This weekend we went to the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. This is my son, Gabriel’s, favorite museum of all time. Just their gift shop alone has him speechless. He is a huge fan of both their Fossil Gallery and their Mineral Gallery. I’m always impressed with it myself! I apologize now for the bombardment of pictures you are about to experience.
We started our visit with a silly family photo under their pavilion.
Into the museum we went! The first thing you see when you walk in is the giant Foucault’s Pendulum swinging back and forth over a compass. This is a fascinating pendulum that helps demonstrate the rotation of the earth!
As we made our way into the main hall, Gabriel had me take a picture of this lovely Sand Selinite. He is a rock and mineral collector. So, if he could have one of every mineral in this museum, he’d be the happiest boy in the world!
In the main hall is the looming Apatasaurus. Gabriel tried to measure its thigh bone with his body. Almost perfect!
From there we went straight to the Mineral Gallery! We were able to see and touch meteorites, and tektites. Gabriel took the Quiz “Rock or Mineral” and got all but one correct! Needless to say, he already knew what a rock was.
We went into the gallery that had beautiful pieces on loan from other museums. We were particularly fond of the Domino set made entirely our of Gold and Diamonds, the Gold and Silver Chess Set and the Maize (corn) made out of Pearls!
We continued on through the Mineral Gallery. Gabriel was practically drooling and bouncing with excitement!
The Periodic Table of Elements was awesome, as were all of the giant minerals and geodes.
After a lengthy meander through the Mineral Gallery, we made it to the Fossil Gallery! I’m not sure which Gabriel loves more…the minerals or the fossils. Gabriel aced the “Fossil IQ” Test and even started explaining the Permian extinction and the extinction of the dinosaurs to his Papa.
The massive T-Rex named Stan was a presence to be reckoned with. The only dinosaur we were unfamiliar with was the Appalachiosaurus. Gabriel was particularly fond of touching the dino poo.
The prehistoric fossils of the sea were quite impressive also. I caught Gabriel explaining to a little girl and her mom how the Kronosaurus fossil was a juvenile and that the adults grew much larger in size.
The Protostega or giant prehistoric Turtle was my favorite.
The Cenozoic boasted a fossil that rivaled that of the T Rex, an American Mastadon! This thing was huge! The Sabertooth and Megalodon fossils were awesome too. I guess if I’m to be honest, all of the fossils were pretty epic!
We moved on and saw a replica of the Wright brothers flyer! This part of the museum held replicas of some of the first automobiles, and the first rockets into space. Gabriel even got to see a moon rock! He had me explain every single rocket from 1920-2004!
Of course the kids had to get a picture “wearing” a real space suit!
Finally we entered the Collins Family My Big Backyard Gallery. It is filled with experiments involving magnets, electricity, light, sound, and weather. This is a hands on gallery specifically for kids. I adore the picture below of the wheels turning as Jade turns the crank. There is so much wonder on her face.
My husband and I enjoyed this gallery just as much as the kids. We (adults) had fun with the Concave and Convex fun house mirrors!
Everything from rocks, prehistoric time periods, rockets and electrical currents filled our heads as we headed home. We even picked up a few treasures on the way out.
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