Kiwanis Northside Field trip to CDC Museum

Kiwanis Northside Field trip to CDC Museum – February 1, 2024, 12 – 2 pm

What, When: We have arranged for a field trip to the CDC Museum for members of the Northside Kiwanis Club on Feb 1 2024 from 12 to 2 pm. We will have a guide to show us the infectious disease exhibit at the museum.

The museum is open from 9-5 on weekdays (except federal holidays) and admission is free. There are other exhibits at the museum that you might enjoy visiting on your own at another time.

Directions: The CDC Museum at 1600 Clifton Rd on the right-hand side of the road. It is the first building on the CDC campus. It is well-marked with a big sign which includes an electrical display. On the left-hand side of the road, you will see a CVS pharmacy.

You can get good directions from Google maps or any mapping app that you use.

Right now, part of LaVista Rd is closed due to an apartment fire. You can use the relatively complicated directions from Google maps to detour around this closure or you can cut through an adjacent parking lot that includes a Publix and the Tara theater. When you get to the road closure, turn left and then right to get into the parking lot and follow the traffic cones that will take you back to LaVista Rd. above the closure.

Hopefully LaVista Rd. will be completely open by Feb 1, but you never know.

Security outside the building: Most federal buildings now have extensive security procedures. When you enter the parking lot, the security guards will ask for your driver’s license or other government issued ID. If you are not a US citizen, they will ask to see your passport. The security guards will ask you to get out of the car and will inspect the interior of the car. Then they will ask you to open the hood and the trunk of the car for inspection. They will also scan the underside of your car with a mirror. This process should take about 15-20 minutes. To save time, you may want to carpool with others to reduce the overall time needed for car inspection. Once the security guards give you the OK, you can enter the free parking lot for the CDC Museum.

If you do not want to go through the car inspection, you can park at a nearby commercial parking lot. The lot is behind the commercial strip across the street from the CDC. You can enter the lot from the road next to the CVS, which is directly across from the museum. The parking lot is moderately priced.

Security inside the building: Once you enter the building another security guard will check your ID again and put it in a plastic holder that you can clip to your collar.

Meet other members of our group: When you have cleared security, go to the room directly to your right to meet others in our group. Our guide will give everyone microphones so that everyone can hear each other and the guide during the tour. Feel free to ask lots of questions. I have taken the infectious disease tour already and it is very interesting. The tour is scheduled for 2 hours. If you have to leave early, please drop off your microphone at the front desk as you leave. If the tour ends early, feel free to visit other areas of the museum.

Lunch: There are no dining facilities at the museum, but there are many restaurants nearby in the commercial strip across the street. Miller Union is a well-known deli with great soup. The Pig and Chick at the corner of Briarcliff and Clifton can handle large crowds. In addition to good barbeque, they have good vegetable plates and great Brunswick stew.

Considering road closures, construction, and the security procedures, I recommend leaving a location such as Ponce de Leon church at least an hour before our 2 pm tour begins.