100 Days of Summer: Week 8

Atlanta Motorsports Park

All-in-One Fun

There’s fun for all ages in one spot at Fun Spot America. Race go-karts on three different courses, play miniature golf, and show off your skills in the batting cages. Specific rides for smaller kids include a junior-sized Ferris wheel, a kiddie coaster, a carousel and more. Thrill seekers can ride more adventurous coasters, such as Screaming Eagle, and take a break from the heat with an indoor arcade.

Travel Through Time

Part of Reinhardt University, the Funk Heritage Center tells the story of early Appalachian settlers and Southeastern Native Americans through an immersive experience of educational programming, exhibits, art and artifacts. You can also visit the Appalachian Settlement, or enjoy the outdoors with a walking trail and garden.

Life in the Fast Lane

Spin your wheels at these tracks for kids and tweens.

• Reach speeds up to 55 mph on the kart track at Atlanta Motorsports Park’s public karting sessions. Almost one-mile long, the track features 43 feet of elevation change and 16 turns to get thrill seekers’ hearts pumping. Drivers must be 12 years of age.
• Kids ages 3 and older can experience what it’s like to drive at Tiny Towne with tiny cars, booster cars and traffic cars, depending on the child’s age. Go on a train ride around the facility, and play arcade games that’ll train children’s mechanic skills.

Visit a Style Icon

Head to The Madam CJ Walker Museum to learn more about America’s first female self-made millionaire. Walker’s hair and cosmetics company had a beauty shop at the location. The museum also includes more than 15,000 music records to commemorate WERD, the first Black-owned radio station in America.

Iconic Atlanta Sips

The city offers delicious concoctions created right in Atlanta.

• On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton sold the first glass of Coca-Cola at Jacobs’ Pharmacy, a downtown pharmacy. Explore the history of the soda, view the bottling process, visit the vault with the secret formula, taste more than 100 different beverages and more at the World of Coca-Cola.
• What’ll ya have? The Varsity, the world’s largest drive-in restaurant, is a downtown institution in operation since 1928. Order the fabulous Frosted Orange Shake made with vanilla ice cream and homemade Varsity Orange for a refreshing frozen treat.

Walk Through Art

Freedom Park has been designated as Atlanta’s Art Park by the city. The 210-acre space is home to numerous temporary and permanent art installations. The park connects Candler Park, Little Five Points, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Poncey-Highland, Virginia Highlands, Druid Hills and Lake Claire and is book-ended by National Parks sites dedicated to Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr.