By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

His grandparents home at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta is where Martin Luther King, Jr., was born and lived until he was 12 years old. It is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue, or Sweet Auburn as the neighborhood around it is called, was one of the most prosperous and influential African-American communities in the country in the early 20th century, and the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, raised, lived, worked, and worshiped and where he is buried. Much of the Sweet Auburn area is now part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Begin your visit of the historic site at the National Park Service Visitor Center, where you can get a brief orientation of the site, sign up for a Birth Home tour and view various exhibits and videos. One particular exhibit, “Children of Courage,” is geared towards younger children, telling the story of the children of the Civil Rights Movement. Now through July 19, you can see an international art exhibit paying tribute to Dr. King. Seventy artists from every continent are featured in the “I Have a Dream” exhibition, where the common theme of the artwork is “the dream.” (more…)

 By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The Fountain of Rings with its 12-foot water sprays is the centerpiece of downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. 

If you are visiting any major attraction in downtown Atlanta — CNN, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Georgia Dome, or Philips Arena just to name a few — or if you just want a downtown destination that is cool, fun, and a chance to reminisce about Atlanta’s hosting of the 1996 Olympics, stop to experience Centennial Olympic Park. About three million visitors do just that each year.

The Fountain of Rings, the centerpiece of the 21-acre park, is the world’s largest interactive fountain, utilizing the Olympic symbol of five interconnecting Rings. Time your visit with one of the four daily Fountain of Rings shows (12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.) where the Olympic fountain’s synchronized water dances to familiar tunes complete with sound and lighting effects. Water height during normal fountain operation can reach 12 feet, but during the Fountain Show, sprays can be anywhere from 15 to 30 feet tall—all in tune with everything from Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.” When it’s not show time at the Fountain, children – and adults – love to play in its spray. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

If you have a kindergartener, like I do, or anyone who remembers their kindergarten years, you might want to see Synchronicity Performance Group’s production of the musical “Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business.”

Adapted from the Barbara Park children’s book series, the musical is part of Synchronicity’s family series and is running Tuesdays through Thursdays and weekends through May 31 on the main stage at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta.

If your child has not been introduced to the Junie B. Jones book series, the musical might inspire you to do so. Written for ages 4 - 8, the stories about the sassy little 5-year-old, her classmates and family began with Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus, back in 1992. There are now more than 25 books in Park’s series. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Begin a tour of the CNN Studio by taking the world’s largest freestanding elevator to the 50-foot CNN Globe.

CNN is one of Atlanta’s most recognizable entities. Did you know that you can tour the backstage of CNN’s global headquarters in downtown Atlanta—even while it is delivering news from around the world?

The Inside CNN Studio Tour takes you “behind the scenes” to show you the process of delivering the news at CNN. There are interactive kiosks in the CNN Globe where you can browse through over 25 years of CNN footage. There is a replica of the CNN Control Room where you will experience the atmosphere of a fast-paced live television news environment. In Studio 7E, CNN’s black box studio, you will get a close-up look at the technology used at CNN to deliver the news and weather. From the CNN Overlook, you’ll have a bird’s eye view of the actual newsroom in action—and maybe spot a few CNN personalities. You’ll visit CNN Center, home of the other CNN networks, including Headline News, CNN International, CNN.com and CNN en Español. You will also get a chance to hear CNN anchors, like Larry King and Anderson Cooper (on video tape, of course), describe how it feels to report history in the making. The 55-minute walking tour is open to all ages and runs every 10 minutes. (more…)

By Sherri Smith Brown

First stop for kids at Zoo Atlanta is Flamingo Plaza, where the long-legged birds show off their wading skills and beautiful pink plumage.

From the awesomeness of elephants and gorillas to the antics of panda bears and lemurs, there is nothing like a trip to Zoo Atlanta with kids. Just last week, I made my first trip in a good number of years with Brianna and her kindergarten class—twenty kids, who excitedly spent a couple of hours seeing as many of the zoo’s 1,300 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians as possible!

