At the Martin Luther King Center (kingcenter.org), on the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, kids can visit the late civil rights leader's birth home, his grave and his library and archives. The center also has exhibits illustrating the life and teachings of Dr. King. At the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum (atlantacyclorama.org), kids can view what is billed as the world's largest painting, a 15,000-square-foot mural depicting the Battle of Atlanta. Also, check out the artifacts in the adjacent Civil War Museum.
Zoo Atlanta (zooatlanta.org) is a world-class facility with animals exhibited in areas resembling their native habitats, such as the Asian forest, the African plains and the African rain forest. Kids have a chance to see Lun Lun, a giant panda, and her cub, Po, as well as a new exhibit called Complex Carnivores (2011), which features rare animals like bush dogs, fossas and binturongs. Zoo shows and a petting area are also available.
Take the kids to an Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field (atlanta.braves.mlb.com). If it's not baseball season, you can still tour the field, play on the Tooner Field playground and visit the Hall of Fame Museum. Turner Field was the stadium for the 1996 Olympic Games. Young golfers will want to head to John A. White Golf Course (thefirstteeatlanta.org), which offers free instruction, equipment and course access to all Atlanta juniors from ages 7 to 17.
Atlanta has several city parks on its south side that offer a wide variety of activities for kids. The 80-acre South Bend Park has tennis courts, basketball courts, a gym, picnic areas, baseball and soccer fields, a pool and a playground. Perkerson Park has basketball and tennis courts, a recreation center, a playground and baseball fields on 50 acres. Southside Park, which consists of more than 200 acres, has tennis courts, baseball fields and picnic pavilions.
