What's fun for/with kids in Atlanta?

January 24, 2022 4:36 PM

I'm planning to take my kid, who will be 6.5, to visit extended family in the Atlanta suburbs. During the trip I'd like to stay in a hotel or airbnb for a few nights to mix things up a little. What is a fun/cute/pleasant neighborhood for families? What are the best sights for kids? She likes especially likes nature, art, science and music. I'd also love to incorporate African-American history and culture. Anything we don't get to this year, we could consider for future visits.
posted by vunder to Travel & Transportation around Atlanta, GA (4 answers total)

Best answer: Fernbank Museum
Georgia Aquarium
Center for Puppetry Arts
Catch the ASO
Beltline or other walking trails
posted by heathrowga at 5:41 PM on January 24, 2022

Best answer: I can recommend the Carlos museum at Emory. It's not a large museum, but each small gallery has pieces of art and objects from different cultures. Here's everything that's on view right now; sadly it looks like their Incan quipus are in the archive at the moment. In addition to the fantastic Egyptian section, those are what I used to take visitors to see, because it's so cool to stare at carefully knotted threads and ponder the fact that there's an entire writing system in the patterns that generations of scholars have largely failed to decipher. If you're going to be there March 19 or later, they're featuring Charmaine Minnefield, a local Atlanta artist whose work is focused on the preservation of African American history and pre-Middle Passage cultural ties through ritual and tradition.
posted by deludingmyself at 6:32 PM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If it were me I would stay in the Virginia Highlands. It's convenient to the Botanical Garden, Fernbank, Freedom Park and most of the popular sights. It has a cute little boutique shopping area and Paolo's Gelato is amazing (they are closed temporarily until March, though).

If you have access to a kitchen I would visit the Dekalb Farmer's Market on the first day and pick up snacks and breakfast items. I would only do this if your kid is chill with very, very large supermarkets. It's huge and has food for nearly any international cuisine.

I would also check out Decatur while you're there. They have an adorable independent bookstore called the "Little Shop of Stories".
posted by Alison at 6:37 PM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]

I co-sign everything Alison said.
posted by rustcellar at 9:43 PM on January 24, 2022 [1 favorite]