Highlights include permanent award-winning exhibitions, historic houses, lecture series with favorite authors such as T.C. Boyle and Seth Grahame-Smith, and annual programming including “Sheep to Shawl,” “Veterans Remembrance Day,” “Magic Mondays,” “Homeschool Days,” and “Summer Camp”
ATLANTA, Georgia–Whether exploring the history of the Civil War through the award-winning exhibition Turning Point: The American Civil War, enjoying lectures by award-winning authors such as Winston Groom, touring the award-winning Centennial Olympic Games Museum, traveling back in time through the popular Sheep to Shawl program, or even visiting Margaret Mitchell House at the Atlanta History Center’s midtown campus, the Atlanta History Center offers something for visitors of all ages throughout the year who are interested in history, culture, and fun.
The Atlanta History Center is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM). This is the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, only 775 are currently accredited. The Atlanta History Center is one of thirteen museums accredited in the state of Georgia. Initially accredited in 1985, this marks the third time the Atlanta History Center has received accreditation.
This year the Atlanta History Center’s Buckhead campus proudly introduces campus-wide improvements including new accessible walkways, two lawns designed to host special events, the Mabel Dorn Reeder Amphitheater, the kid-friendly Connor Brown Discovery Trail, and the Quarry Garden Bridge.
The custom-built bridge is one-hundred-thirty feet in length and over twenty-six feet high and was designed to give visitors the feeling of walking through treetops. For a full press release, please visit our online pressroom.
The self-guided Connor Brown Discovery Trail introduces the very young to the many features of the Atlanta History Center’s campus. Designed to link the Atlanta History Center’s gardens, grounds, and historic houses in an engaging voyage of discovery for children and their families, the new trail teaches children about weather, trees, plants, landscape, and animals that are common in the Georgia region. Seven interactive discovery stations encourage children to play, explore, imagine, ask questions, and seek additional knowledge on the environment around them. Each discovery station features an interactive activity, coupled with information on a variety of topics ranging from weather patterns, to identifying trees and their leaves, to exploring a cotton terrace, to learning about a variety of animals that are native to Georgia. Families can travel the trail on their own or use the Connor Brown Discovery Trail Guide to enhance their outdoor adventures.
The Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive destination; for one low admission price visitors have access to all the History Center’s offerings. And, this year the Atlanta History Center announces a new dual ticket good for admission to both Atlanta History Center and Margaret Mitchell House. Save 25% when visiting these two must-see attractions. Since there is so much to see and do, tickets are valid for nine days from the date of purchase. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Visitors can learn more about the History Center’s temporary and upcoming exhibitions, educational programs, gardens, directions, admission, holiday hours, press room activities, calendar of events, and on-site restaurants at our websites, AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or MargaretMitchellHouse.com. Also, join our social community and get more information, as well as special announcements and discount offerings, by becoming a fan of the History Center and the Margaret Mitchell House on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, or even by following us on Twitter.
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Three Kings Day, Dia de Reyes
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Noon – 5:00 PM
The holiday festivities don't have to end in December! In January, the Atlanta History Center celebrates the Hispanic holiday Dia de Reyes or Three Kings Day. Come learn about this tradition of our southern neighbors through storytelling, music, live performances, complimentary food, and other fun activities designed for the entire family.
This program is free. For more information about this program, please contact 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council, the Institutio de Mexico, and the Mexican Consulate.
Magic Mondays: Fun and Games
Monday, January 11, 2010
10:30 -11:30 AM
Toddlers (18 months to 5 years old) love this program designed just for them! The Atlanta History Museum, exhibitions, Tullie Smith Farm, and 33 acres of woodland trails and gardens provide the perfect backdrop for fun-filled educational activities. Join us on Mondays to meet new friends or see some familiar faces.
Admission is free for adult members; $5 for children of members; $6 for nonmember adults; $5 for nonmember children. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Homeschool Day: Struggles and Strides: 19th Century
Monday, January 11, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families.
Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward
kids from toddlers to teens. This month, discover how people with the odds against them turned their
difficult social struggles into national strides. The first program in this two part series explores the 19th century issues of slavery, the Trail of Tears, immigration, and Reconstruction.
Admission is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for children of members; and free for adult members. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com, or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/homeschool.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Janice Y.K. Lee, The Piano Teacher
Monday, January 11, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Janice Y.K. Lee as she discusses her debut novel, The Piano Teacher.
