recommend anyone who...

I called before we went to see if they required covid-19 vaccine cards (online it said we may need it). The lady seemed very put out that I was asking that. The check in process consisted of having your car searched, showing ID multiple times, going through metal detectors. The security guards were not very friendly, they seemed like they didn't like kids being there. Once in the exhibit a worker stopped my children to tell them not to touch things (which they were not doing). Although the museum is nice for an adult audience, not at all centered for children or youth. My children found it extremely boring. It would be nice if there was something for children to see or touch. I was hoping for more than just reading posters on the wall. It would have been more interesting to watch a...