National Center for Civil and Human Rights

On the day of my arrival to Atlanta last month and the day before the start of the NSTA conference, I took a visit to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum.  Let me just say that this museum is a MUST see.  Regardless of your plans in Atlanta, plan ahead and devote 2-3 hours to this museum.  It's an amazing museum that shares with you the horrible history of human and civil rights in this country and in this world.  I had chills throughout my entire visit and it's very possible you may find yourself shedding tears.

National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Much of the museum is devoted to the civil rights movement in the U.S.  Although I knew much of the basics of this movement, I was stunned at many of the awful things that took place I was unaware.  There's a lunch counter exhibit that you must participate in.  Even if there's a line, spend time in the line to take part in this exhibit.  You sit at a lunch counter, put on headphones, and are taken back in time to the slurs and physical violence black men and women experienced on a daily basis.  I walked away with chills and goosebumps.

Mural on the first floor of the museum.

There's an excellent section devoted to Martin Luther King Jr. and upstairs is a section devoted to human rights across the world.  I am so glad I made time to visit this museum and if I'm ever in Atlanta again with my kids, I will make sure to take them.  This is an experience EVERYONE needs to partake in to help develop an understanding of what it was like to be black during the civil rights movement (and today).