Lee’s stunning debut novel The Piano Teacher is a haunting, cinematic story about a man and two women whose fates collide in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion of World War II and its aftermath ten years later. This sweeping tale of romance, secrecy, and betrayal alternates between the lives of two vastly different women whose destinies are linked by the man they both love. Imbued with authentic, sensual detail and keen observations about a forgotten world, The Piano Teacher evokes the romantic sweep of The English Patient and the colonial fiction of W. Somerset Maugham.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
Thursday, January 21, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Beth Hoffman as she discusses her debut novel, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt.
Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille, the crown-wearing lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. When Camille’s life comes
to a tragic end, a previously unknown Great Aunt Tootie comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. There, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricities, one that appears to be run entirely by women. CeeCee finds herself fascinated with the denizens of her exotic new world and thriving on her first friendships, especially with Aunt Tootie’s wise cook, Oletta. But before CeeCee can bloom into a true Georgia peach, she has to face the fact that escaping her mother’s legacy isn’t as easy as a change of address.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
AHC Lecture: Josh Sundquist, Just Don’t Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illness, and Made it Down the Mountain
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Josh Sundquist as he discusses his new book, Just Don’t Fall: How I Grew Up, Conquered Illiness, and Made it Down the Mountain.
Sundquist was an energetic and inquisitive nine-year-old when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a virulent strain of cancer that claimed his left leg. Told in a wide-eyed, winning, funny, and heartbreaking voice, Just Don’t Fall tells the story of the boy Josh was and the young man he became. His extraordinary journey took him from his small town through a dizzying array of hospitals, to high
school, and then to the mountains, where Josh learned to ski, and his world burst open on the slopes. Despite having only one leg, he relied on the drive within him to become a champion skier and a member of the 2006 U.S. Paralympics Ski Team in Turin, Italy.
This lecture is held at the Atlanta History Center. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Let Your Motto Be Resistance: Opening Day Celebration
Saturday, January 30, 2010
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
In celebration of the opening of Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, some of the influential African Americans featured in the exhibition will be brought to life through living history performances designed to share the subject’s stories of personal struggle and triumph. Other family friendly activities include hands-on crafts that explore the artists, musicians, and writers of the Harlem Renaissance, a tap dance clinic, and an engaging family guide. This program is included in the price of Atlanta History Center general admission. For more information, please call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Stranger Than Fiction
January 31 - February 28, 2010; five Sunday afternoons
2:00 - 5:30 PM
You're invited to let your imagination run wild! Break the rules to create your own worlds where zebras can fly and humans are ruled by a colony of super-sized grasshoppers. This workshop is created for youth ages 10 through 14. From your mind's eye, kids have more wisdom than adults, and bubble gum is served for dinner. In this 5-week workshop, develop your passion for the absurd while learning the basic elements of writing fiction. Discover the secret to tapping into your imagination to captivate readers while making sure your stories are presented in a believable way. For more information call 404.814.2063. To register online, visit www.MargaretMitchellHouse.com.
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Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: T.C. Boyle, Wild Child
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with T.C. Boyle as he discusses his new book, Wild Child.
In his collection of short stories, Wild Child, T.C. Boyle chose Thoreau’s line, “in wilderness is the preservation of the world,” as an epigraph. Most of his stories address natural concerns or nature run amok in what has become a sub specialty of Boyle’s stories. Brilliant, incisive, and always entertaining, Boyle’s short stories showcase his mischievous humor and socially conscious sensibility that makes him one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.
T.C. Boyle has written twelve novels, including World’s End, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, and Drop City, a National Book Award finalist, as well as eight short story collections.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Evening for Educators
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
5:30 - 7:30 PM
During this special Evening for Educators, teachers are invited to tour the Let Your Motto Be Resistance exhibition, meet our education staff, and learn about a variety of school tours and resources available
throughout the school year for teachers and students. Admission is free for all teachers with current school ID and one guest. All guests must be 21 or older to attend this program. A host bar and light refreshments are part of this fun evening. Reservations are required. Please call 404.814.4110. For more information visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Fridays in February – Special School Programs
Friday, February 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2010
10:00 am - 1:00 PM
In celebration of Black History Month, the Atlanta History Center invites students to experience African American history, culture, and achievements representing four historic time periods. Each program includes a tour of History Center exhibitions, live performances, and hands-on activities.
February 5: A Day in the Life of a Slave
February 12: From Slave to Soldier: The African American Experience during the Civil War
February 19: The Great Migration: From the Jim Crow South to the Harlem Renaissance
February 26: The Civil Rights Movement
In conjunction with the exhibition Let Your Motto Be Resistance, each Fridays in February program includes a guided tour of the exhibition and a living history performance based on one of the influential African Americans featured in the exhibition.
