Hello again! We are Linda Vo-Green, Krista Collins and Lindsey Barranco of the Atlanta-area Evaluation Association (AaEA), and your chairs for the Local Arrangements Working Group for Evaluation 2016 in Atlanta. This week we want to help you prepare for your trip and get excited about all the things Atlanta has to offer!
Hot Tip: The easiest and cheapest way to get downtown from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is to hop on MARTA, Atlanta’s public transportation system. From the airport, take the Red or Gold line going Northbound, and for $2.50 you will be at Peachtree Center, located inside the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in 18 minutes. In fact, a lot of Atlanta’s main attractions can be conveniently reached by travelling on MARTA! If the subway is not for you, grab a shuttle, taxi or Uber at the airport for your convenience.
Stay near the hotel and explore different activities near Peachtree Center, the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, Phillips Arena and CNN:
- Centennial Olympic Park: A legacy to the 1996 Summer Olympics, Centennial Park is a 21-acre outdoor park in the heart of downtown Atlanta. Time it right and see the interactive Fountain of Rings show! There are a number of amazing attractions around the park as well including the largest aquarium in the Western hemisphere – the Georgia Aquarium. Right next door is, the World of Coca-Cola, the CNN Center, and nearby, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
- Atlanta Movie Tours: Atlanta is quickly becoming the Hollywood of the South! Sign-up for a movie tour and see where fan favorites like The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games are filmed.
Go north towards Midtown, to North and Arts Center to get a taste of Atlanta’s cultural scene:
- Stop at the Woodruff Arts Center and tour The High Museum of Art, the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States, catch a Broadway show at the Alliance Theater, or enjoy a concert from Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
- Explore your imagination at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Check out the museum to see some of Jim Henson’s original creations for the Muppets, Sesame Street and The Labyrinth.
- Visit the historical Fox Theater for a fun night of live entertainment surrounded by stunning 1920’s Art Deco architecture.
Interested in more educational activities? Head out to Decatur or Buckhead:
- Step back in time Fernbank Museum of Natural History and enjoy award-winning exhibits, IMAX movies and interactive experiences
- Stop by the Atlanta History Center to learn about southern traditions and culture, spanning centuries from early settlers, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, to the current urban metropolis Atlanta is today.
We’re looking forward to October and the Evaluation 2016 annual conference all this week with our colleagues in the Local Arrangements Working Group (LAWG). Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to contribute to aea365? Review the contribution guidelines and send your draft post to aea365@eval.org.