Living in Alpharetta means you have access to some of the country’s best museums located in town and in nearby Atlanta. At Crème de la Crème of Alpharetta on Nesbit Ferry Road, we know how important it is for your family to find fun activities that are also educational and inspiring for the kids. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the six best educational destinations, like museums, nature sites, and science centers, in and around Alpharetta, Georgia.

Chattahoochee Nature Center

Image via Flickr by muffinn Licensed CC BY 2.0

Take your family on a nature-filled adventure at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, located along the historical Chattahoochee River. This preservation area is 127 acres of native plants, trees, and wildlife living in diverse habitats, and you can explore the great outdoors through hiking nature trails, viewing fascinating exhibits, and attending educational events for kids and adults alike.

If you’re looking to watch for wildlife, consider hiking one of the six trails, including the Wildlife Walk that takes you through the aviary or Kingfisher Pond Trail that leads you to the namesake pond that’s home to herons, ducks, turtles, lizards, and lots of insects. You can also go on a canoeing adventure with a nature guide to see riverland wildlife up close.

Tickets to the Chattahoochee Nature Center vary in price, with single-day admission for adults costing $10 and children ages 3 to 12 years old costing $6.

Atlanta History Center

Get to know more about the history of Atlanta, the South, and America at the Atlanta History Center. This educational destination has both indoor and outdoor stations as the property has 33 acres of historic houses and buildings, beautiful gardens, and fantastically diverse exhibits. Your family can view exhibits on Atlanta railroad history, the 1996 Olympics that took place in Atlanta, early settlers to the area, Southeastern folk art, and the Civil War. Many exhibits rotate to bring people more fascinating artifacts, portraits, and displays that educate on a variety of historical and cultural topics and events.

Adult tickets cost $23.41 and kids ages 4 to 12 years old cost $9.80.

Museum of Design Atlanta

The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) is a unique museum that combines art, architecture, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) under one roof. Here, you can explore how these fields intersect, including how design is used to combat climate change, improve society, and make the world more accessible. You can view interesting visual exhibits, participate in design projects, and attend programs featuring prolific designers and artists working today. 

They even have programs specifically for children that get them involved in being creative and learning design fundamentals in a really fun way. Your kids can build and customize a skateboard, create a raincoat from recycled materials, and construct architecture projects. After a visit to MODA, check out the virtual exhibits on the museum’s website. They have exhibits that educate kids on ancient civilizations, sports, design technology, and much more. They host new virtual exhibits online every month.

Visitor tickets cost $10 for non-members, $8 for non-member students, and are free for members.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History

At the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, your family can explore many facets of the planet’s amazing creatures, habitats, and processes. Learn about Georgia’s different geological and archeological stages, including ancient rock formations and the area’s earliest animal inhabitants, along with the animals and habitats that make up the area now. You can discover the power of tectonic plates, gravity, lightning, and other earthly forces. You can also view all sorts of shells found in the ocean, see archeological findings up close, and learn more about cultural events and eras that transformed our world.

In addition to these exhibits, your family can also watch nature documentary films on the giant IMAX screen and watch dinosaurs come to life or climb mountains without leaving their seat. You should also view the outdoor exhibits, which include a canopy walk high among the trees, or explore the Rain Garden that conserves nearly 300,000 gallons of rainwater each year that keeps the nearby gardens well-watered.

Adults cost $24.95, and children cost $22.95. IMAX shows and access to special exhibits may cost extra.

Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University

The Carlos Museum is an art museum located at Emory University. This museum rotates new exhibits every few months, featuring works from many different cultures, artists, and historical eras. They’ve featured collections of contemporary photography, international architectural design, ancient Roman prints, and portraits of Indian gods and goddesses. 

In addition to visiting the museum for its awesome exhibits, you can also come for its children’s and family programming. This museum has hosted hands-on events as well as storytime with children’s authors. These events, known as Artful Stories, feature diverse books with unique protagonists, conflicts, and worlds. They’re great events where your family can meet an author, hear the book read live, and get introduced to many different stories.

This museum costs $8 for adults and $6 for children ages 6 to 17 years old. You can pay an additional $2 to rent an audio guide to provide extra information as you tour the museum.

Tellus Science Museum

Tellus Science Museum is a fantastic STEM museum that explores topics like archeology, geology, energy resources, outer space, and much more. In the Weinman Mineral Gallery, you can view hundreds of gems, gold, and minerals from Georgia. Kids will love the fossil dig area, where they play paleontologist and gemologist, as well as the My Big Backyard area that features dozens of hands-on exhibits for the littlest scientists. The Science in Motion gallery showcases vehicles, locomotives, and aircraft, showing the evolution of transportation.

The Tellus Science Museum is also home to the Bentley Planetarium that shows images of the galaxy as well as scenes from incredible storms and volcanic explosions that took place on earth. There’s also the Tellus Observatory that’s open on certain days each month. Your family can view the night’s sky through a telescope, take a tour of the observatory and its seismographic equipment (which detects earthquakes), and participate in fun astronomy workshops.

Tickets cost $17 for adults and $13 for children ages 3 to 17 years old. You can also become a member to attend the museum for free throughout the year. Special exhibits, including the observatory and planetarium, may cost extra.

So there you have it, six cool educational destinations around the Alpharetta area. Did we miss your family’s favorite museum or nature center in town? If so, contact us, and we’ll be happy to add it to our list!