Zoo Atlanta, which celebrated its 120th birthday this past March, is pleasant, clean and has lots of shady areas so that you can enjoy it even on Atlanta’s hotter days. Once you leave Flamingo Plaza, you can visit the African Plains with zebras, giraffes and lions; the African Rain Forest, where monkeys swing from tree to tree; and the Asian Forest, where orangutans, otters and tigers reside. Exotic birds, kangaroos and a petting zoo can be found in the KIDZone as well as the zoo train, carousel and a rock climber wall. Although not my favorite, my group of children went wild in the World of Reptiles building. Besides all that, you’ll find plenty of things to climb, places to eat, and great photo-ops at Zoo Atlanta. (more…)

 By Sherri Smith Brown

Art is a real hands-on experience at the High Museum’s “Toddler Thursday” and”Saturday Studio” workshops in the Greene Family Learning Gallery.

There are numerous reasons to visit the High Museum in Atlanta—everything from the wonderful current Louvre Atlanta exhibition to the Monet Water Lilies exhibit, which opens June 6. But did you know about the ongoing family programs that the High hosts each week?

Toddler Thursday is just that—on Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., you can drop by the Greene Family Learning Gallery (a space designed for children where families can play together in five fun activity areas) with your 2 – 5 year old to create a piece of art. Remaining projects for Toddler Thursdays this month are creating a painted folk art flag with cardboard and decorative button wire (April 23) and constructing a miniature chair or sofa, using Popsicle sticks and recycled fabric (April 30). (more…)

 By Sherri Smith Brown

Art gallery openings are exciting events. An opening, such as this one for the Dogwood Gallery’s Martin Pate exhibit, can bring an early understanding and appreciation of art to any child.

Like many kids, Brianna likes to draw. Like many parents, we like to go to art gallery openings—the night when a gallery introduces a new show or artist. We decided it wasn’t too early to let her come along, so Brianna has attended several openings with us the last few months—the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia for “Rising Movers & Shakers,” Callanwolde for its Elizabeth D’Angelo exhibit, and, just this past Saturday night, Dogwood Gallery in Fayette County for its Martin Pate opening.

Gallery openings are usually vibrant events—colorful artwork, art-funky attired people, and tasty hors d’oeuvres and drink. Of course, gallery openings are also usually adult gatherings, but I have noticed several other parents bringing children of all ages along on these outings. And the gallery owners I’ve met don’t seem to mind—especially if children stick close to their parents and display some interest in what is going on. A gallery opening can be an educational experience. Brianna certainly appreciates the artwork she sees, and we supplement the trip with talking about her favorite piece of artwork and introducing her to the artist if it is someone we know personally. (more…)

By Sherri Smith Brown

At the top of Atlanta’s Stone Mountain, you can have a picnic and get a panoramic view of the countryside, including the Atlanta skyline and Kennesaw Mountain to the west.

Any time of year you can find something to do with kids at Stone Mountain Park just east of Atlanta. It might be the Lasershow Spectacular, the annual Yellow Daisy Festival, Georgia Frontier Days, playing in the Great Barn, cruising on the Paddlewheel Riverboat or chugging the five miles around the mountain in a 1940s open-air railroad car.

But if you want to do something a little more vigorous, try hiking the 1.3-mile trail to the top of the mountain. (more…)

 By Sherri Smith Brown

At the World of Coca-Cola, parents and older kids can enjoy tasting Coke products from around the world in the unique and colorful Taste It! room.

While you’re visiting the Georgia Aquarium, you might consider a trip through the World of Coca-Cola. After all, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump away; and there is a special discount when you buy tickets for both—which is what we did.

Now, first of all, in my opinion, the World of Coca-Cola is more suited to older children. In our party, we had a six-month old and a five-year old, who does not consume soft drinks and whose reading is still on the level of a kindergartener. So, once having met the Coca-Cola Polar Bear in the lobby, the two of them became bored fairly quickly. (more…)

 By Sherri Smith Brown

At the Georgia Aquarium, children of all ages can get an up-close and personal look at African penguins as well as sea otter, sea lions and beluga whales in the Cold Water Quest gallery.

The Georgia Aquarium has been high on my list of places to visit since it opened in 2005, but I purposely waited until now. Although Brianna might have enjoyed it a little sooner, I think age five is the perfect age for first time visits to a lot of attractions—especially ones that cost $20 for children. So, a few Saturdays ago, we made the visit.

I must admit I’m not a big fan of aquariums. I visited the Chattanooga aquarium a number of years ago and thought it was a step in the right direction, but the Georgia Aquarium is inspiring—miles of glass, millions of gallons of water and hundreds of thousands of fish and animals. It’s laid out in pod-like areas around a huge food court and open area, which gives it a much more unclaustrophobic feeling than other aquariums. (more…)