Things to Do in Alabama

This Smithsonian Affiliate in Huntsville is also NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center official visitor center. The U.S. Space & Rocket Center holds one of the world’s largest collections of rockets and space memorabilia and is one of the top Alabama attractions.

Here, visitors can learn all about space from the historic Space Race through the evolution of the Space Shuttle to the International Space Station.

The collection includes the capsule from Apollo 16, the Gemini and Mercury capsule trainers, the National Historic Landmark Saturn V moon rocket, a Skylab solar array, interactive exhibits, and space travel simulators.

The center also features traveling exhibits. The center is home to the world-class INTUITIVE® Planetarium, which boasts live, interactive programming daily under a 270-foot dome. The Rocket Center is home to the world-famous Space Camp®.

One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL, Phone: 800-637-7223

With simulators, interactive exhibits, displays and theaters, GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile is a must-see attraction.

It is the only maritime museum in the world dedicated to the economic, historical, and cultural significance of the Gulf of Mexico. GulfQuest’s SS McLean, its container ship, represents the idea of "containerization," an idea advanced in the 1950s.

Located downtown on the Mobile River, GulfQuest is one of the nation’s only interactive maritime museums. The exhibits are housed on the decks of a life-sized container ship replica, so there is much to see and do, and there are plenty of spots to enjoy the view of the Mobile River and the Mobile port.

155 South Water St., Mobile, Alabama 36602, Phone: 251-436-8901

What to do if you are traveling with kids:

The Alabama Wildlife Center in Pelham is the state’s largest and oldest wildlife rehabilitation facility. Annually, it cares for nearly 2,000 wild birds from over 100 species. It is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to provide rehabilitative and medical care for the state’s orphaned and injured native birds to enable their return to the wild, and to offer education that heightens people’s appreciation and awareness of the state’s native wildlife.

Its primary services are a wildlife helpline, a native wild bird rehabilitation clinic, and educational programs.

It was founded in 1977 as a volunteer organization, and since then has aided more than 50,000 wild animals.

100 Terrace Drive, Oak Mountain State Park, Pelham, AL 35124, Phone: 205-663-7930

Construction on Fort Morgan in Gulf Shores by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began in 1819. Fort Morgan State Historic Site Museum was completed in 1834 and seized by troops of the State of Alabama on January 4, 1861.

Starting in 1895, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to build a new fortification system at the fort. The brick fort was replaced by reinforced concrete batteries as the main means of protecting Mobile Bay.

During war time, underwater mines protected Mobile Bay and for 23 years Fort Morgan was the state’s biggest permanent military base; in fact, 2,000 troops were stationed here during World War II. At the war’s end, Fort Morgan's garrison was reduced, but the its role as a coastal defense post was not over: In November 1941 the U.S. Navy retook the fort and in 1942 the 50th Coast Artillery Regiment renewed the fort's coastal defense mission. In July 1944, Fort Morgan was permanently abandoned.

Fort Morgan State Historic Site, 110 State Highway 180, Gulf Shores, Alabama 36542, Phone: 251-540-5257

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is an educational and cultural research center dedicated to promoting a deeper understanding of civil rights developments in the area with an increasing move to emphasize the universal struggle for human rights. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute views past lessons as the key to defining our future.

It opened its doors in 1992 and since then has been visited by more than two million people from across the globe and all 50 states. Each year, the BCRI reaches more than 140,000 individuals through group tours, teacher education, outreach programs, after-school and public programs, archival collections, and exhibitions.

520 Sixteenth Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203, Phone: 866-328-9696

For Garden Lovers:

The Huntsville Botanical Garden is open throughout the year and visitors can see an aquatic garden, a wildflower and nature trail as well as many plant collections and specialty gardens on their day trip. The Nature Center and Children’s Garden offer guests the country’s largest seasonal butterfly house and specialized gardens geared to younger people.

Adults and children will both love a walk through the dinosaur garden, storybook garden, and space garden. Family festivals include Huntsville Blooms, Beaks and Barks, the Galaxy of Lights, and the Scarecrow Trail. The garden has a gift shop, outdoor and indoor facility rentals, and programs for all ages. Huntsville offers many things to see and great restaurants.

4747 Bob Wallace Ave., Huntsville, Alabama, 35805, Phone: 877-804-4678 OR 877-930-4447, (website link)

Each season, something is in bloom at Bellingrath Gardens and Home. Wintertime features more than 400 varieties of camellias; during the spring, azaleas are everywhere; and summer brings hydrangeas, roses, and tropical plants and in the fall, visitors will find an amazing display of cascading chrysanthemums.

The 10,500-square-foot home was designed by the Mobile architect, George B. Rogers, and built in 1935.

The exterior features handmade brick and the ironwork is from the Southern Hotel. The elements of the entire home are intended to give it a Gulf Coast flair.

Rogers wanted the guests to think of the house as a home rather than a mansion, and it was built to reflect the region’s architectural history.

12401 Bellingrath Gardens Road, Theodore, AL 36582, Phone: 251-973-2217 or 800-247-8420

Activities and Attractions for Couples and Singles:

Dr. Milton founded the Auburn University Raptor Center in the mid-1970s when several injured birds were brought to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Auburn University was asked to become a hub for rehabilitation in the Southeast. In the late 1970s, volunteer work and donations provided the labor and materials to build a raptor barn.

Soon, a hospital area became part of the raptor barn. Since its founding, the center has treated and released thousands of birds of prey into the wild. The educational unit provides programs for civic groups, schools, and churches in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, and Kentucky.

1350 Pratt-Carden Drive, Auburn, AL 36849, Phone: 334-844-6943

Alligator Alley is a farm that was established in 2004 and is designed as a natural environment. The alligators housed here were rescued from places that represented a danger to them. Guests may start their guided adventure by strolling to the elevated viewing platform, from which one can view over 450 alligators – from babies to mature adults – as they relax, sunbathe, court and nest.

The adventure continues with a nature walk on the elevated boardwalk to see the animals in their natural habitat. Along the way, other creatures, such as turtles, ospreys, owls and bull frogs, join them. After the guided adventure, visitors are welcomed into the gator station, where they can hold a baby alligator. Feeding sessions occur three times daily, and guests are invited to feed the alligators.

19950 Highway 71, Summerdale, AL 36580, Phone: 866-994-2867 or 251-946-2483

The Dexter Parsonage Museum was home to 12 pastors of the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and, in 1982, it earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Museum guests can get to know the place where Dr. Martin Luther King and his family lived from 1954 to 1960.

There is also an interpretive center and the King-Johns Garden for Reflection. The interpretive center features an area to view videos on Dr. King’s pastoral life, community, and family. The interpretive center’s permanent exhibit features photos of all the pastors who lived there.

Phone: 334-261-3270