The Town of Helen

So you're probably wondering why an entire town is listed on this site. Well ladies and gentlemen, while its true that American Attractions mostly does museums, Helen, Georgia IS the attraction. Why? Because the entire town is modeled after its sister town, Fussen, Bavaria. For those who don't know where Bavaria is, it is a region located in Southern Germany. This little town looks very much like a little town you would see if you were to visit Bavaria.  Every building from the local motel to the Wendy's Restaurant is modeled after this style.  That is a requirement of the City Code of Helen.  However, if you visit Helen, I wouldn't suggest going to Wendy's. Not because it isn't good, but because if you want the closest thing to actual German food, Wendy's is NOT the place to go.  Instead I would suggest you visit The Old Bavarian Inn Restaurant. The food is good, the price is decent, and the girls even dress in the German style.

There are other places to go and try German food but this is probably the one I recommend the most.  Now, while the belly is full, if you choose to stay the night, you have two choices; you can either rent a hotel or a cabin.  Once again, I wouldn't suggest staying at the local motel.  Instead, for a cultural experience try the Heidi Motel. The address will be provided at the bottom for a starting point to Helen.

Now that you have a place to stay, perhaps a bit of gift shopping is in order.  The place I visited when I was there was the Glass Blowing shop. You can actually witness the art of glass blowing and the finished product. The prices are actually really good for the products being so fragile. Just don't go in strutting around like a bull and please keep an eye on your children.  It can get quite expensive paying for glass shards.

There are other shops to visit, each with their own unique items including a magic shop.  For those who don't know, Germany is known very well for its fantastic beer.  In turn, this leads to a well known tradition called Oktoberfest.  Since Helen is modeled after a German town, you can be sure that in October it will have police on the prowl during its Oktoberfest festival.  Helen is surrounded by mountains, so when it snows there, you will feel as if you are in an authentic alpine village.  Everywhere you go in Helen is a new experience that will leave you coming back again and again, and it comes at a fair price. It is an all day trip if not a multi-day trip. Before you leave, take a ride on the horse-drawn carriage for a tour of Helen.

Entertainment: 5
Educational: 3
Price: 4
Cafe: 4
Gift Shops: 5
Overall: 4

Additional Information

Address
Heidi Motel: 8820 N. Main St. Helen, GA

For more information, visit: www.helenga.org

Dahlonega Gold Museum

Ask yourself this history question, "Where was the first gold rush?" Was it in California, Alaska or Georgia? If you said California or Alaska, you would be WRONG.  The first Gold rush was actually in Dahlonega, Georgia.  California was up next in the gold rush followed by the Alaskan Gold Rush. When you enter the Dahlonega Gold museum you will step back in history.  Here you will see various tools and methods used in to mine gold.  In fact, one of the first things you will see is a safe containing various amounts of real gold. Nuggets, flakes, and even spun gold.  However, no photography is allowed of the safe. The Gold Museum is located in the Lumpkin County courthouse, which was built in 1836.  The bricks were made of clay from the nearby area which contain small flecks of gold to this day.  Once you collect your jaw from the floor looking at all the gold in the safe, make your way to the next room where you will see actual scales used to weigh the gold.

Now, because of the Georgia gold rush, the U.S. Gold Mint was established in Dahlonega where U.S. gold coins were minted for distribution.  During the War of Northern Aggression (as known by the old timers in North Georgia) the mint was captured by the Confederates. After the War Between the States, the mint became the main academic and administration building to North Georgia College, and the Dome of the building is pure gold.  While your here, you will also see the method miners used to separate the gold ore from all the other rock. Once you're done with the first floor, make your way up to the second floor, which used to be the courtroom.  Here you can watch a small video further explaining the Dahlonega gold rush.  Also on the second floor you will find the hydraulic water pump used to wash away rock and expose new gold ore veins not otherwise accessible. Unfortunately, the scars of the hydro pump can still be seen today.

Once your done with the exhibit, be sure to visit the gift shop to purchase actual gold. Be warned however, since this is real gold, it will be priced accordingly. For example, a simple small panning dish refrigerator magnet, containing real gold flakes, cost about $3.50. Other items such as a gold pen, little vials of gold flakes and even a gold leaf necklace will cost more.  The shop does have other items such as coin value guides, history books, t-shirts, and even mining helmets with a flashlight for the kids.  The gold museum may be small, but the value of its legacy is rather rich....pun intended.

Entertainment: 3
Educational: 4
Price: 4
Cafe: N/A
Gift shop:  4
Overall: 4
Additional Information


Address:
NOTE! If you try to plug in the actual address of the museum, your GPS will not recognize it. The address given is the visitor center. The museum is located right across from the Visitor Center.

