T R A V E L P L A N N E R S G U I D E | 2 7

KELLY INGRAM PARK During the 1960s, the park was used for organizing marches and uniting forces against racism. Sculptures in the park depict events instrumental in overturning legal segregation, such as attacks on the demonstrators, children jailed for protesting and the important role of the clergy. In sharp contrast to these scenes, paths along the Freedom Walk converge at a peaceful, reflective fountain. Approximate tour time: 1 hour

MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER This is the largest combination IMAX Dome Theatre and interactive science center in our four-state region. People of all ages love exploring the museum s creative, educational and hands-on exhibits. The World of Water exhibit showcases more than fifty species of marine and freshwater aquatic life. Approximate tour time: 2 hours

RED MOUNTAIN PARK Red Mountain Park is one of the largest urban parks in America. The park has more than 10 miles of trails and 1,200 acres are open to the public seven days a week. The park also has a universal access zip line canopy tour, 10 foot platforms connected by zip lines running from 10 to 350 feet long. Once the site for mining iron ore, the park is now home to natural beauty and relics from its past mining days. For its newest outdoor adventure, the Hugh Kaul Beanstalk Forest features a treetop challenge course with 20 unique ropes course obstacles. Students will enjoy traversing bridges, climbing walls, swinging on ropes and zipping their way from tree house to tree house. Approximate tour time: 3-4 hours

RICKWOOD FIELD Built in 1910, Rickwood Field is America s oldest baseball park. During its heyday, Rickwood hosted baseball greats such as Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lorenzo Piper Davis, Willie Mays and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Friends and fans eagerly await the annual Rickwood Classic, a game that pits the AA Birmingham Barons against a regular Southern League rival. Team members dress in vintage uniforms, and people come from around the country to celebrate baseball history. Approximate tour time: 1 hour

RUFFNER MOUNTAIN PARK Just ten minutes from downtown, this 1,011-acre nature preserve is a quiet getaway for nature lovers. Easy to moderate hiking trails lead through a Southern upland forest with its diversity of plant and animal life including resident and migratory birds. Find a spectacular view at Hawk s View overlook. Beautiful spring wildflowers and autumn color highlight the seasons. The new Visitors Center offers lessons in nature and the environment and has exhibits including raptors, turtles and other native Alabama wildlife. Approximate tour time: 1 hour

SIXTEENTH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH Across the avenue from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute stands the city s most famous Civil Rights landmark, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. The church often served as a meeting and rallying place for leaders and participants in the Movement. On a Sunday morning, September 15, 1963, Ku Klux Klansmen bombed the church, killing four little girls preparing for morning worship. The horrific event brought world condemnation of Birmingham s racial violence. Today the thriving church opens its doors to visitors for Sunday morning worship at 11:00am. Approximate tour time: 1 hour

SLOSS FURNACES NATIONAL LANDMARK This 32-acre blast furnace made iron for nearly 100 years. Now a museum of history and industry, the site preserves an extraordinary collection of buildings, industrial structures and machinery that typify the first 100 years of Birmingham s history and the technology that drove America s rise to world industrial dominance. Sloss is the only 20th century blast furnace in the country that has been preserved as a museum. Approximate tour time: 1.5 hours

SOUTHERN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT At the Southern Museum of Flight, your group can explore several exhibits featuring military aviation memorabilia. Relive the story of Alabama s famed Tuskegee Airmen through a unique diorama exhibit, or get up close and personal with two fighter jets from the Korean War. Students can also see the Lake Murray B-25, an aircraft that was recovered in 2005 after 62 years in the depths of Lake Murray, South Carolina, which was home to the Air Force training site Bomb Island during World War II. Approximate tour time: 1.5 hours