Fernbank Science Center — Attraction in Decatur

I came with my daughter's 1st grade class today and while the students enjoyed themselves I was disappointed with the care and attentiveness of the staff. Upon arrival there was a bit of confusion as to what enterance we were suppose to use. So the coordinating teacher asked one of the staff for direction and her response was "You don't know where the planetarium is? You didn't see the signs? Just go down the ramp someone will be down there." I felt this was very insensitive and unprofessional. I did not feel welcomed at all. Once we arrived in the planetarium and the attendant went over the "house keeping rules" it concerned me that one of the rules was should need to be excused you are not allowed back in. As I stated I was with my daughter's 1st grade class and felt this was a bit extreme as some of the students still may be learning how control their bathroom breaks. Lastly after the show, all of the student were exiting the planetarium it became a little congested in the hallway as different schools and student were using the restrooms and exploring the exhibits. This made a few of my daughter's school students come to a stand still inside the planetarium. It was at this time the host approached myself and another parent asking us to leave the planetarium as she needs to prepare for the next show. I replied to her "well ma'am there's nowhere for us to go, the line is at a stand still." She rushed past us and into the hallway to observe. Seemingly irritated she came back in walked past us without a word and began to turn the lights off. This was by far the worst experience I have had at fernbank. I'm sure this is not the kind of exsposure that your facility wants to be known by as you have so much to offer our children's learning potential and growth. Please correct these actions so that my daughter's school and others can continue to enjoy coming to what is intended to be an exciting place to experience and see the wonders...

Blown away by the staff and exhibitions! I walked in to drop my daughter off for her dance performance and was greeted by Carvel and Ifeude. I had no expectations upon entering but as I was guided through the Center I quickly realized that the environment was a trigger for creative inspiration and nostalgia.

I passed by the towering dinosaurs that took me back to childhood.

I was captured by that LED sphere of the globe projecting real-time weather patterns.

I stopped to see an authentic NASA space suit before being mesmerized by a space ship. Yes, an actual Apollo 6 Capsule.

I spoke to honeybees busy at work, lounging lizards, and all the species of native birds I’ve come to know and love.

Once my daughter finished, we ran up to the observatory to see an image of the moon so clear you will try to capture it on your phone (spoiler alert: it’s not a easy so I recommend just enjoying the moment and keep it in your heart as a secret memory). We then went to the “Family Switch” movie sized telescope where we were able to see… Saturn. It was my first time. I’m taking my boys to experience.

There’s so many more inspiring things to discover. As of 11/2024 there was active construction, the staff said that they are making improvements.

Entry is FREE! 🤯

I attended the collaboration with @Dekalb School of the Arts (Dance and Visual Arts Dept) as they highlighted Da Vinci x STEAM.

The night included GPB’s Da Vinci film premiere in the planetarium, Georgia Tech brought Astro the robodog, the Association of Medical Illustrators introduced students to a new career path, and Adobe Firefly demonstrated their AI image generation...

Very very disappointed in their "African American history" planetarium show, which told glorified stories of both JFK and Lyndon B Johnson and shared no stories of the accomplishments of black female scientists. When asked about this, the "planetary geologist" running the show said that he didn't want to reproduce Hidden Figures, and that the black people who worked at NASA wouldn't have had those opportunities if not for JFK and LBJ. He then proceeded to throw the black assistant director under the bus by saying that she had okayed the show. I am horrified that a science museum believes that Hidden Figures is all of the representation that black girls deserve, and that two white politicians were given more credit and screen time in a presentation about Black scientific achievement than any African American scientists were. Even if there weren't many black female scientists not represented in Hidden Figures (there are: Alice Ball, Mamie Phipps Clark, Jane Wright, Valerie Thomas, etc.), the movie hardly gets into the science, which might have been fascinating to learn about. This presentation was disappointing on so many levels. There was very little science education in it and very little focus on Black excellence in science. Not only was it not educational or inspiring, but it was offensive, and I'm saddened by how many public school students will probably have to view it on...