The newly renovated Children's Museum of Atlanta reopens to the public tomorrow following the completion of an $8.2 million project, which had been underway since August.
The massive face-lift includes a new 3,000-square-foot mezzanine level focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math education), several new interactive exhibits and a new performance space for storytellers and other performers. This is the museum’s first major overhaul since opening its doors 12 years ago.
The museum is designed for children from babies to age 8, and many of the favorites, including a tractor and giant ball machine, are still there. But new features, particularly hands-on STEM projects, are aimed at appealing not only to the little ones, but older kids — especially older siblings who may be going to the museum with the family.
Some of the museum’s new features include the following:
Step Up to Science: Located on the new mezzanine level, this new space brings science, technology, engineering and math to life. The area includes Dash, a programmable robot that sings, dances and responds to voice commands and ongoing science experiments at the science bar. On a recent morning, Gregg Van Laningham, who holds a Ph.D. in material science and engineering and is full-time science educator at the museum, engaged a steady stream of kids in a chromatography experiment as well as an “Under Pressure” experiment involving an orange balloon, a marshmallow and a vacuum chamber to demonstrate how changes in air pressure cause objects to expand and shrink.
