Tellus Museum Is Worth The Drive From Forsyth County
Contributing writer, Ashley Jansen, shares with us why Tellus Museum is worth the 45 minutes drive from Forsyth County. Thank you Ashley for such an informative article!
Well – if you don’t read anything but this first sentence… I want to go ahead and give you a spoiler: You’ve got to visit Tellus Museum ASAP!
Location & Tickets
Ok, so if you are still reading let me tell you the details as to why! If you have followed along with any of my other reviews you know I have 3 boys ages 10, 5, & 2. My 5 year old is a HUGE dinosaur lover. We left on a Saturday morning at 10 am and got to Tellus around 10:45. The grounds are absolutely stunning. Really beautiful. I even mentioned to Mark (my hubby) it would make a beautiful place for bridal portraits.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for children, and 2 and under are free so it was $60 for our family – but it was worth every penny.
There is an orientation theater with a 12 minute video introducing all the exhibits of the museum. {TIP: It’s sorta out dated and not worth your time and not necessary to enjoy your visit.}
Planetarium
There is a planetarium that I wished we could’ve enjoyed, but we missed the show. I would have loved to show my boys what the night sky looks like and all the constellations. My son saw it on a field trip and said it was excellent. {TIP: Call the day before you go (or the morning of your arrival) and ask the times of the planetarium shows. It’s only $3.50 per person.}
Mineral Gallery
We started in the Mineral Gallery. It was so beautiful. Very interesting to see all the different sizes, shapes, and colors of minerals from around the world. They had a life size periodic table where examples of each mineral was displayed as well as what it is used for. I wish my chemistry teacher had done something like that for me in high school!
Fossil Gallery
We moved onto the Fossil Gallery. It was WONDERFUL!! There were more than a dozen HUGE dinosaurs. It was amazing. Something they had I had never seen before was marine dinosaur fossils. I really can’t say enough about this exhibit and I’m leery of sharing too many pictures because I want you to truly experience it for the first time.
It was onto the Science in Motion Gallery. They have a Wright Flyer, vintage cars, and aircraft. There was a neat section on space ships and as well as a piece of moon rock from Apollo 11!
Gem Panning & Fossil Dig
Off to the side of this gallery was a real treat so make sure not to miss it: Gem panning and Fossil Dig. They give you a pan and a tiny zip-lock baggy. The guide shows you how to pan for gems and you can keep whatever gems you find. Just behind this is the Fossil Dig. You get a brush and can “find” fossils. But as you brush there are real fossils within the sand which you can keep one per person. They are all different types of shark teeth. My boys got a huge kick out of this!
My Big Backyard
I couldn’t believe that after this there was still a Family/Kid area to go explore: My Big Backyard. There were a lot of fun experiments for the kids to do all relating to sound. {TIP: It can get pretty loud so if you have sound-sensitive children just be aware.}
We left around 1:30 and we couldn’t believe we had been there almost 3 hours – it had flown by and the kids were never bored. We will for sure be back and I HIGHLY encourage you to put Tellus on your upcoming activity list.
Upcoming events:
- On August 21 there will be the first total solar eclipse in the southeast since 1970. From 1-4 pm Tellus is hosting a viewing in their observatory and on the front lawn through smaller telescopes. They will also have a live feed in the Theater from the best possible location. A Tellus astronomer and WSB TV meteorologist Glenn Burns will also be there. For more information on this event, click here.
- On August 23, Tellus Museum is hosting a Lunch and Learn about the “Beautiful and Exotic Places That Should Be On Your Bucket List.” For more information on this event, click here.
More events at the Tellus Museum can be found here.
Connect with Tellus Museum: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Address: 100 Tellus DriveCartersville, GA 30120
Phone: (770) 606-5700
Ashley Jansen is wife of 14 years to Mark and mom to three boys, Hamilton (10), Luke (5), and Garrett (2). Originally from Texas, she has lived in Forsyth County for the last 13 years. She loves Mexican food, watching football and baseball, reading a good book, making Excel spreadsheets, and prefers candy over chocolate and Dr. Pepper over Coke. She is a recent breast cancer survivor, but still prefers purple over pink.
To learn more about Ashley and our other contributing writers, click here.
