Oak Ridge Science Semester

Eastern Tennessee is home to both rugged wilderness and interesting cities. Knoxville is a 25-minute drive from Oak Ridge, Chattanooga is 90 minutes away. Nashville is 3 hours away, and Atlanta, Georgia, is also 3 hours away. Some sites nearby:

Museum of Appalachia. (Exit 122 off I-75; Norris, TN; 524-8461.) An interesting replica of a pioneer village, containing thousands of artifacts. Appalachian arts and crafts can be purchased at the museum shop.

Knoxville Museum of Art. (1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville.)

Old City Historic District. (Central Street/Jackson Avenue, Knoxville.) Historic warehouse district with restaurants, antique shops, galleries, specialty shops, and clubs. Very popular with previous years' ORSS participants, but you should go in the late afternoon or evening.

Knoxville Zoo. (Exit 392 off I-40.) Apparently, a good cat collection.

Beck Cultural Exchange Center. (1927 Dandridge Avenue; 524-8461.) Archives documenting African-American achievements in Knoxville.

Tennessee Aquarium and IMAX 3D Theater. (Downtown Chattanooga; 1-800-262-0695; 90 minutes from Oak Ridge.) If you like fish, this is the place for you.

Frozen Head State Park. (964 Flat Fork Road, Wartburg, TN.) Several 5-10 mile trails along with picnicking and camping facilities. Click here for more information.http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/FrozenHead/

Norris Dam State Park. (125 Village Green Circle, Lake City, TN.) Also very close to Oak Ridge. In addition to hiking, it also has cabin rentals. Go to http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/ for more information.

See The Tennessee State Parks web page for an on-line point and click guide to state parks in Tennessee. http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/

Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Has over 800 miles of hiking trails. Definitely worth a trip. Bike rentals are available in Cade's Cove. See the National Park Service Guide {http://www.nps.gov/grsm/} or gosmokies.com {http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/gosmokies} for more details.

Big South Fork Recreation Area. This park is an easy drive up Tennessee Route 297 and offers a lot of great trails, canoeing, kayaking, horseback riding, mountain biking, and camping. See the National Park Service Guide {http://www.nps.gov/biso/} for more details.

Whitewater rafting, canoeing, and kayaking. Opportunities abound in the area. A popular activity with students is a day spent whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River (site of the 1996 Olympic kayaking events). You can expect to pay $30-40 per person, although group discounts are available. Plan this activity early in the fall, before the water gets too cold (although many places do rent wet suits). There are many outfitters offering whitewater rafting. Here are a few that students have used in the past:

Or try Adventure Sports, which has links to multiple rafting companies. There is also rafting available in the Big South Fork Recreation Area. See http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/ for details.

Dollywood. When people in the Oak Ridge Wal-Mart (in an unofficial and spontaneous poll conducted by three undergraduates from a small, liberal arts college in the Midwest) were asked "What should a visitor to the area do first?" 23 out of 25 people said "Dollywood". Dollywood is an amusement park developed by Seiverville's own Dolly Parton. It has rides, miniature golf, several water slides and lots of other tacky stuff and things to do. A day there costs about $40.00 (not including food). Many people think the price is "worth it". Although there are year round activities at Dollywood, the amusement park and water slides close early in the fall. Check out http://www.dollywood.com for more information.