Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta is a hub of educational and historical information for student travel groups. It was originally built for the 1996 Centennial Olympics. After the Olympics the park was closed and redesigned for public use. It reopened in 1998. Student travel groups will want to take a walking tour of Centennial Olympic Park. A lush Great Lawn in the center of the park is surrounded by commemorative quilts from the Olympic bombings, the Quilt of Nations, and The Fountain of Rings. If time allows, student groups will also want to visit one of the attractions surrounding it. The Georgia Aquarium, World of Coke, or CNN Center will be of interest to student travel groups.
The challenge for an educator is to decide which destination is most desirable and educational. The choice will depend upon the student travel group and the curriculum they’re following. With proper scheduling, groups may be able to visit all three. Or, if a custom itinerary requires only one of these venues, a tour of Centennial Olympic Park along with a trip to the Georgia Aquarium may be the best choice.
Some Background on the Georgia Aquarium
In this blog, I will give more details about the Georgia Aquarium. In future blogs I will highlight the World of Coke and CNN Center Tour. Georgia Aquarium is a great choice for an educational group because a visit here engages students by providing a glimpse into marine life. Students who do not live anywhere near a body of water such as an ocean or a bay will gain a great deal from the visit because they can witness aquatic life up close and personal. The Georgia Aquarium is the world’s largest and most engaging aquarium.
Lesson Plans for Teachers and Aquatic Fact Sheets
Georgia Aquarium has excellent educational programs in place for student travel groups. The organization supplies teachers with Aquatic Fact Sheets that give an overview of information about the Georgia Aquarium and the exhibits. Lesson Plans are also available for grades K-12.
Learning Loop Educational Experience
This student tour is designed to help students to understand aquatic systems and their make-up. An environmental educator, on staff with the Georgia Aquarium, provides students with a tour that describes the exhibits and the animal husbandry and the roles they play in tending the marine life. In order to replicate actual aquatic ecosystems, a great deal of work goes into exhibits for the upkeep of marine life. The Learning Loop Educational Experience is a great way to help students appreciate this work, and understand its importance in the science of marine biology.
Aqua Adventure
For teachers who wish to be the guide on their student tour of the Georgia Aquarium, Aqua Adventures may be the tour to select. An educator may download a teacher guide for the appropriate grade level in advance of the tour. Then the educator takes students on a tour through the main aquarium. There are plenty of interactive activities on Aqua Adventures, as well as age appropriate questions for students to answer. For a small additional fee per student, groups have the option of adding the Titantic Aquatic program (through May 2009). Actual artifacts from the wreck of the Titantic as well as narratives of survivors are incorporated into this exhibit.
Centennial Olympic Park is filled with an assortment of excellent choices in destinations for student travel groups. This overview of the Georgia Aquarium highlights educational aspects and is by no means a complete picture of what it has to offer the public. Visit Georgia Aquarium’s website for more information. If you would like to plan a student travel trip to Atlanta, please fill out a brief questionnaire about your group or contact an ETC student travel specialist at info@educationaltravelconsultants.com.
Tag Archives: educational tour atlanta
Points of Interest to an African American History Tour of Atlanta Georgia
Many historical points of interest to a black history educational tour are within the Atlanta, GA area. Museums and historical sites abound in the Atlanta area and can complement a student travel tour with a curriculum based on the Civil Rights movement. Being in actual buildings once occupied by great civil rights leaders give students a greater understanding of the subject. Since Atlanta was the birthplace and the city where Martin Luther King, Jr. launched his career as a pastor and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, it is the best place to gain a better understanding of black history in the U.S.
Following are my recommendations of Black Heritage sites in the greater Atlanta metro area that are a necessary component of a comprehensive student tour.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site:
Student Travel Tours Learn About the Civil Rights Movement
This site includes a number of facilities that operate in partnership with the National Park Service, Ebenezer Church and the King Center. Among the points of interest are the Visitors Center with a museum, interactive exhibits and films about Dr King and the Civil Rights movement.
Ebenezer Baptist Church
Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church is immediately adjacent to the Visitors Center. It is here, in the church’s meeting space, that Dr King planned civil rights strategies of non-violence. Dr King was ordained here and became co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Students visiting this place of worship can walk in the footsteps of America’s most prominent civil rights leader. Student travel groups always feel inspired by being in the space where Dr King spoke so eloquently about social change through non-violence. It is here that Dr King wrote many of his famous speeches while he was the main force behind the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The King Center
Directly across Auburn Avenue is the King Center and Dr King’s tomb. At the grave, Coretta Scott King established a living memorial dedicated to her late husband’s non- violent movement for justice, equality and peace. The center utilizes books, audio and video cassettes, film, television, CDs and web pages, to educate students about Dr. King’s life, work and his philosophy of nonviolent conflict-reconciliation and social change. Students will find this site to contain some of the most detailed writings and artifacts of MLK’s career as a minister and civil rights leader.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthplace & Home
The King birth home is a short walk down Auburn Avenue from the King Center. It was built in 1895 and Martin Luther King, Jr. was born here on January 15, 1929 and lived here for 12 years. The home is restored to reflect the period of 1930s and 40s when Dr King lived here as a child.
A comprehensive Black Heritage Tour should include the preservation district of Auburn Avenue, immediately adjacent to the National Park complex. This area includes many points of interest on a Black History tour of Atlanta such as Historic Fire Station # 6 which is currently maintained as a museum, bookstore and gift shop.
Atlanta History Center: the Black Phoenix tour illustrates the Black Heritage of Atlanta
Student tours that visit the Atlanta History center will find this museum interesting. The Black Phoenix tour follows the journey of the African American experience in Atlanta from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. The tour continues inside the museum with a visit to the Shaping Traditions exhibition to learn how customs were brought from Africa and passed down for generations. Next students visit the Turning Point exhibition to learn about the impact of the Civil War. Finally, student travel groups may tour the Metropolitan Frontiers exhibition for a stroll down Auburn Avenue. Here students learn about the pioneers of black business in Atlanta and the civil rights leaders who helped make Atlanta the city that it is today.
Tullie Smith Farm: Student Tour Groups Learn About Life as an African Slave
A student tour is greatly enhanced with a trip to the Tullie Smith Farm to see a settler’s cabin and learn about slave life. A Black History Civil War Performance shows living history interpreters portray African Americans during the Civil War in Georgia.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Center and Museum: Students learn about the President’s early work for the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia politics
The Museum of the Jimmy Carter Library includes photographs and historical memorabilia from the Carter presidency (1976 – 1981). An exact replica of the Oval Office and gifts received by the Carters are also featured. A permanent exhibit of significant events occurring during Jimmy Carter’s life and political career includes photographs with interpretative text. Students will learn about Jimmy Carter’s childhood and race for President, and study some of the issues that American Presidents have confronted.
Wrens Nest: African American History Atlanta Tour site
By preserving the legacy of Joel Chandler Harris and the heritage of African American folklore through storytelling, tours and special events, the Wren’s Nest serves as an educational resource and entertainment venue for the community, and student travel groups to the greater Atlanta area. The Wren’s Nest was the home of Joel Chandler Harris from 1881 until 1908 and was named for the wrens that made a nest in the mailbox. Today the home features most of the Harris family’s original furniture and belongings, and is Atlanta’s oldest house museum.
It is in Atlanta that I have found the most intriguing sites to inspire and educate student travel groups about the African American experience and the civil rights movement of the 20th century within the U.S. This complete tour will have a lasting effect on all that experience it.
For more information on creating a Black Heritage tour for students visiting the Atlanta Georgia area, email info@educationaltravelconsultants.com.
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