Admission is $7 per student; one adult is admitted free for every 5 students. Title 1 schools receive a discounted rate of $4 per student. For more information or to register, contact the School Programs office at 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SchoolTours.
Magic Mondays: Little Folk Art
Monday, February 8, 2010
10:30 -11:30 AM
Toddlers (18 months to 5 years old) love this program designed just for them! The Atlanta History Museum, exhibitions, Tullie Smith Farm, and 33 acres of woodland trails and gardens provide the perfect backdrop for fun-filled educational activities. Join us on Mondays to meet new friends or see some familiar faces.
Admission is free for adult members; $5 for children of members; $6 for nonmember adults; $5 for nonmember children. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Homeschool Day: Struggles and Strides: 20th Century
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families. Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward kids from toddlers to teens. This month, discover how people with the odds against them turned their difficult social struggles into national strides. The second program in this two part series explores the 20th century issues of Jim Crow laws, women’s suffrage, the Great Depression, internment camps, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Admission is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for children of members; and free for adult members. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/homeschool.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Victoria Rowell, The Women Who Raised Me
Thursday, February 11, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Victoria Rowell discussing her new book, The Women Who Raised Me.
Victoria Rowell has played a multitude of roles in her career as a two-time Emmy Award-nominated and an eleven-time NAACP Image Award-winning actress. But as many women as she’s played in her professional life, even more have played starring roles in her personal life as foster mothers, caretakers, social service workers, neighbors, friends, teachers, grand dames, and mentors, all of whom Rowell honors in her touching memoir, The Women Who Raised Me. The book is a tribute to the amazing women who cared for her when her birth mother could not, as well as to the foster system that brought them into her life.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
The Big Read Kick-Off Party
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
6:00 - 8:30 PM
Join us for a unique after-hours program with a nod to the Harlem Renaissance during the Big Read kick-off party. Enjoy living history performances by Yvonne Singh as she portrays Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, musical performances by singer/songwriter Kyshona Armstrong, and guided tours of the exhibition Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits.Light refreshments and a cash bar are available. The first 50 visitors through the door receive a free copy of the book, Their Eyes Were Watching God. This program is free of charge. For more information, call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BigRead.
Big Read Program: An Evening with Dr. Deborah Plant at Decatur Public Library
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
7:00 PM
The Georgia Center for the Book presents a lecture with Zora Neale Hurston scholar Dr. Deborah Plant. Author of Every Tub Must Sit On Its Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics of Zora Neal Hurston, Plant discusses Hurston's personal philosophy of individualism and self-preservation. Plant also talks of Hurston's preacher father and her influential mother - whose guiding philosophy is reflected in the title of this book - as well as the influence of philosophers Baruch Spinoza and Friedrich Nietzsche. Through their works, Plant provides a perspective on the driving forces behind Hurston's powerful prose. This program is free of charge and takes place at the Decatur Public Library. For more information on The Big Read and accompanying free programs, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BigRead.
Big Read Program: Keynote Lecture with Dr. Deborah Plant at Cosby Auditorium, Spelman College
Thursday, February 25, 2010
6:00 PM
Spend an evening with Dr. Deborah Plant, author of Every Tub Must Sit on Its Own Bottom: The Philosophy and Politics of Zora Neal Hurston. Plant discusses Hurston's personal philosophy of
individualism and self-preservation. Plant discusses Hurston's preacher father and influential mother – whose guiding philosophy is reflected in the title of this book - as well as the influences of philosophers
Baruch Spinoza and Friedrich Nietzsche. Through their works, Plant provides a perspective on the driving forces behind Hurston's powerful prose. This program is free of charge and takes place at the Cosby Auditorium at Spelman College. For more information on The Big Read and accompanying free programs, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BigRead.
Big Read Film Festival: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Noon – 5:00 PM
In conjunction with the Big Read initiative, the Atlanta History Center invites visitors to spend an afternoon exploring the parallels between writing and movies during the free film festival featuring the 2005 television adaptation of Their Eyes Were Watching God, starring Halle Berry, and Spike Lee’s first feature film, She’s Gotta Have It, which parallels Zora Neale Hurston’s novel. Due to the adult content of both films no one under 18 will be admitted without a parent or guardian. This program is free of charge and takes place at the Atlanta History Center. Reservations are requested. Please call 404.814.4150. For more information on The Big Read and accompanying free programs, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BigRead.
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Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Chris Cleave, Little Bee
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Chris Cleave as he discusses his novel, Little Bee.
