Journey into the magnificent, sometimes hidden worlds of nature in Fernbank’s outdoor nighttime experience, WildWoods: AGLOW.
That’s how Fernbank introduces its fall and winter outdoor experience where Wildwoods, its 75-acre outdoor nature adventure, is set aglow with lights, interactive experiences, and more.
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Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Experience a mushroom choir, captivating illumination and nocturnal animals roaming the woods. Journey into the magnificent, sometimes hidden worlds of nature at Fernbank Museum’s newest exhibit, Wildwoods: AGLOW. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “Wildwoods: AGLOW (is) our new nighttime, multisensory experience that highlights native plants and animals, or iconic species that can be found here (in Georgia), maybe even some reclusive species that you may not get to see because they are nocturnal or they don’t like a lot of human activity,” Sarah Arnold told WSBTV.com’s Nelson Hicks. “So, (it features) all sorts of really fun things to explore and discover.” (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Now in its third year, WildWoods: AGLOW introduces a variety of new displays that promise to delight visitors. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “We have added some uplit, very artistically carved light tours over near the mushroom choir, we have added Luna moths and dragonflies that are also uplit down near the creek in Wildwoods,” shared Sarah Arnold of Fernbank Museum during an interview with WSB-TV’s Nelson Hicks. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “There’s a lot of new stuff to see.” (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Highlighting the complex, connected and sometimes-hidden stories that flourish in the surrounding forest, this innovative experience brings together the vast, natural environment with the latest innovations in immersive design and technology. Transformative illuminations, large-scale projections and original music compositions beckon guests into a nighttime wonderland of biodiversity. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Inspired by native flora and fauna – and unlike anything else in Atlanta – this multi-sensory experience reveals the wonder of nature through a range of glowing, interactive and panoramic scenes across five distinct zones. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “We are always exploring exciting ways to engage audiences with science and nature while tickling the imagination through innovative and fun programming,” said Fernbank president and CEO, Jennifer Grant Warner. “WildWoods: AGLOW is an exciting experience that will reveal nature’s magnificent wonders through beautiful, artistic and intentional uses of projection that enhance our understanding of the ecosystem that connects us all.” (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum As guests enter the experience, they first discover oversized seeds glowing with interactive light, signaling the origin of forest growth and inspiring a deeper connection with nature. Throughout the experience, guests will encounter nocturnal animals, forest projections and interactive lighting, integrated with the surrounding plants and woodland environment. Another zone features larger-than-life incandescent mushrooms that can respond to guest movement with a musical symphony of illuminated communication. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Developed in partnership with Thinkwell, a leading design and production agency creating immersive, content-driven experiences for brands and companies worldwide, “WildWoods: AGLOW” is the third endeavor between the two organizations, following the opening of the award-winning children’s exhibit NatureQuest in 2011 and the creation of a series of outdoor exhibits in WildWoods, which expanded Fernbank’s experiences into the outdoors in 2016. Thinkwell has also previously designed and opened outdoor, nighttime experiences, including Omega a la Nuit and Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “WildWoods: AGLOW” is a limited-run nighttime experience for visitors of all ages and abilities, offered on select evenings from now through late Feb. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum “This is an all ages experience,” Arnold said. “It’s wonderful for date night and wonderful for families.” (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum The final day to enjoy Wildwoods Aglow is Feb. 23, 2025. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum Here are some more photos from Wildwoods: AGLOW at Fernbank Museum. (Nelson Hicks)
“It is a multi-sensory experience with lights, sound, all designed to showcase the connection of nature that we might not necessarily see,” Sarah Arnold from Fernbank told WSB-TV’s Nelson Hicks. "
The experience features plenty of twinkling lights, which are popular this time of the year, but Wildwoods Aglow is much more than what you might find at a holiday lights display. It’s broken into five sections, each with a different theme from nature. It begins with a tulip poplar tree activation followed by animal habitats, roots, a mushroom gallery, and finally features the hill in bloom.
“It sort of represents what happens when all of the elements of an ecosystem are working together and they are healthy, which is just an explosion of color and light and we represent that here at Aglow with a Hill in Bloom,” Arnold noted.
On a walk-through, guests will encounter the unexpected.
“What you’ll see when walking through the Mushroom Gallery is you’ll see these mushrooms and hear these mushrooms start communicating with you and with some of the other elements in the experience as if they’re speaking,” Arnold said.
The Aglow element of Wildwoods Aglow debuted last year. While the five major sections of the experience return this year, Fernbank added new educational components to the attractions. Additions include a scavenger hunt, sound boxes for people to hear the sounds nocturnal animals make, and some photo ops.
It’s an experience for all ages.
Dip your head into Vikings Warriors of the Sea on a visit. Through more than 140 archaeological materials and relics, visitors can take a walk back in time into Viking history. You’ll see swords and axes, ships, armor, and more.
Explore the Viking legacy: See swords, armor, relics at Fernbank's newest exhibit
Vikings: Warriors of the Sea is open through January 1. Wildwoods Aglowwalk-through is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights now through Feb. 25.
