Wednesday Afternoon Self-Organized Excursions
(all options are self-guided using local transportation such as Atlanta’s MARTA trains and buses)
The Georgia Aquarium
225 Baker St NW, Atlanta, GA 30313 (1.7 Km from the Ga Tech Hotel)
Open: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM daily
Cost: ~$31 – $39/person depending on adult, child, or senior, and day of the week
https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/visitor-information/
The Georgia Aquarium is a non-profit organization committed to inspiring awareness and preservation of aquatic animals worldwide and is one of the world’s largest aquaria and the only one outside of Asia to display whale sharks. Its 38 million liters of water hold more than 100 thousand animals representing >700 species of fish and other marine animals, including beluga whales, whale sharks, sea lions, bottlenose dolphins, and manta rays. The Ocean Voyager exhibit is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest indoor aquatic habitat in the world, containing 24 million liters of water and thousands of fish. The exhibit has a 30 m long underwater viewing tunnel and one of the world’s largest viewing windows. Other galleries and exhibits focus on penguins and puffins, beluga whales, tropical coral reefs, cold water environments, freshwater ecosystems, coastal Georgia, and one of the largest live tropical coral reef exhibits anywhere.
Atlanta Botanical Garden
1345 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309 (2.5 Km from the Georgia Tech Hotel)
Open 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesday – Sunday
Cost (daytime) $22 adults, $19 children.
IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THE BANQUET ON THURSDAY EVENING, IT IS BEING HELD IN THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN AND YOUR BANQUET TICKET ALLOWS FULL ACCESS TO THE GARDENS THAT EVENING BETWEEN 6:00 PM AND 10:00 PM. THUS, SAVE THIS EXPERIENCE FOR THE BANQUET EVENING IF YOU ARE ATTENDING THAT EVENT.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is one of the best botanical gardens in the U.S. In addition to its normal displays (focused on orchids, an enclosed tropical rainforest, a 180 m long elevated walkway built through the canopy of a south eastern forest, etc.), the garden also hosts annual, large-scale art exhibits. During the ISCE meetings the exhibit is “Imaginary Worlds: Alice’s Wonderland.” This consists of giant topiary-like plant structures of Alice’s characters created by individually arranging and planting >200,000 plants to construct sculptures of up to 8 m in height (see: https://atlantabg.org/plan-your-visit/atlanta-garden-calendar/imaginary-worlds/). During our dinner, the Gardens will also be hosting its normal “Cocktails in the Gardens,” which allows you to enjoy cocktails as you wander among the gardens many exhibits.
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
100 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
Open: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Mondays – Saturdays; 12 PM – 5 PM on Sundays
Cost: $16 – $20 Depending on adult, child, senior, student
https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is a museum dedicated to the achievements of both the civil rights movement in the United States and the broader human rights movement worldwide. The Center hosts both permanent and temporary exhibits regarding the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, and of contemporary human rights struggles around the world. The museum contains three permanent exhibitions. i) “Voice to the Voiceless: The Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection” contains personal effects that belonged to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that tell Dr. King’s story from his youth through to his assassination; ii) “Rolls Down Like Water: The American Civil Rights Movement” is an interactive gallery that opens with examples of segregation in the United States, including Jim Crow laws, school integration, and a recreation of a lunch counter sit-incomplete with headphones that simulate the taunts and threats leveled at activists, and iii) “Spark of Conviction: The Global Human Rights Movement” The exhibit includes oppressive dictators and counters them with images of modern-day activists who work to improve conditions of women and oppressed minorities.
Martin Luther King Memorial and National Historic Site
450 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Open: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily
Cost: free, although special events or tours may carry a cost
https://www.nps.gov/malu/planyourvisit/index.htm
At Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park you will find the places where Dr. King was born, lived, worked, worshipped, and is buried. The featured exhibit entitled “Courage To Lead” follows the parallel paths of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement. At the visitor center, you will also be directed to neighborhood monuments including Dr. King’s birth home (one block from the visitor center) and the original Ebenezer Baptist Church (across the street from the visitor center). The Auburn Avenue neighborhood in which the site is situated, called “Sweet Auburn” has historically played and continues to play an important role in Atlanta’s African-American community.
Zoo Atlanta
800 Cherokee Ave SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
Open: 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM daily
Cost: FREE if you show your ISCE conference badge, otherwise $18 – $26 depending on adult, child, senior, student
Zoo Atlanta is famous for its research programs with great apes and herpetology, and is a formal endowment-based research and teaching partner with Georgia Tech. The Zoo houses the largest populations of western lowland gorillas and orangutans in the world and currently also has the oldest living western lowland gorillas. Twenty-one gorillas have been born at the zoo in the last 3 decades, including a rare set of twins and the only known set of twins to be successfully raised without human intervention of any sort. In addition, Zoo Atlanta is one of the few zoos outside of china to have giant pandas, which also have been the basis for productive research and breeding programs. Please pardon the construction this summer, as the Zoo is near completion on a massive project to maximize space for the African elephants.
Other options to consider:
The Atlanta History Center https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/
CNN Center https://center.cnn.com/#cnn-studiotours
Fernbank Museum of Natural History https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/
High Museum of Art https://high.org/visit/
ISCE 2019 Banquet
Atlanta Botanical Gardens | 1345 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
Event Date: Thursday, June 6th, 2019 | 6:00pm
Transportation will be provided from Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center Exhibit admission inclusive of banquet ticket
| 5:30 pm | Bus transportation will depart from outside the main lobby of the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Walking is also an option (allow 30 minutes). (Self-Parking – $5) |
| 6:00 pm to 7:00pm | Self-Guided Tours |
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7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
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Dinner Banquet Day Hall and Lanier Terrace
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| 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Self-Guided Tours |
| Starting at 9:30 pm |
Bus transportation will depart from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center.
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For any additional questions, feel free to contact us!