Told in turns in the first person by Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee just released from a UK detention center, and Sarah, a British journalist whose fate is braided with Little Bee’s through tragedy, the novel follows
these two women as they struggle to save each other and themselves. Little Bee tries to make a life for herself in a totally alien land, while Sarah must come to terms with her personal and professional
choices. United by their past and by love for Sarah's young son Charlie, Little Bee and Sarah become indispensable to each other. But their bond will face the ultimate test when the system catches up with Little Bee, and each woman must make a devastating decision.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Lisa See, Shanghai Girls
Thursday, March 4, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with bestselling author Lisa See for her new book, Shanghai Girls.
In 1937 Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Two sisters are forced to leave their cosmopolitan lives in Shanghai for a new start in Los Angeles. Suspenseful,
provocative, and intelligent, Shanghai Girls is both a story about the adventures of two particular sisters and a story that reminds us all of the intense love, tension, and struggle inherent in every family.
Lisa See is the New York Times-bestselling author of Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Magic Mondays: Egg Hunt
Monday, March 8, 2010
10:30 -11:30 AM
Toddlers (18 months to 5 years old) love this program designed just for them! The Atlanta History Museum, exhibitions, Tullie Smith Farm, and 33 acres of woodland trails and gardens provide the perfect backdrop for fun-filled educational activities. Join us on Mondays to meet new friends or see some familiar faces.
Admission is free for adult members; $5 for children of members; $6 for nonmember adults; $5 for nonmember children. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Big Read Program: Valerie Boyd, Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston
Monday, March 8, 2010
7:00 PM
In conjunction with the Big Read initiative, the Atlanta History Center invites visitors to join Valerie Boyd, an award-winning journalist and writer-in-residence at the University of Georgia, as she discusses her book, Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston.
Boyd shares her insight on Hurston’s talent, remarkable drive, and intellectual prowess that resulted in a thirty-year career that resulted in four published novels, two books of folklore, an autobiography, numerous short stories, and several articles and plays. This program is free of charge and takes place at the Margaret Mitchell House. Reservations are requested. Please call 404.814.4150. For more information on The Big Read and accompanying free programs, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/BigRead.
Homeschool Day: The Nifty Fifties
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families. Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward kids from toddlers to teens. This month, leave your doors unlocked and learn about the people and politics of the fascinating ‘50s era in America. Anyone who wears 1950s style clothing receives $1 off admission to the program! Admission is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for children of members; and free for adult members. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more
information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/homeschool.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Voices Across the Color Line: The Atlanta Student Movement 50th Anniversary Opening Celebration and Keynote Lecture featuring Dr. Winston Grady-Willis
Monday, March 15, 2010
6:00 - 8:00 PM
Voices Across the Color Line is the second exhibition featured in the Atlanta History Center’s presentation of Civil War to Civil Rights – a series of exhibitions and programming that explores our American history from the 1860s through the 1960s.
Through photographs, documents, and contemporary oral history interviews with Atlanta student leaders, Voices Across the Color Line commemorates the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Atlanta Student Movement. The exhibition celebrates the contributions of the individuals whose bravery, perseverance, and commitment to equality forever changed the city of Atlanta, and left an indelible mark on our nation’s
history. This exhibition is on display through September 25, 2010.
Located in the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, this exhibition is free of charge and open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm. For more information, call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/StudentMovement.
AHC Lecture: Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Tuesday, March 17, 2010
7:00 PM
While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for reuniting the North with the South and abolishing slavery from our country, no one has ever known about his valiant fight against the forces of the undead. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith, author of the bestselling novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than one hundred and forty years. Using the journal as his guide, Grahame-Smith has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time - all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War, and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
This lecture is held at the Atlanta History Center. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Everyday History
Saturday, March 20, 2010
10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Discover the wealth of resources available through the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Visitors of all ages will enjoy exploring our archives while learning how to research their ancestry, historic houses, and local Civil War history. This fun day includes hands-on activities for kids, workshops with archivists and genealogists, and special tours of historic houses. Explore the ways in which the archives can be a part of your everyday life.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information about this program, please contact 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Aiken Lecture: Theda Purdue, Race and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
8:00 PM
Theda Perdue, Professor of Southern Culture at the University of North Carolina, discusses her new bookRace and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895. The book examines the world's fair held in Atlanta, where white organizers - in order to attract business to the area - hoped to demonstrate they had solved problems of race in the city. The exposition featured American Indians, African Americans, and other racial, ethnic, and gender communities as part of the event's installations. Perdue finds that this turn-of-the-century performance of race played out in surprising ways, particularly in terms of the voice this event gave to the minorities who took part.
