Rain Barrel Workshop, Feb. 8

As the economy, drought and environment continue to be important in today’s society, Fernbank Museum of Natural History is again offering its popular rain barrel workshop on Sunday, February 8 —just in time for spring.

At this make-and-take workshop, participants will start spring in the green as they learn a quick and easy way to collect rainwater for their gardens and decrease their water bills during a dry spell. Collecting water with a rain barrel is an environmentally friendly way to manage outdoor landscaping and can be used to hydrate plants with a clear conscience when rain is scarce.

Fernbank Museum’s environmental educators will reveal the benefits of using rainwater collection for maintaining gardens and will help participants create rain barrels they can take home.

The Make-and-Take Workshop: Rain Barrels will be held from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on February 8. The cost is $65 for Museum members and $80 for non-members, and includes all materials. The workshop is open to participants ages 16 and up. Space is limited and reservations are required. To register, call 404.929.6379 or e-mail programs@fernbankmuseum.org by January 23.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.fernbankmuseum.org or call (404) 929-6300.

Fernbank Celebrates Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, and Fernbank Museum of Natural History is offering a variety of events to mark the occasion. 

• See the IMAX film Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk and learn easy ways to conserve water at home—plus $1 from every ticket sold on Earth Day will be donated by the film’s distributor to help build wells in Africa to provide school children with clean drinking water. 
  
• Consider how Fernbank’s new bathroom fixtures save water—over a million gallons a year—by only activating the water when your hands are under the faucet or by using less water when flushing. Follow our lead—low flow toilets are readily available at home improvement stores and can even earn you a rebate through some counties. 
  
• At select intervals throughout the day, experience an animal encounter as Fernbank educators introduce you to one of our live reptiles or amphibians—Fernbank’s ambassadors to nature. 
  
• Explore the natural beauty of Georgia in Fernbank’s permanent exhibition A Walk Through Time in Georgia, where you’ll encounter the diversity of our state, including mountains, forest, caves, islands, swamp, plateau and the variety of animals that inhabit each environment. 
  
• Visit the special exhibition In the Dark to learn about the Earth’s darkest environments and the animals adapted to live in them.
• See the IMAX film Journey into Amazing Caves to learn about the various types of caves on Earth and the importance of protecting them.
• Sign up for a guided Regions of Georgia Excursion in June to Mammoth Cave State Park, Kentucky, where Fernbank environmental scientists will reveal the fascinating geology and biology of the world's longest cave system and the ecosystem that surrounds it.
• Take a self-guided stroll through the 65-acre Fernbank Forest, then sign up for one of our seasonal, guided Fernbank Forest Family Walk programs. 

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located at 767 Clifton Road. Museum admission is $15 for adults, $14 for students/seniors, $13 for children ages 3-12. Value Pass tickets, which include Museum and IMAX admission, are $23 for adults, $21 for students/seniors and $19 for children. To reserve by phone, call (404) 929-6400 or www.fernbankmuseum.org.