Astronauts' Fernbank Visit Inspires

The NASA traveling exhibit “Destination Station" is at Fernbank Science Center until May 18.

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson shared her experience of seeing the world from space at a recent visit to Fernbank Science Center during the program, "An Evening With an Astronaut," where children got to ask questions and learn more about the profession, according to a SaportaReport article. The report says astronaut (and former Georgia Tech student) Shane Kimbrough also addressed kids at Fernbank this month. In addition, the article cited the budget issues both NASA and Fernbank face. The exhibit "Destination Station" will be at the science center through May 18.  

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Astronomy Day at Fernbank Science Center

Saturday at 1 p.m.

Fernbank Science Center Hosts NASA Destination Station

The April 6 event will show everyday life aboard the International Space Station.

Beginning with an April 6 grand opening, Fernbank Science Center will be the site of NASA’s Destination Station, a walk-through exhibit and event series designed to inspire and inform students about careers relating to space exploration. The exhibit, a walk-through installation that will be in the Science Center’s lower exhibit hall near the Apollo 6 capsule, is free of charge. The walk-through exhibit, which shows everyday life aboard the International Space Station, and explains the scientific discoveries and other benefits made possible by the space station project, will be available whenever Fernbank Science Center is open through May 18. The first Destination Station event will be Saturday, April 6 from noon - 4 p.m. when NASA staff …

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Fernbank Science Center Unveiling Big Upgrade

Starting Dec. 21, a new projection system will allow the planetarium to make use of their entire dome.

Fernbank Science Center’s Jim Cherry Memorial Planetarium, already the biggest planetarium in Georgia and one of the largest in the United States, is about to get a major technological upgrade. Beginning with special free showings on Dec. 21, planetarium visitors will be able to see programs on a new fulldome/immersive projection system. “This totally changes the planetarium experience,” said Ed Albin, a Fernbank astronomer. “For the video portions of our programming, we’ve been using standard projectors, which put an image on only a small segment of the dome. The digital immersive projection system throws extraordinarily bright light onto a spherical mirror tuned to the exact shape of our dome. So now the video and other images cover the …

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Check out Dino-Night at Fernbank Science Center

Events include a fossil shark tooth dig for the kids and fossils on exhibit.

Fernbank: Open Letter to School Board

A teacher confronts the DeKalb County Board of Education on Fernbank Science Center funding.

Patch was very helpful in reporting the DeKalb School Budget Crisis from the Board Meeting last June 4 especially as it pertains to Fernbank Science Center. I would like to submit this open letter (below) I sent to the Superintendent and School Board in response to the Superintendent returning FSC to the chopping block (after removing FSC) by asking the board to eliminate 2/3 of the FSC Budget and then having spokesman Walter Wood tell the public that FSC would remain a "fully functional Science Center." It's like saying a basketball team can remain "fully functional" when the three tallest players are removed from the court. Open Letter to DeKalb Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and the DeKalb School Board: I am one of the teachers who work…

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Don Broussard

10:14 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

These are fair questions that you pose -- but how does cutting Fernbank Science Center by 2/3 help DCSD's "core" mission?? I assure you that pay cuts and furloughs will still happen to all teachers regardless of cuts to FSC. Re: too many demands on too few dollars -- my property taxes have declined 25% in the last two years as our property value has declined. That is what has happened across the …   more ›

Fernbank Science Center Supporters Plan Rally Monday

The rally begins at 10am Monday at the center.

Supporters of Fernbank Science Center plan to rally outside the Druid Hills center on Monday, June 18, to show support for the center. The science center is in jeopardy of losing a bulk of its funding due to budget cuts in DeKalb County schools. The district faces a roughly $88 million budget gap and proposed cost-saving measures include increasing class sizes and cutting jobs in the central office. Initial proposals included closing Fernbank, but the science center was taken off the chopping block after supporters voiced displeasure with the idea. But Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson put Fernbank back on the table Monday. Atkinson suggested $3.2 million in cuts to programs and resources at the center. Fernbank has a $4.7 million operating …

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Cheryl Miller

6:39 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Why isn't anyone talking about the erroreous tax calculations? For the second year in a row the county is admitting to faults in the new software program. Perhaps if they could calculate the property taxes correctly we would actually have enough money to fund the programs. Instead, we all jump right into what needs to be cut. Just because some neighborhoods were incorrectly calculated too high …   more ›

Fernbank Science Center Back on Chopping Block Monday

A Lakeside High School student is among the center's advocates who have argued with the DeKalb County School System to keep it open.

It appears the Fernbank Science Center – recently spared from the DeKalb County Board of Education's budgetary axe – is back on the chopping block. Hours before the board's final budget vote Monday, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson said she would recommend $3.2 million in cuts to the facility, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. From the story: Nonetheless, at an informal meeting of several board members to discuss the budget Monday morning, Atkinson said she'd asked Fernbank's director to recommend deep cuts. She didn't detail the proposal, but school district spokesman Walter Woods told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that many of the programs and the 56 staffers would be reduced or eliminated. He said, though, that Fernbank …

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Online Petitions Started To Save Fernbank Science Center

A DeKalb school board committee suggested pulling funding for the center to close a $73 million budget gap.

Supporters of the Fernbank Science Center in Druid Hills have started online petititons to save it from being closed because of budget cutting by the DeKalb County Board of Education. It’s unclear who started the petitions, but many parents and supporters of the science center have been vocal on the Save Fernbank Science Center Facebook page and local blogs. Read the Dekalb County Board of Education: Save Fernbank Science Center petition here. The Save Fernbank Science Center! petition is available here. DeKalb school board members are working to plug a $73 million gap in the system's budget, and a committee recommended Thursday an additional $17.5 million in cuts that includes closing the science center. These recommendations came after a…

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Jonathan Cribbs

7:28 pm on Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The school board is considering shutting it down, so yes those programs would be gone. Whether the museum or some other entity takes it over it not up to them.   more ›

Fernbank Hosting Coyote Forum Next Week

The March 7 meeting will focus on coyote problems in urban Atlanta.