The Children's Museum of the Shoals, Inc. offers hands-on exhibits and programs geared specifically to the developmental stages and needs of children. Our mission is to further classroom education and compliment existing cultural and educational resources. Exhibits and activities will encourage children to imagine, make choices and create. These exhibits will enable children to discover different cultures, values and occupations, as well as to demystify science, technology and the arts.

The Alabama Department of Education website.

PO Box 672 Madison, AL 35758 Phone: 256-922-0779 Calvary is an umbrella or cover school that provides parents a legal avenue to homeschool their children in the State of Alabama. Calvary School was established because most Alabama Churches only provide for their own members homeschooling. Calvary believes that parents should be able to educate their children and choose the curriculum that best fits their children. They accept homeschool students from all over the state of Alabama regardles...

The Alabama Mining Museum, designated by the State Legislature as the official State Coal Mining Museum, focuses primarily on mining from 1890 to 1940 when mining became an important industrial force in the United States. The Museum tells the technological, social, and human stories involved in Alabama's development into one of the most important coal mining regions in the United States.

Little River flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. The river and canyon systems are spectacular Appalachian Plateau landscapes any season of the year. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, stream riffles and pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs offer settings for a variety of recreational activities. Natural resources and cultural heritage come together to tell the story of the Preserve, a special place in the Southern Appalachians. Little Rive...

The Children's Hands-On Museum is a unique educational institution that exists to stimulate the curiosity of children, ages 2-12 years, about themselves and their place in the world.

The Museum officially opened in December 1986, during the Christmas on the Coosa Celebration. It displays artifacts, documents, memorabilia and art works relative to the lives of African-Americans from both individuals and families in the area, including a mirror and dresser used by Joe Louis in Chambers County. Also on permanent display, are paintings donated by local artists -Columbus Cook and Steve Mitchell, which depicts scenes from life in Wetumpka.

Located 12 miles northwest of Tuscaloosa, the park is named for Alabama's only woman governor, Lurleen B. Wallace. This 1,625-acre park is a scenic lakeside retreat, set on the banks of a 250-acre lake. You may bring your boat or rent one of ours to pursue a fun-filled day at the lake.

The Huntsville Museum of Art, North Alabama’s leading visual arts center, fills its seven galleries with a variety of exhibitions throughout the year, including prestigious traveling exhibits and the work of nationally and regionally acclaimed artists. The Museum’s own 2,300-piece permanent collection also forms the basis for several exhibitions each year. In addition to its exhibitions, the Museum offers art classes for children and adults along with special programs, lectures, and musical pres...

The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail stands as a testament to the sacrifices made in the triumph to preserve the “right to vote” as the bedrock of American democracy. It commemorates the final push to achieve a nationwide solution to the disenfranchisement of African Americans with three strategically planned marches, the first of which took place in March 1965. The Trail occupies areas in Montgomery, Lowndes & Dallas Counties.

Eight hundred years ago, Moundville was the largest city in North America. Visit the site of this ancient city and tour the Jone Archaeological Museum, which houses artifacts and interpretive exhibits providing information on more than 60 years of archaeological excavations and investigations. The theater offers a series of videos on Moundville and the history of Southeastern Indians. There is also a nature trail, Indian Village and Crafts Pavilion, and more. The site and facilties are located i...

The Center is a multi-purpose facility that includes Imagination Place (a children's museum), three visual art galleries, a 72 foot model of 1948 Gadsden with working trains, an art studio, and two performance halls which are home to the Etowah Youth Orchestras and the Kings of Swing and the Gadsden Symphony. The Center also has a full service restaurant. Special programs include reservation accepted guided and narrated tours, field trips, planetarium shows, special children's activities, conc...

Located seven miles southeast of Alexander City, this park spans 1,445 acres along the shores of Lake Martin, which is a 41,000 area clear water reservoir perfect for fishing, swimming and boating. Park facilities include the largest state operated campground in the United States with 640 sites, many of which are waterfront sites allowing campers to fish, swim and boat right out their back door. Other facilities include a marina, camp store, fishing pier, hiking trails, playground and picnic are...

This is a mailing list for people who home school or are thinking of homeschooling in Alabama, kids and parents alike. Here you can exchange ideas, support each other, and share resources and information.

On April 18, 1882, Sloss Furnaces began producing iron and did not stop until ninety years later. Over the decades, Sloss Furnaces gave rise to the city of Birmingham and served as a battleground for economic, employment and social reform. Now recognized as a National Historic Landmark, Sloss Furnaces is open to the public as a museum of industry which speaks to the contributions of the working men who labored there. With its massive furnaces, web of pipes, and tall smokestacks, it offers us a g...

Educational Travel on a Shoestring shows parents how they can help their children learn–and have a blast–while traveling. From researching destinations to sharing activities that both teach and entertain, this priceless guide offers practical information for parents who want to have more fun with their kids, build closer family ties, and enjoy richer educational experiences–all without spending a fortune.

The concept of the national park is an American contribution to world civilization, and it remains a defining characteristic of our country. From the rocky shore of Maine's Acadia to the barren crater and lush rain forest of Hawaii's Haleakala, America's national beauty is celebrated and preserved in its national parks. This book retells the history of each park, describes its most important features and wildlife, and reproduces its gorgeous scenery in full-color photographs that will enthrall armchair travelers and entice others to lace up their hiking boots and reach for their sporting gear. Organized by region of the country, it includes well-known parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Glacier as well as lesser-known destinations like Shenandoah, Biscayne, and Kenai Fjords.

Events include monthly living history programs (the French period and the early American period), monthly meetings of the Historic Blacksmiths, French and Indian War Encampment (held annually in April and re-enacts the time period of the war between the French and the British), Alabama Frontier Days (held annually in November and depicts life on the frontier from 1717 to 1820).

If a picture's worth 1,000 words, this book--with its hundreds of breathtaking photos of America's National Parks--is a well-stocked bookstore. Accompanied by the words of poet laureate Mark Strand, These Rare Lands is a perfect coffee-table book for anyone who has enjoyed the wonders of nature's wildest places. From a storm over Sequoia National Park in California to the otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns and an Atlantic sunset in Maine's Acadia, this is a book that draws you back again and again. Photographer Stan Jorstad's obvious love of nature comes through in the thoughtful approach he takes to his life's work, contained in the pages of These Rare Lands.

From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them.

Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.

For tourists, family campers, and serious lovers of the outdoors, here is a big, beautiful, color-illustrated book that describes more than 50 national parks, sites, and seashores that stretch from Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Haleakala in Hawaii, and Glacier Bay in Alaska. More than 400 breathtaking photographs capture the beauty and atmosphere of each site, and 54 color maps show each park's location and major features. Visitor information panels give important details on access points, accommodations, and recreational activities such as hiking, rafting, birdwatching, and fishing. Here is a wonderful volume that will inspire plans for trips and evoke marvelous memories of past experiences in America's great outdoors.

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

And these are just a few of your park options.

America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imaginable, whether you are

• An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
• An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
• Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience

America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for

• Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
• Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
• Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues

The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!