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The greater Atlanta area embraces several different counties. The city of Atlanta is primarily in Fulton and DeKalb Counties, although its southern end and the airport are in Clayton County. Outside Interstate 285, which encircles the city, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and northern Fulton Counties are experiencing much of Atlanta's population increase.
Atlanta's lack of a grid system confuses many drivers, even locals. Some streets change names along the same stretch of road, including the city's most famous thoroughfare, Peachtree Street, which follows a mountain ridge from Downtown to suburban Norcross, outside Interstate 285: it becomes Peachtree Road after crossing Interstate 85 and then splits into Peachtree Industrial Boulevard beyond the Buckhead neighborhood and the original Peachtree Road, which heads into Chamblee. Adding to the confusion, dozens of other streets in the metropolitan area use "Peachtree" in their names. Before setting out anywhere, get the complete street address of your destination, including landmarks, cross streets, or other guideposts. Street numbers and even street signs are often difficult to find.
Atlanta proper has three major areas—Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead—as well as many smaller commercial districts and in-town neighborhoods. Atlanta's Downtown is filled with government staffers and office workers by day, but at night the visiting conventioneers—and, as city improvements take hold, residents—come out to play. Midtown, Virginia-Highland, Buckhead, Old Fourth Ward, the Westside, and Decatur are the best places to go for dinner, nightclubs, and shows. Other neighborhoods like East Atlanta, Grant Park, Little Five Points, and Kirkwood have unique characteristics that merit exploration.
The museum, a learning and activity center with connections to the county school system, sits in the 65-acre Fernbank Forest and focuses on ecology, geology, and space exploration. In addition to the exhibit hall, there's a planetarium as well as an observatory, which is open Thursday and Friday night 9–10:30, weather permitting.
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