With the opening of WildWoods, a 10-acre outdoor display behind the Museum of Natural History, in 2016, Fernbank’s site underwent its most recent significant refurbishment. Boardwalks, interactive nature areas, and paths that lead into Fernbank Forest are all highlights of WildWoods.
According to Jennifer Grant Warner, president and CEO of the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the refurbishment created a physical connection between the campus. We are now establishing an experiential connection with the campus.
Thanks to Fernbank Museum
Thanks to Fernbank Museum
Fernbank started a capital campaign in 2022 that made the planned upgrades possible. About $27 million has been raised for the renovation work through the campaign. The campaign was supported by over 80 funders, including the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and the Gary W. Rollins Foundation. Eight of the gifts totaled at least $1 million.
“We want it to be a completely different museum experience when we sit here in two years,” Warner stated. You won’t be able to identify the areas as they once were.
Thank you to Fernbank Museum.
Thank you to Fernbank Museum.
Third Floor: Orkin Discovery Zone
The Fernbank Museum now features a STEAM lab, classroom areas mainly utilized for school programs and summer camps, and a rotating gallery exhibit called the Naturalist Center on the third floor at the far south end. A large portion of the area is currently off-limits to the public.
Later this year, the gallery exhibit space and one of the classrooms will be joined to create the Orkin Discovery Zone, a permanent, interactive, tactile exhibit that will teach visitors about science, nature, human culture, and how these things affect one another.
Highlights include a section where visitors may see animals in terrariums, pull out curiosity cabinets, examine biodiversity through actual specimens, and take part in a build-a-bug activity that educates about the characteristics of bugs.
The museum’s STEAM lab, where staff members lead guided programs, will be connected to the Discovery Zone. Additionally, there will be windows and public viewing scopes around one border of the zone that gaze out over the museum’s WildWoods. Visitors will again be able to enjoy the view through the windows that were previously closed to the public.
Second Floor: Changing Earth permanent exhibition and a temporary gallery
A Walk Through Time in Georgia will be replaced with a new permanent exhibition named Changing Earth on the second floor. The five sections of the vibrant, contemporary, interactive exhibit—earth, air, land, life, and faces of change—were created in collaboration with TAIT (previously Thinkwell).
Thank you to Fernbank Museum.
Thank you to Fernbank Museum.
Earth, air, land, and life will investigate how Earth’s elements have changed over time. Visitors will learn about shifting tectonic plates, for instance, in one zone, while others study weather, volcanic activity, and shifting oceans.
Trailblazers who have contributed to conservation, especially in Georgia, will be highlighted in the face of change.
To keep people interested, Changing Earth will make use of animation, technology, and vivid colors. A huge, interactive tree in Warner’s favorite part illustrates how nature is interconnected and how changes can have repercussions.
These basic systems—earth, air, land, and life—are what cause the planet’s continuous change. Warner stated that change might be gradual at times or sudden at others. We have the chance to investigate this dynamic planet we call home as it changes.
A new 3,000-square-foot gallery will be created next to Changing Earth as part of the second-floor renovations, which will allow for the display of temporary, rotating exhibits.
First floor: A reimagined Star Gallery
An oval-shaped space with a curved, dome ceiling where a starry night sky is projected is located on the first floor of the garden level, right outside the entrance of Fernbank’s Giant Screen Theater. However, the oval room’s walls are mostly empty.
Warner remarked that it was a really lost chance.
Our Place in the Cosmos is the new exhibit that will be created in this space. While the starry night sky will still be visible, the walls will be transformed into installations, such as a giant media screen that will stream a video about the universe in the style of a documentary.
The formation of the universe, how scientists know what they know, and how people have used stars over time will all be covered in other pictures and text.
Accessibility improvements
There is currently only one elevator at Fernbank Museum. The museum will install a second, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant elevator on the south wing of the structure as part of the third phase of renovations.
Additionally, new ADA-accessible doors between the outdoor woodlands and the indoor atrium will be erected on the first floor.
According to Warner, all of the changes will completely change the visitor experience. They will guarantee that we can provide our community and others with experiences that will captivate, motivate, and thrill students of all ages and skill levels.
