Post #4- Spring Break

I must admit, it was nice to have a break from everything for a week.
For Spring Break, I went to visit my family in Dacula, GA, north east of Atlanta.
If you ever get the chance to go to Atlanta, there are tons of museums to visit. I'd been to the World of Coke and the Atlanta Aquarium before, so this trip we decided to go somewhere different.

The first place we visited was the College Football Hall of Fame as both my father and I are college football fans, even if we root for different teams. When you enter the museum, you are directed to register and choose your favorite team. Every visitor is given a lanyard with a pass that links to their registration information. When the visitor approaches an exhibit the RFID recognizes you and your team and highlights exhibit items from that team. For example, when you enter, you're faced with a wall of helmets from various teams featured in the museum. As you register, the helmet from your team flashes so you're able to find it.

Partial view of the helmet wall. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Overall, I really enjoyed the museum, but of course I had to pick out a few things that most visitors would never see. Some of their artifacts were falling off of the mounting, things were falling apart and probably should not have been on display in the first place if they wanted to preserve the item, and empty exhibit cases were shoved in a corner but still visible on the exhibit floor.

 Empty cases visible on the exhibit floor. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Movable monitor which interacts with visitor pass. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

 Helmet with pieces of leather falling off. Photo: Jennifer Roeszies

Some of the cool technology they have includes a movable monitor that allows the visitor to scroll left and right while interacting with the exhibit, and a place to record the visitor singing their team's fight song, which is then posted to their website. (Just don't tell my father, he didn't realize it was being recorded and posted. ;) )



The second place we visited was the Atlanta History Center to see the cyclorama. I highly recommend going to see this exhibit!! The fully restored cyclorama reopened in late February, 2019 and is a must see for Civil War enthusiasts. The 47 foot high painting depicts the Battle of Atlanta. The museum interpreter tells visitors the history of the cyclorama as well as the Battle of Atlanta and includes a 12 minute video. There are multiple interactive screens on the first floor that allow the visitor to get more information on the people, the places, and the changes made to the painting.

Section of cyclorama painting. Photo: Jennifer Roezies

An additional benefit of going to the AHC is that when you pay your admission, they give you a ticket for free admission to the Margaret Mitchell House which is also a part of the AHC. As someone who has never seen Gone With the Wind or read the book (shock and surprise, I know) I wasn't sure what to expect from this visit, but it was very interesting and I'm glad that we went. If anyone is a GWTW fan, I would recommend going.

Spring Break was fun, but now it's back to working on my thesis before the deadline.