13 South Park St. Dahlonega, GA 30533


Prices
Adults: $6
Seniors: $5
Youth: $3.50
Children: Free
Military discount: 15% off

Hours of Operation
Monday - Saturday: 9 A.M - 5 P.M.
Sunday: 10 A.M. - 5 P.M.

For more information visit: http://www.gastateparks.org/DahlonegaGoldMuseum  

99s Museum

As the saying goes, "Anything you can do I can do better", seems to have been proven by women time and time again in just about every field, even in Aviation. The 99's Museum's message is about just that; Women in Aviation. The most notable of the these pilots is Amelia Earhart, the female pilot who went missing somewhere over the pacific on her world tour. But have you heard of other female pilots, such as Harriet Quimby, who died the same day the Titanic Sank? Or what about Lousie Thaden, who flew in and won several of the earliest air derby races. Then there are the WASPs, also known as the Womens Air Service Pilots, who helped the allied effort in WWII.  Indeed, it would seem that women are just as capable as men when it comes to the field of aviation. Now, concerning the 99's Museum, it is a rather small museum, so much so that the entire tour can take about 30 minutes.  However, it excels as an educational tour. The tour starts out with the earliest days of aviation, where the only flying was in air races, known as air derbies, and exhibition demonstrations, known as aviation meets. At the time, however, the aviation world was primarily known as a mans world.  It was hard for women to get any respect as an aviator let alone obtain a pilots license. A large majority of the exhibit has to do with the most famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart. It details her start as an aviator and ultimately leads to her end as one too.

The next small area to the exhibit is the WASP exhibit. The WASPs, or Womens Air Service Pilots, played a vital role in the victories of WWII. So much so that several were awarded high honors such as the distinguished flying cross and the silver star. However, such service always comes with a price. 38 WASPs lost their lives due to training accidents and for the longest time, the nation failed to recognize them as the heroines they were until 1977. After the war, the female aviators, not wanting to give up the joy of flying, pursued other avenues of aviation. One of these avenues was commercial aviation.

 This part of the 99s Museum features stories and profiles of several first female airline pilots. this little area is probably smaller than all the other areas. However, having gained respect becoming pilots in the early years of aviation, fighting off the Germans and Japanese in WWII, and becoming airline pilots, what was there left to accomplish for women aviators? Perhaps the New Frontier? Yes after all that they had been through, women finally achieved the highest accomplishment by being launched in outer space.

Now ask yourself this question. Who was the first woman in space? If you said Sally Ride, you would be wrong. In fact, the very first woman in space was Russian Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. Sally Ride was actually the first American Female in space. Last but not least in the museum is the wall of first, as in the first women in various countries to become aviators.

Educational: 4
Entertainment: 2
Price:3
Cafe: N/A
Giftshop: 3
Overall: 3

Additional Information

Address
4300 Amelia Earhart Lane  Oklahoma City, OK

Hours
Mon-Fri 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Prices
Adults: $5
Students (K-12): $3
Seniors (60+): $4
Military: $4

For More Information visit: http://www.museumofwomenpilots.com/

Oklahoma State Fire Fighters Museum

Since the discovery of fire, mankind has always seemed to find a way to end up burning his house down whether by accident or on purpose. To combat these less than uncommon events, special heroes called firefighters rise to the occasion to save houses and in many cases, save lives. Some have even sacrificed their life to save the lives of others. In the Oklahoma State Fire Fighters Museum, you can see how the heroic efforts of fire fighting have evolved from carrying buckets of water, to horse drawn carriages, to the modern day fire trucks we see rushing up and down the street almost every day.

Now the Museum is rather small, so if your just wanting to look at all the restored fire trucks and a few of the other fire fighting memorabilia, it will take you about 15 minutes to go through it all. However if you want to listen to every audio recording on every item, it will take you about an hour. Either way its an interesting little museum. For the kids there is a little area where all the fire trucks and fire fighting patches from around the country are that they can watch a video on what a fireman actually is.  

At the end of the small museum, you can buy a few souvenirs. They have a few toys for the kids, some refrigerator magnets, T-shirts, mugs, etc. After you exit the building, check out the wall of valor, where the names of over 9,000 firefighters who are either still alive or have made the ultimate sacrifice reside with a bronze memorial keeping watch over them all. 

