“See” listings
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Riverfest
Professional and amateur teams smoke it out at this 17th annual cook-off for prize money and bragging rights. Festival goers enjoy live music from regional and local bands and plenty of food and beer at this annual event held on the banks of the Tennessee River. Sept. 16-17, 2011 (09/2011)
Tennessee River at 701 Market S
256- 350-2028
decaturjaycees.com -
EarlyWorks Museums
This hands-on history museum complex is the largest in the South. The EarlyWorks Museum consists of three attractions: a children’s museum, the Alabama Constitution Village and the Historic Huntsville Depot. All three bring Alabama history to life through exhibits like a 16-foot talking tree and a 46-foot river keelboat. (08/2011)
Downtown Huntsville
256-564-8100
earlyworks.com -
Sci-Quest
Kids and kids-at-heart fulfill dreams of becoming mad scientists for a day at this hands-on science center. Top-rated activities include creating your own virtual tornado, learning about bodily functions in the Grossology section and riding out an earthquake. (06/2011)
102-D Wynn Dr, Huntsville
256-837- 0606
sci-quest.org -
The Spring Festival of Flowers
The Huntsville Botanical Garden welcomes the arrival of spring with a rainbow of color from a variety of annuals, wildflowers, dogwoods and azaleas, as well as thousands of bulbs. Through April 30. (04/2011)
4747 Bob Wallace Ave, Huntsville
256-830-4447
hsvbg.org -
Burritt on the Mountain
High atop Monte Sano Mountain sits the stunning mansion of physician and inventor Dr. William Burritt (who willed his land to Huntsville, making it the city’s first museum), as well as a living history park and nature trails. Visitors are treated to a glimpse of 19th-century rural farm life. (03/2011)
3101 Burritt Dr, Huntsville
256-536- 2882
burrittonthemountain.com -
We Hate Jackson Pollock: Beyond Abstract Impressionism
Despite the exhibit's somewhat shocking name, the museum doesn't really hate Jackson Pollock. The Pop Art, photo realism and minimalist works on display show how some artists rebelled against Abstract Expressionism. Through Feb. 27. (02/2011)
300 Church St, South Huntsville
256-535-4350
hsvmuseum.org -
US SPACE & ROCKET CENTER
Conduct simulated missions, experience the powerful forces of a launch and feel three Gs push on your body at the world’s largest space attraction. The out-of-this world museum is also home to dozens of interactive exhibits surrounding the spacecraft of the Apollo, Mercury and Space Shuttle programs. (01/2011)
One Tranquility Base, Huntsville
256-837-3400
spacecamp.com/museum -
GALAXY OF LIGHTS
The botanical garden transforms into a dazzling display of lights in celebration of the holiday season. Drive through the 1.5-mile-long light extravaganza featuring more than 500 display pieces—some of them animated—powered by more than five miles of extension cords. Open nightly throughout December. (12/2010)
4747 Bob Wallace Ave, Huntsville
256-830-4447
hsvbg.org -
HUNTSVILLE HISTORIC DEPOT
This once-active passenger station now serves as a museum about life on the rails during the 1860s, when Union forces used it as a hospital and prison. (Inmates’ graffiti can still be seen on the inside walls.) The interactive museum also houses a collection of locomotive and railway cars, a model train exhibit and Huntsville’s first ladder fire truck. (11/2010)
320 Church St, Huntsville
256-564-8100
earlyworks.com -
JESSE OWENS MEMORIAL PARK
Track star Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is honored in his hometown with a statue, a museum, a 1936 torch replica and a long jump pit, where visitors can try to reach Owens’ gold medal distance of 26 feet 5-5/16 inches. (10/2010)
7019 Co Rd 203, Danville
256-974-3636
jesseowensmuseum.org -
WHEELER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Fall is the best time to visit, when migrating flocks of ducks and geese call the 35,000- acre refuge home. There’s also a wildlife observation building, five hiking trails and an interpretative center that features a live Redtailed Hawk. (09/2010)
2700 Refuge Headquarters Rd, Decatur
256-353-7243
fws.gov/wheeler -
ALABAMA CONSTITUTION VILLAGE
This living village captures early Alabama history. Villagers bake over an open fi re, use a hand-operated press for printing and spin their own wool. Duck inside the reconstructed cabinetmaker’s shop, where the state constitution was written in 1819. (08/2010)
109 Gates Ave, Huntsville
256-564-8100
earlyworks.com