This lecture is held at Atlanta History Center. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Support: Aiken Lectures are made possible with generous funding from the trust of Lucy Rucker Aiken.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Laura Skandera Trombley, Mark Twain’s Other Woman: The Hidden Story of His Final Years
Monday, March 29, 2010
7:00 PM
An enduring mystery of Mark Twain’s life concerns the events of his last decade, following the death of his wife of thirty-four years and up to his own death in1910. Despite many biographies, it is unclear how his experiences in those final years affected him, personally and professionally. It was believed Twain went to his death a beloved, wisecracking iconoclastic American, undeterred by life’s sorrows and challenges.
Suspecting there was more to the story, Laura Skandera Trombley, the preeminent Twain scholar at work today, went in search of Isabel Lyon, the one woman who possibly held the answers to her questions about Twain’s life and writings. Following sixteen years of research, Mark Twain’s Other Woman reveals Lyon’s daily journals, the only detailed record of Twain’s last years that were overlooked by Twain’s previous biographers.
Raised in Southern California, Trombley attended Pepperdine University where she earned her B.A. and M.A., and the University of Southern California, where she earned a Ph.D. in English literature. She is the author of Mark Twain in the Company of Women and is the president of Pitzer College in Claremont, California, where she lives with her husband and son.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
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Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Katherine Howe, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
7:00 PM
Enjoy an evening lecture with author Katherine Howe discussing her new book.
Scholars of the Salem witch trials have long asked why the accusers chose to ruin so many lives. In The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, author Katherine Howe,asks another question - what if the women really were witches? In the novel, Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin finds the name “Deliverance Dane” on a scrap of paper inside an old Bible.
The discovery launches her on a quest that includes visions of a woman condemned in 1690s Salem for practicing “physick” - herbal healing - and her own efforts to save her injured boyfriend through an ancient and mystical cure. Before time runs out, she must locate the actual physick book of Deliverance Dane. As the pieces of Deliverance’s harrowing story fall into place, Goodwin begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem’s dark past than she imagined.
Katherine Howe is completing a Ph.D. in American and New England Studies at Boston University. Two of her ancestors were tried as witches in 1692. Elizabeth Proctor survived the ordeal; Elizabeth Howe did not.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures.
Magic Mondays: The Explorers
Monday, April 12, 2010
10:30 -11:30 AM
Toddlers (18 months to 5 years old) love this program designed just for them! The Atlanta History Museum, exhibitions, Tullie Smith Farm, and 33 acres of woodland trails and gardens provide the perfect backdrop for fun-filled educational activities. Join us on Mondays to meet new friends or see some familiar faces.
Admission is free for adult members; $5 for children of members; $6 for nonmember adults; $5 for
nonmember children. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten
or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Livingston Lecture: Roy Morris Jr., Lighting Out for the Territory: How Samuel Clemens Became Mark Twain
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
8:00 PM
Enjoy an evening book discussion and signing with Roy Morris Jr.
Mark Twain is arguably the most famous and influential writer in American history. His legacy is defined by The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Little is known, however, about the crucial years during which Samuel Clemens transformed himself into the beloved American writer we celebrate today as Mark Twain.
Samuel Clemens traveled by stagecoach to the Wild West in 1861 as an ex-Confederate guerilla and unemployed riverboat pilot, and returned six years later as Mark Twain. Lighting Out for the Territory tells how Samuel Clemens reinvented himself, while evading Indians and gunslingers, failing as a miner, dodging duels, surfing in Hawaii, and more trouble along the way. Backed by solid scholarship, this is the first full-length study of Twain’s life-changing time in the AmericanWest, where he began his writing career and shaped himself into an American favorite.
Roy Morris is the editor of Military Heritage magazine, has served as a consultant for A&E Network and the History Channel, and is the author of five books, including The Long Pursuit: Abraham Lincoln’s Thirty-Year Struggle with Stephen Douglas for the Heart and Soul of America; Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876; and The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War.
This lecture is held at the Atlanta History Center. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Anna Quindlen, Every Last One
Thursday, April 15, 2010
7:00 PM
Enjoy an evening lecture with author Anna Quindlen discussing her new book.
In this breathtaking and beautiful novel, the Number One New York Times-bestsellilng author of Rise and Shine and Black and Blue, Anna Quindlen, creates an unforgettable portrait of a family, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seem like inconsequential actions. With mesmerizing prose, Every Last One is a novel about facing every last one of the things we fear most, and to live a life we never dreamed we’d have to live.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Homeschool Day: Past Times
Thursday, April 15, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families. Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward kids from toddlers to teens. This month, learn about sports and games through time and the people who played them, from Native Americans to the modern Olympic Games.