Entertainment: 2
Educational: 3
Price: 4
Cafe: N/A
Gift Shop: 4
Overall: 3

Additional Information

Address
2716 N.E. 50th St., OKC, OK

Hours of Operation
Mon - Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sun. 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Closed on all major holidays

Prices
Adult: $5
Seniors: $4
Child: $2
Military: $2

For more information, visit: www.osfa.info/?zone=/unionactive/view_page.cfm&page=Museum

Oklahoma Science Museum

Every aspect of our world, from the daily weather to the massive rockets that take astronauts into space revolve around one thing; Science!  Welcome to the Oklahoma Science Museum, the place where anything and everything about science is located.  Here, you will find so many interactive exhibits that to do them all would literally take more than a day. You can learn about Earth sciences, which involve oil, earthquakes, and learning the effects of erosion. Or perhaps you're more into the weather, where you can play the part of a News Channel 4 Weather man, make fog, or feel the effects of winds at more that 50 mph. If you want a more, shocking experience, check out the tesla coil.

Every where you go there is always something to learn....even in the bathrooms, believe it or not. If you want to see science in action then check out Science Live. Here you can see everything from Fire Tornadoes to Liquid Nitrogen bottle bombs. 

Once you leave the Science Live, stop by for a bite to eat at Pavlovs Cafe. Named after famous Russian Scientist Ivan Pavlov, this cafe is sure to leave you drooling at the ring of a bell. The burgers have an excellent taste as do the french fries. Next to the the cafe is what I like to call Train Town. An authentic 1929 Pullman first class business car is available for tours on certain days and times of the year. Ninty percent of everything in the car is original so they will ask that you not touch or sit on anything.

After you exit the train car, be sure to check out the massive model train layout, complete with operating trains, and a little town that has a few interactive features to it.  Next up is the Aerospace exhibit.  Here you will find some truly wacky planes and see a few familiar ones such as the Fokker dr1 Triplane, similar to the one the infamous Red Baron flew back in World War I.

Since this is the OKLAHOMA Science Museum, you are sure to find artifacts from the USS Oklahoma, the naval battleship that was so heavily damaged that it capsized at Pearl Harbor as a result of the Japanese attack in December 1941.  Four hundred and twenty-nine officers and crew died that day as a result of the attack.  Inside the museum, they have a large model of the actual USS Oklahoma next to the ships control wheel. Outside of the museum you can find the two massive anchors, the ships bell, and one if its propellers.

Exhibits here always changing.  The old exhibits are sometimes being upgraded, and new special exhibits are being introduced for a limited time. This month (December 2012) they have 3 such exhibits, here for only a short time. In the first one, you can learn how to become a CSI agent and learn how to listen to the details people give about an unknown criminal, visit an autopsy room, take finger prints, and other details about being a criminal investigator. 

The Second Exhibit has to do with the science of Geometrical shapes. There are two parts to this exhibit, both are on the second floor but only one part is interactive. The other shows geometric patterns in various forms of technology. 

The third and final temporary exhibit is what I like to call the Trash or Treasure exhibit, It takes everyday stuff like cardboard boxes, aluminum cans, etc. and turns them into works of art. 

On the second floor of the Museum is the Mindgames room, the space exhibit, and the Gymnast Hall of fame. In the mind games room, prepare to have your mind teased and tricked with various optical illusions. For instance, in the optical illusions below, can you count the black dots in the first one?  Are the water wheels moving in the second one?

In the Space Exhibit, you will be able to see a replica of the first man made satellite, Sputnik, which was built and launched by the Russians.  See how the spacesuit has developed over the years, and even take part in a few interactive space experiments. You can also take a ride in a simulator of a Mercury Capsule, which was part of the Mercury Project, the first American human space program. 

There are even activities for the younger at heart.  For small children, there are two kiddie play areas that will keep your child busy till it's closing time. There is also the tinkering garage, where your child can learn to build things such as My Little American Flag using a giant light brite board....good times.  For some of the older kids, check out the Segway riding track. It really is a neat little device, unless you drive off a cliff.

 One of the major attractions is the Omnidome, where you can watch various films ranging from the deep ocean exploration to their latest video, Storm Chasers. Last but not least, even if there is cloudy weather in the forecast, there is never such a thing in the planetarium. Every day you can see what the night sky looks like without all the light pollution.

Before you leave, be sure to visit the gift shop so you can take some interesting science experiments home with you. I promise it will be a blast...literally.

Entertainment: 5

Education:5

Price: 3

Cafe: 4

Gift shop: 3

Overall: 4

Additional Information

Address
2100 Northeast 52nd Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111

Hours of Operation
Mon - Fri: 9:00 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sat: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sun: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Prices                                 Adults                 Seniors                Child
Exhibits + Dome                 $15.95                $12.95               $12.95
Exhibits Only                      $11.95                $ 9.95                $ 9.95
Dome Only                          $ 8.95                 $ 6.95                $ 6.95

For more information on upcoming events, visit: www.sciencemuseumok.org