WHERE YOU CAN GO TO BEAT THE HEAT

Think cool with fun at karaoke, Imax movies, museums.

Sometimes, it’s too hot to be outdoors, and no amount of water or icy beverage can bring enough relief from the scorching sun.

Sometimes, you seek refuge indoors — with, of course, air conditioning.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to beat the heat indoors in Atlanta while also experiencing summertime fun. From kicking back and watching a phenomenal Imax film that will transport you to outer space to strapping up and enjoying one of the most popular (indoor, of course) rock climbing gyms in the Southeast, there are many ways to enjoy summer inside.

Here are six great ways to take the fun indoors:

Imax film at Fernbank Museum

Take a seat in a climate-controlled Imax theater and enjoy “A Beautiful Planet,” featuring awe-inspiring footage of Earth from space. This stunning, thrilling 3-D space documentary gives viewers a sense of what it looks like, and what it must feel like being in space. Made in cooperation with NASA, the film features footage of our magnificent planet — and the marks that humans have had on it over time — captured by the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Now showing at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, it runs until Sept. 15. (Check the website for showtimes.) Adults can also enjoy Martinis & Imax events for the same cover price every Friday (excluding holiday weekends) from 7-11 p.m. Imax tickets: $13 for adults; $12 for seniors; $11 for children and $8 for museum members. 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. 404-929-6400, www.fernbankmuseum.org.

‘An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness’ at Children’s Museum of Atlanta

This new exhibit at the Children’s Museum features many creative elements designed to foster conversations and experiences about love and forgiveness.

One of the activities invites children (and their parents) to write or draw a thought, idea or message of love on a piece of paper. Then they roll it up and put it into a custom-made paper compressor. They use their strength to pump a lever, and the paper gets transformed into a smooth, round token — embossed with a heart. There is also an exercise to release the negativity. Families can write something that frustrates or angers them on a piece of paper. That paper is shredded right before your eyes, symbolizing the release of negativity. All the shredded paper fills jars to form a display.

“XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness” runs through Sept. 4.

Open six days a week (closed on Wednesdays): 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. As part of its special summer hours, the Children’s Museum will be open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. now through Aug. 3. $14.95 for children and adults; children under 1 are free. Children’s Museum of Atlanta, 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404659-5437, www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org.

Rock climbing

Climbers of all ages and experience levels are welcome to visit

CONTRIBUTED BY JONATHAN PHILLIPS / 2014 Malcolm Reid bounces into the air as he slams a basketball through the hoop at Sky Zone indoor trampoline park in Suwanee.

CONTRIBUTED BY ATLANTA ROCKS! INTOWN Haley Dorfman (left) climbs as Atlanta Rocks! Intown staffer David Turrentine (bottom) belays for her, and Erin Xenos (upper right) continues her own climb.