ATTRACTIONS
thoroughbred and greyhound racetracks. With more than 200 simulcast races on Saturday alone, the Birmingham Race Course gives the ardent handicapper the chance to hit the big one. Must be 19 or older to play. Open daily 11am – 1 am. 1000 John Rogers Drive. 205-838-7500. www.birminghamracecourse.com
12. Birmingham Zoo
One of the state’s most popular attractions, the Birmingham Zoo is an ever-evolving adventure. Visitors come from around the Southeast to see shows such as the Rhino Encounter, the Giraffe Feedings, the Lorikeet Aviary, the Predator Zone and the Sea Lion Splash Show. The zoo is blazing new trails in elephant conservation with the opening of Trails of Africa. The initiative designates the Birmingham Zoo as a national leader in the care and conservation of threatened elephants. Trails of Africa is a mixed-species exhibit that includes a bull elephant herd, red river hogs, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras and more. Concessions and dining on site. Open daily 9am – 5pm. Extended hours for special events. Admission. 2630 Cahaba Road. 205-879-0409. www.birminghamzoo.com
cent to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and historic 16th Street Baptist Church. The park served as a staging area for demonstrations in the early 1960s, including the ones in which police dogs and fire hoses were turned on marchers. Images of those attacks haunted Birmingham in the decades that followed, but they were the same images that were instrumental in overturning legal segregation. An audio tour, available via your cell phone, takes you on a journey through the most dramatic days of the Civil Rights
Movement in Birmingham. Bounded by 16th and 17th Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues North.
14. McWane Science Center
Four floors of hands-on exhibits and an IMAX Dome Theatre are all part of the fun of learning at McWane Science Center. Celebrating science and discovery, the exhibits include everything from dinosaurs to space travel. Play tunes with your feet on the Giant Piano, and learn about gravity with a daring ride on the High Cycle. Pet the sharks
ADVENTURES IN LEARNING
200 19th Street North Birmingham, AL 35203
13. Kelly Ingram Park
Called a “Place of Revolution and Reconciliation,” Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham’s Civil Rights District is adjaBBVACOM PASSBOWL .COM 39