News

The Southern Museum Celebrates 5th Anniversary March 29
03/24/08

KENNESAW, Ga. –The Southern Museum turns five March 29, and to celebrate, the popular local attraction will offer half price admission all day.

“We wanted to give a birthday present to our community for all the support they have shown us over the last five years,” explained Kennesaw Director of Recreation and Culture Jeff Drobney.

In addition to half price admission, birthday cake will be served at 2 PM.
About 250,000 visitors from the Atlanta area and all over the world have come through the Museum’s doors since it reopened after a massive expansion effort in 2003.

Since then, the Southern Museum has hosted three Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibitions, as well as four other temporary exhibits, on topics as varied as national parks to slavery.

“The Cobb Energy Gallery allows us to present a wide variety of fresh topics so visitors continue to have new experiences every time they visit,” Drobney said.

The Museum is currently hosting “Liberty on the Border: A Civil War Journey in Time,” an interactive exhibit that explores the role slavery played in the war and the impact it had on civil rights. “Liberty on the Border: is on display through September 7 and is a production of the Cincinnati Museum Center.
To bring the Civil War to life, the Southern Museum also hosts regular living history events and organized a large scale Battle of Kennesaw re-enactment in 2006 that drew thousands of spectators.

Currently, a new education building is under construction at the rear of the Museum to accommodate growing preschool and children’s programming and an expanding archives department.

“We expect the Education Center to open this summer,” Drobney said.
In addition to classroom and library space, the center will offer hands-on, interactive displays and games on railroading to instill a love of learning in children. The center will also host Georgia’s Merci Boxcar, which was given to the people of Georgia in gratitude for relief items sent to France immediately following World War II.

A Smithsonian Institution affiliate, the Southern Museum features collections of rare Civil War weapons, uniforms, and other personal items; an exciting exhibit about The Great Locomotive Chase, including a short movie; and a full-scale replica of a locomotive factory that helped rebuild the South after the war.

The Southern Museum is located 20 miles north of Atlanta, off I-75 at exit 273. Regular admission is $7.50 for adults, $6.50 for seniors, $5.50 for children 4-12, and free for children 3 and under. Individual and family memberships are also available.