Three Reasons why Chattanooga is Great for a Family SIGCSE

Here are three reasons why this is a great SIGCSE for bringing your whole family.

REASON #1: ROCK CITY: If you've driven around the Southeast much, you have seen barns painted "See Rock City!" That Rock City, that painted some 900 barns as advertisements over the last several decades, is in Chattanooga. I've taken my kids there, and we all really enjoy it. It's a rock garden featuring caves and an amazing lookout view. One of our favorite parts is always the Weight-Watcher's Squeeze, where you have to turn sideways to get through two boulders about 30 feet tall and about three feet apart (and about 10 feet long!). Rock City is also the site of the first mini-golf in the United States.

REASON #2: CREATIVE DISCOVERY MUSEUM: The Creative Discovery Museum is a hands-on exploratory science and arts museum, mostly for kids. It's a different model than the San Francisco Exploratorium. CDM has this wonderful room for water play with waterfalls and waterwheels that kids can move around. It's got a pit where you can dig for dinosaurs. It has a room where you can explore musical instruments of a wide variety of types. We've been several times and enjoy it.

REASON #3: RUBY FALLS: I have to admit that this one isn't my favorite, but it's almost as famous as Rock City and many families really love it. I'm a bit claustrophobic. So, a trip down an elevator into the earth, then a 200 yard (or so?) walk in caves, to a place where there's a waterfall (which they introduce with a light show--that's preceded by turning off all lights in the cave!!) -- well, let's just say that it's not my most memorable Chattanooga experience.

I already mentioned the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (yes, I've stayed on a railroad car) in this blog, so I guess I can't mention that as Reason #4. I could also mention the great family restaurants, but I'll save that for another blog post. Overall, Chattanooga is a really fun family destination. My family and I have taken several trips from Atlanta for a weekend or day away. I encourage you to bring your family to SIGCSE in March so that they can enjoy Chattanooga, too.