Atlanta History Center

Today the Atlanta History Center had a FREE Open House for Homeschoolers.  We went with some friends of ours who also home school and had a blast.  Because the Olympics are going on right now, the first exhibit we saw was the 1996 Olympics.  The kids loved standing on the podium and claiming victory:

All the kids ran back and forth across the portion of the running track.  Seriously, the second they saw the track they would run on it.  We also saw the torches, medals, and lots of sports equipment.  They also watched a bunch of film of those Games.

 The kids held several "races:"

 Here they are, running around the track:

I have actually never noticed that there is an upstairs portion to the Olympic exhibit.  It is called a "Sports Lab" and there are interactive exhibits of several Olympic events.  The kids' favorite was the kayaks:

 Catherine tried out the runner's starting blocks:

Catherine standing next to a hurdle.  I can understand why there are no petite women on the track and field team!  After watching the hurdles on television, my girls created a hurdle course down our hallway with stuffed animals to jump.  They were shocked at how tall the hurdles really are.

 Sabrina about to run across the room:

Even though we had a blast at the Olympic exhibit, there is actually a lot more to the Atlanta History Center than just that one exhibit.  The kids found a 3D movie, which required some funny paper glasses:

Of the five kids we had, Catherine was the oldest at 6 and the youngest was 2.  So we only spent a few minutes (if that) at each exhibit.  We did not read a single sign.  We actually "saw" the entire museum, albeit at a lightening pace.  Here the girls looked at a cooking pot in a log cabin:

 Another popular exhibit is the old-fashioned telephone:

The kids love running on the mock interstate to show the expansion of transportation in Atlanta (and I am not exaggerating to say that these kids literally ran through out the whole museum and its grounds for four hours this afternoon!):

The kids worked together to pick up a Confederate soldier's rifle (which is a lot heavier than you would think).

 Here are all the kids in front of some upright cannons:

I have taken the girls to the museum by themselves before.  This time we came with a 6 year old boy who is interested in guns, cannons and swords.  So, for the first time ever, we noticed that there were guns, cannons and swords in this museum.  Here they are pretend shooting a rifle through a wall:

 Outdoors we had fun at the farm they had, including the woodworking shed:

 And the cooking area (with huge pots and a fire pit):

We were so blessed with great weather.  It rained slightly, just enough to keep it from being too hot out.

I really love this picture because we took it at the very end of the day and everyone still looks happy.  We had done a lot of walking (and running), but there were no melt downs or fights.  I am not sure if any of them learned anything educational.  But, at least they had a fun time at a museum and got out of the house for several hours.  It was a great day!