Admission is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for children of members; and free for adult members. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/homeschool.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Sheep to Shawl
Saturday, April 17, 2010
10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Come and join us at our annual Sheep to Shawl festival. Enjoy live demonstrations of sheep shearing, open-hearth cooking, blacksmithing, candle making, and much more on the Tullie Smith Farm. Listen to stories and music that will immerse you in what farm life was like in the 1860s. Enjoy tours of the historic farmhouse as well the Quarry Garden. During the festival, enjoy old fashioned games, music, stories, and hands-on activities.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information about this program, please contact 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council and Poppy Club.
Cherokee Garden Library Lecture: Emily Herring Wilson, Becoming Elizabeth Lawrence: Discovered Letter of a Southern Gardener
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Atlanta History Center’s Kenan Research Center
3:00 PM
Enjoy a fascinating afternoon with renowned author, Emily Herring Wilson, discussing her newly-released book, Becoming Elizabeth Lawrence: Discovered Letters of a Southern Gardener. Wilson explores the friendship of famous playwright and actress Ann Preston Bridgers and Elizabeth Lawrence, who would become one of America’s best garden writers. Bridgers’ talent for friendship and for identifying the talent of others led to her correspondence with Elizabeth Lawrence.
Although only a small number of Ann’s letters were preserved, editor Emily Herring Wilson discovered a treasure trove of Elizabeth’s letters to her mentor. Through those letters, readers can glimpse what life in a Southern town was like for women, especially during the 1930s and 1940s. Elizabeth discusses family, friends, books, plays, travels, ideas, and, of course, writing. Elizabeth (who died in 1984) was featured as one of the 25 greatest gardeners in the world by Horticulture magazine. That acclaim would never have come her way without her friendship with Ann Preston Bridgers.
The New York Times called Emily Herring Wilson’s Two Gardeners: Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence—A Friendship in Letters (2002) “one of the finest gardening books published in years.” Wilson is also the author of an acclaimed biography of Elizabeth Lawrence entitled No One Gardens Alone (2004). While editing correspondence between Lawrence and Katharine White, she discovered several hundred letters from Lawrence to Bridgers, which inspired her to compile this collection.
Admission to this event is FREE. Reservations are required. Please email scatron@atlantahistorycenter.com or call 404.814.4146 to make a reservation. For more information visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Norris Church Mailer, A Ticket to the Circus
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Norris Church Mailer as she discusses her memoir, A Ticket to the Circus.
Like Zelda Fitzgerald before her, Norris Church Mailer has led a life as colorful and eventful as her husband’s. Crowned Little Miss Little Rock at age three, and dating Bill Clinton in her early twenties, Norris has gone from one adventure to the next, along the way learning a number of universal truths about love, marriage, family, friendship, and, of course, writing. In a winning narrative voice that evokes her native Arkansas, Norris recounts the stories of a bright, talented girl who knew her life would one day be as surprising and memorable as an afternoon at the circus.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
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Planting History
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Noon – 5:00 PM
Experience the gardens at the Atlanta History Center in full bloom and learn about the important role plants have played throughout history. Families enjoy learning about Native American medicine, nineteenth-century farming practices, formal gardens, and more through special tours, presentations, and hands-on activities for children. Come see history in bloom!
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information about this program, please contact 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Magic Mondays: Springtime on the Farm
Monday, May 10, 2010
10:30 - 11:30 AM
Toddlers (18 months to 5 years old) love this program designed just for them! The Atlanta History Museum, exhibitions, Tullie Smith Farm, and 33 acres of woodland trails and gardens provide the perfect backdrop for fun-filled educational activities. Join us on Mondays to meet new friends or see some familiar faces.
Admission is free for adult members; $5 for children of members; $6 for nonmember adults; $5 for nonmember children. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, please call 404.814.4110 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Homeschool Day: Folklife Festival
Friday, May 14, 2010
1:00 - 4:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center offers special monthly programs for homeschool students and their families. Each month explores a different subject through exhibition tours and a variety of activities geared toward kids from toddlers to teens. This month, experience the bustling life of springtime on the farm in the 1860s through demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Admission is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for children of members; and free for adult members. Prices do not include sales tax. Discounted rates are available for groups with ten or more children. For more information, or to make group reservations, please call 404.814.4018, email Homeschool@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/homeschool.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
Literary Center at Margaret Mitchell House: Elizabeth Berg, The Last Time I Saw You
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
7:00 PM
Join us for an evening lecture and book signing with Elizabeth Berg as she discusses her novel, The Last Time I Saw You.
