Things to Do in Smyrna

The curators of the Marietta Museum of History honor the heritage of Marietta and Cobb Counties with educational events, rotating exhibits, and four specialized galleries that focus on different facets of Marietta tradition: home life, general history, the military, and the Civil War Union Raiders. Since 2000, museum staffers have hosted more than 90,000 visitors, guiding groups past Native American artifacts and antiquated industrial machinery in the General History gallery and navigating a 15.5-acre aviation park filled with civilian and military aircraft manufactured in Marietta. Guns, shells, and uniforms line the cases in the Military gallery, which elucidates the stories of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam, among others. The museum’s special exhibits rotate several times a year, with themes such as Y’All Come Eat: Exploration of Southern Food Ways, which features the nation’s largest display of antebellum macaroni costumes. Visitors can drop by Monday–Saturday, or pick up a membership to receive a newsletter and special invitations.

Arthur Murray has been a leading name in franchise dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and The Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife, Kathryn, were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, The Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years. Today, Arthur Murray's team prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend nightclub jaunts. Throughout lessons, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a long list of styles that range from Latin to country-western, helping students to learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

Throughout KangaZoom's 12,000-square-foot facility, youngsters aged 2–12 and their parents whoosh down giant slides, carom about jump castles, and dart through obstacle courses during daily open play sessions. The inflatable basketball court's added bounciness makes it easier for kids to dribble the ball or each other, and a separate area for toddlers allows them to safely interact away from older children’s high-octane play. Though adults can join their children as long as they're wearing socks, they can also kick back in the lounge café and snack on concessions and drinks. Three private rooms host birthday parties for groups of up to 20 revelers, and KangaZoom's staff run regular dance and fitness classes for kids to learn impressive moves before the kindergarten prom.

A pediatric physical therapist, Marc Castelo has witnessed impact of play and therapeutic touch during his work with infants and in early child development. Recognizing that babies could benefit from massage just as much—if not more so—than adults, he created Play 2 Grow. At his child-care center, techniques such as loving touch and innovative play are a vehicle for improved growth and caregiver-child bonding. In that vein, he and program director Jenny Smith-Davids interweaves play, games, and socialization, all with an eye toward improving infants’ developmental capabilities and future cribbage skills. Parents are also welcome to take part in the learning process through “scaffolding,” during which they are active participants in family play activities.

At Unique Events of Atlanta's gatherings, adults convene for evenings of interactive theatrics, gaming, and group activities. The staff's creative scribes conjure up a theme to serve as the plot of interactive murder-mystery dinners, where participants discover clues over dinner and drinks, evoking their inner gumshoes to identify villains and summon orphaned saxophone riffs left over from the '80s. Other events include casino nights, where card lovers can compare poker faces, and old-fashion game nights, where friendly competition ensues over Monopoly boards, Uno decks, Twister mats, and Xbox Dance Central screens. The event extraordinaires also host marriage proposals, anniversaries, and reunions with repaired lawnmowers.:m]]

Aboard their luxury buses, vans, or motor coaches, the guides at Atlanta Sightseeing Bus Tours immerse locals and visitors alike in the rich history, culture, and architecture of the Greater Atlanta area. As tours trundle past sites including the Atlanta White House, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and the Margaret Mitchell House, tour guides passionate about the region and its myriad anecdotes relay interesting tidbits about historic locales such as the Fox Theatre and Centennial Olympic Park, the site of the three-legged race finals at the 1996 Olympics. During the five-hour voyage, passengers can take pictures, stretch their legs at hand-picked stops, and take in sweeping views of the Atlanta skyline and Appalachian Mountains from 825 feet up in the Skyride swiss cable car at Stone Mountain.