Fernbank Museum- Owls

Fernbank Museum of Natural History owls exhibit in main atrium.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History grew out of a forest and the dream of Emily Harrison, a young girl who loved it. Growing up in the late 1800s, Emily Harrison often played in the forest surrounding her home just east of Atlanta. Emily was a naturalist and thrived on learning about the plants and animals around her. One of Emily's favorite spots in the forest was a creek bank covered with a variety of ferns. She was the first to call the area "Fernbank," the name which records indicate was publicly recognized in the late 1880s. 

 Fernbank, Inc. hired Graham Gund Architects to design the striking, 160,000 square foot museum. Ground was broken in 1989, and on October 5, 1992, Fernbank Museum of Natural History opened to the public, becoming one of the only museums in the world to grow out of an old-growth forest.