Beloved author Elizabeth Berg gives us a novel about how decisions made in youth have an impact on the present. The roads taken-- and not taken--by Dorothy, Lester, Mary Alice, and others are reexamined in a novel that centers around a 40th high school reunion. How have people changed, and how have they remained the same? Where have their choices led them and how do the memories and faces of their teenage years affect them in the present? As they re-encounter each other as well as themselves, their self-discoveries change how they see their lives going forward.
This lecture is held at Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown. Admission is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required for all lectures. For more information, visit MargaretMitchellHouse.com. To purchase tickets, please call 404.814.4150.
Veterans Remembrance Day
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Noon – 5:00 PM
The Atlanta History Center honors the contributions of veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and today’s conflicts. Spend a day in the company of veterans and hear their stories of wartime through personal accounts and memorabilia. Living history interpreters represent soldiers of various wars by showing authentic dress, equipment, and vehicles.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information about this program, please contact 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support: Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council.
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Summer Camp 2010
Atlanta History Center summer campers explore the past and the world around them through enriching and engaging activities. Join the fun with games, stories, crafts, outdoor expeditions, and interactive exhibitions. Every week has a new theme, so choose your favorites and join us!
· Play With the Past; June 7-11; Ages 4-6
· Curator Camp: Picturing History; June 7-11; Grades 7-9
· New World to the New South: Georgia through Time; June 14-18; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
· Fun with Folk Art; June 21-25; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
· Early Explorers; June 28- July 2; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
· History’s Harmonies; July 12-16; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
· Past Times; July 19-23; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
· All about Abe; July 26-30; Grades 1-3 & 4-6
Camp fees are $200 for members; $250 for nonmembers. Camp hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. To register your camper, please call 404.814.4018. For more information, visit www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/summercamp.
(Atlanta History Center, McElreath Hall)
Wednesday – Saturday; 10:00 PM – 5:00 PM
The Kenan Research Center’s archives and special libraries collections comprise the research component of the Atlanta History Center’s study, exhibition, education, and public program activities. Housed in McElreath Hall on the Atlanta History Center’s Buckhead campus, the holdings contain resources for the study of Atlanta and Southern regional history and culture, including 34,000 volumes and 15,000 cubic feet of historic photographs, prints, maps and architectural drawings, business records,
private papers and documents, as well as 7,700 microfilm rolls of newspapers, Atlanta city directories
and census records. Admission to the Kenan Research Center is free to the public, attracting such researchers as genealogists, educators, scholars, historic preservationists, print and broadcast media, popular and academic authors and students from grade school to postgraduate studies. The Research Center staff answers more than 13,000 reference requests a year, assisting private individuals, nonprofit
institutions and commercial firms. Through the research facilities, individuals and media can purchase
copies of historic photographs, prints, maps, and other archival images. Terminus, the Research Center
public access catalog, can be accessed online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. Researchers can quickly find information due to the expanded space and division of rooms devoted to special interests including
Decorative Arts: The Philip T. Shutze and Harvey M. Smith collections of design and decorative arts resources.
Genealogy: The genealogy and family history collections contain resources for tracing family history throughout Georgia and the South.
Military History: The Beverly M. DuBose Jr. and Thomas S. Dickey resources on the Civil War and military ordnance.
Southern Gardens: The Cherokee Garden Library composed of publications and rare books on gardening, botany, landscape design and agriculture.
Special events facilities at the Kenan Research Center include the Woodruff Auditorium, a theater-style auditorium seating 400, and the Draper Members Room, perfect for a 120-person seated dinner.
Founded in 1926, the Atlanta History Center is an all-inclusive thirty-three acre destination featuring the Atlanta History Museum, one of the Southeast’s largest history museums; two historic houses, the 1928 Swan House and the Tullie Smith Farm; the Centennial Olympic Games Museum; the Kenan Research Center; the Grand Overlook event space; Chick-Fil-A at the Coca-Cola Café, a museum shop, and acres of historic gardens and trails. In addition, the History Center operates the Margaret Mitchell House. Located in Midtown Atlanta, the two-acre campus features tours of the house and apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gone With the Wind, an exhibit highlighting the life and times of Margaret Mitchell, a Gone with the Wind movie exhibit, and a museum shop. For more information on Atlanta History Center offerings, hours of operation, and admission, please call 404.814.4000 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
The all-inclusive general admission allows access to the Atlanta History Center, including the Atlanta
History Museum, the Centennial Olympic Games Museum at the Atlanta History Center, the 1845 Tullie Smith Farm, the 1928 Swan House, and 33 acres of gardens. General admission is $15 for adults, $12 for students 13+ and seniors 65+, $10 for youth 4–12 and free for children 3 and under and Atlanta History Center members. The Atlanta History Center is open Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 5:30 pm and Sunday, Noon – 5:30 pm (ticket sales stop at 4:30 pm daily).
