Dozens of decorated trees and display cases celebrating holidays, traditions and celebrations from around the globe have returned to Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, marking the 17th year of the Winter Wonderland exhibition. The display runs November 21, 2026 through January 10, 2027, filling two floors of the museum with stories tied to places including Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and Ukraine.
According to Griffin Daily News, the exhibition is created in collaboration with dozens of local consulates and cultural organizations, with each tree and display case built around art, craft, symbols and ornaments chosen to tell a specific cultural story. Fernbank itself describes the exhibit as cultural storytelling “through dozens of decorated trees and display cases that highlight holidays, celebrations and traditions,” with each display using “rich, artistic expression, including art, craft, symbols and ornaments, to tell unique stories selected by local cultural partners,” according to fernbankmuseum.org. The museum's list of represented places also includes the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Kenya, Norway, Peru, the Philippines, Scotland, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey, per the same source.
A Scavenger Hunt And A Programming Chief's Perspective
Griffin Daily News reports that Winter Wonderland offers a themed scavenger hunt for finding ornaments and objects, with the hunt available near the exhibition's entrance. Dr. Bobbi Hohmann, Fernbank's VP of programming and collections, said the exhibition's cultural partners have supported the project since its beginning and that their involvement helps highlight Atlanta's cultural diversity, per the outlet's report.
Visitors can also see the trees illuminated after hours. Fernbank notes that Winter Wonderland can be viewed at night “during Fernbank After Dark and additional Museum Nights events,” per fernbankmuseum.org. One of those nights, Fernbank After Dark: Ugly Knits & Warm Sips, is set for Friday, December 11, running from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., according to the museum's event calendar. That evening is for guests age 21 and older, and Fernbank After Dark events carry their own separate ticket price from general admission, per Griffin Daily News.
Extended Holiday Hours And What's Included
Fernbank plans extended hours on November 27 and 28, staying open until 9 p.m. those two days, with the later hours included in general admission at no extra cost, according to fernbankmuseum.org, which lists the hours as running from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Griffin Daily News adds that Fernbank also plans extended holiday hours from December 26 through 30, though specific hours for those dates had not yet been determined. The outlet also reports that the museum's Argentinosaurus and Giganotosaurus dinosaur models will be festively dressed for visitors during the extended-hour offerings.
On a typical day, Fernbank is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Fernbank Forest closing earlier, at 4:30 p.m., per fernbankmuseum.org. General-admission daytime tickets include entrance to the museum, the 3D Giant Screen Theater, WildWoods and Fernbank Forest, the museum's site states. Griffin Daily News reports that general admission tickets range from $23.95 to $30.95, while Fernbank After Dark tickets run $18.95 to $26.95, and that admission is free for children age 2 and younger as well as Fernbank members.
A Museum Rooted In Atlanta's Old-Growth Forest
Fernbank, located at 767 Clifton Road NE in Atlanta, was founded in 1939 to preserve Fernbank Forest, according to Griffin Daily News. The museum and its Giant Screen Theater opened later, on October 5, 1992. Today Fernbank Forest is described as the largest urban old-growth Piedmont forest in the United States, with the broader Fernbank campus offering a natural history museum, a four-story giant screen theater and 75 acres of nature adventures, per the same report.
