Children's Museum of Atlanta

What it is

Children’s Museum of Atlanta packs about 20,000 square feet of play-based exhibits into its building on Centennial Olympic Park Drive, facing Centennial Olympic Park. It’s built for play, not quiet browsing: kids climb, build, pretend and experiment while caregivers join in.

What to see and do

The permanent galleries cover a lot of ground. In Fundamentally Food, kids climb tractors, milk a pretend dairy cow and shop a play grocery store. Gateway to the World has trains, rockets and a two-story Earth to climb. Leaping into Learning is a pretend forest with fishing, a treehouse and a walk-behind waterfall that keeps kids dry. Let Your Creativity Flow has a paint wall and a sand landscape, and Step Up to Science lets kids play with light and sound. Traveling and pop-up exhibits rotate through the year, so repeat visits often turn up something new.

Before you go

Plan on two to four hours. Buying tickets online ahead of time is strongly encouraged: walk-up tickets are limited, and you choose a one-hour arrival window when you book. Last entry is one hour before closing. The Museum opens earlier on weekdays than on Sundays and stays open later on weekends. It is closed on Wednesdays from August through June, and on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Babies 11 months and younger get in free, and members of other children’s museums in the ACM reciprocal program get a discount on general admission.