The Atlanta History Center is proud to be a CityPass destination. Purchase a CityPass on site and receive admission to six famous Atlanta attractions for one low price! For more information, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
The Atlanta History Center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, the Atlanta History Center is open Noon – 5:30 pm on Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Columbus Day.
The Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm. The Research Center is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Members play a crucial role in supporting Atlanta's history. Become a member and receive unlimited free admission to both of the Atlanta History Center’s campuses, experience exclusive sneak previews, engage in the real stories of the South, and enjoy a host of additional privileges. Our memberships accommodate individuals, couples and families. For more information, please call 404.814.4101 or email.
Located in the Atlanta History Museum, the items in the Museum Shop reflect the collections of signature
and traveling exhibitions and gardens, as well as items relevant to southern history. Purchases help to
support future exhibitions, educational programs and archival preservation efforts.
The Atlanta History Center and Margaret Mitchell House offer a great location for groups big and small.
Among the variety of engaging activities, your group experiences stories of African American life in the South through permanent and traveling exhibitions; revisit Olympic glory with interactive displays in the Centennial Olympic Games Museum; discover the traditions of Southern culture in Shaping Traditions:
Folk Arts in a Changing South; and explore Atlanta's past through tours of 3 historic houses and 6 beautiful gardens. Trace your family's heritage through a wealth of resources available for free at our Kenan Research Center. Complete your visit with “one of a kind” Atlanta souvenirs available in our museum gift shop.
Enjoy special group tour discounts for groups of 15 or more adults or ten or more children, great picnic areas, on-campus dining from Chic-fil-A, bus accommodations, and free parking. In addition, we are conveniently located near a variety of Atlanta hotels offering shuttle services. For more information, please call 404.814.4062 or visit online at www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Specialized guided tours and self-guided tours are available for groups of 15 or more adults or ten or more children. Enjoy special great picnic areas, on-campus dining from Chic-fil-A, bus accommodations and free parking. To schedule a group or school group tour, or for more information about school groups, please call 404.814.4062 or visit online at www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
The Atlanta History Center and McElreath Hall are accessible to people with disabilities. Paved and
unpaved pathways through the Atlanta History Center's Gardens lead to Swan House and Tullie Smith
Farm. Large-print reading materials are available for some exhibitions in the Atlanta History Center. Video presentations at the Atlanta History Center are subtitled in English. Visitor maps are available in English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
One of the most valuable components of the Atlanta History Center experience, volunteer docents bring the collections and signature offerings to life for visitors. Men and women, 18 years and up, of all backgrounds, guide school groups, local visitors and tourists every day through the Swan House, the Tullie Smith Farm and the Atlanta History Center. Other volunteer opportunities include assisting at the admissions desk or in the Museum Shop, hosting various special events and helping in the membership office. As preparation, volunteers are given hands-on training and attend enrichment sessions. If you would like more information about Atlanta History Center volunteers, please call 404.814.4115.
The Atlanta History Center is available for wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, Bar and Bat Mitzvah
celebrations, corporate meetings and special events. Visit www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/events to preview an events video detailing Atlanta History Center event space offerings.
For information on available space, including the 6,400-square-foot Grand Overlook, please call 404.814.4088 or email.
By car:
Going north on I-75 from downtown Atlanta, exit at West Paces Ferry Road and turn left at the end of the ramp onto Northside Parkway. Turn right at the next intersection onto West Paces Ferry Road. Going south on I-75 from Marietta, exit at West Paces Ferry Road and turn left at the end of the ramp onto West Paces Ferry Road. On West Paces Ferry Road, continue east for 2.6 miles. The Atlanta History Center entrance is on the right.
By public transportation:
In celebration of the opening of Benjamin Franklin: In Search of A Better World, MARTA adds a new stop on Bus Route #38 at the History Center. Route #38 offers hourly service Monday – Saturday, 5:30 AM – 8:30 PM to the History Center via Pharr Road, Slaton Drive and East Andrews Drive. Route #38 will no longer operate on Peachtree and Roswell Roads between Pharr Road and East Andrews Drive. Customers in this area will continue to be served by Routes #23 and #110 and can access the newly aligned Route #38 at the closest intersecting point.
Access to the Atlanta History Center’s parking deck is free for all guests. The deck is located near the West Paces Ferry Road and Andrews Drive entrances. Reserved handicapped parking spaces are located at the front entrance to the Atlanta History Center, near the West Paces Ferry Road entrance.
