The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate, allowing for the loan of unique historical artifacts.
The mineral gallery features a 'fluorescent room' that showcases rocks that glow under ultraviolet light.
The museum site was formerly a kaolin clay mine, which influenced the architectural design and outdoor landscaping.
The observatory dome houses a telescope that can be remotely controlled for astronomical research.
The 'Science in Motion' gallery includes a full-scale replica of a V2 rocket engine.
The museum's collection includes a 1920s-era rare automobile collection restored on-site.
It holds a specialized collection of artifacts related to the history of the Apollo space program.
Tellus Science Museum is a 125,000-square-foot facility located in Cartersville, Georgia, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. The museum houses four main galleries dedicated to minerals, fossils, science in motion, and transportation history. It features a digital planetarium with a 50-foot dome and an observatory equipped with a 20-inch telescope. The fossil gallery displays a reconstructed Tyrannosaurus rex and a Diplodocus skeleton. The mineral gallery contains over 500 specimens, including a significant collection of rare radioactive minerals. The transportation gallery highlights the history of flight, space exploration, and automobile evolution. Interactive exhibits include a solar-powered educational area and a 'gem panning' station for children.
The massive Diplodocus skeleton display in the Fossil Gallery.
Check the planetarium show schedule immediately upon arrival to secure a seat, as they have limited capacity.
Allocate extra time for the outdoor fossil dig area if visiting with children.
Visit the observatory during evening events for guided celestial viewing sessions.
Do not rush through the mineral gallery, as it contains some of the rarest specimens in the southeastern United States.
