The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History (formerly named National Atomic Museum) is a national repository of nuclear science information chartered by the

102nd United States Congress The 102nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

under Public Law 102-190, and located in unincorporated

Bernalillo County, New Mexico Bernalillo County (; ) is the most populous List of counties in New Mexico, county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.

, with an

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

postal address. It is adjacent to both the Albuquerque city limit and

Kirtland Air Force Base Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...

. "The mission of the National Atomic Museum is to serve as America's resource for nuclear history and science. The museum presents exhibits and quality educational programs that convey the diversity of individuals and events that shape the historical and technical context of the nuclear age."

History

The museum was initially sited in 1969 on the grounds of

Sandia Base Sandia Base was the principal nuclear weapons installation of the United States Department of Defense from 1946 to 1971. It was located on the southeastern edge of Albuquerque, New Mexico. For 25 years, the top-secret Sandia Base and its subsidiar ...

(now

) in an old 90 mm anti-aircraft gun repair facility, and named "Sandia Atomic Museum". It was the result of a six-year effort to establish a museum to tell the story of the base and the development of nuclear weapons. It was staffed by

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF) personnel with help from

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

(SNL). In 1973, the museum's name changed to "National Atomic Museum", but it did not yet have a national charter. In 1985, the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

(DOE) became responsible for the museum, and the staff became DOE employees. In 1991 the museum received its charter as a national museum, and its mission expanded to include aspects of nuclear science and history beyond manufacturing nuclear weapons. The museum also became affiliated with the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. In 1992 the National Atomic Museum Foundation (NAMF) was a non-profit organization created to run and fund the museum and reduce the financial burden on taxpayers. DOE transferred the museum operation to SNL in 1995, and Museum staff became SNL employees. After the terror attacks in September 2001, increased security restricted public access to the museum's on-base site and forced relocation to a former

REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...

store in Old Town Albuquerque's museum district. In 2005, SNL transferred operational responsibility to NAMF. SNL employees working as museum staff moved to other positions within Sandia. The museum hired new staff who became employees of NAMF. When the museum relocated to Albuquerque's museum district, the site had inadequate space for outdoor exhibits. In January 2005, NAMF asked DOE/NNSA (

National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, and ef ...

) for of land at the intersection of Eubank and Southern Boulevards in southeast Albuquerque for construction of a new museum. In October 2006, a formal Land Use Agreement was signed with SNL as Grantor and NAMF as Grantee. The museum broke ground and began construction, with staff documenting its construction project via a blog and a Flickr gallery where photos were posted weekly to show the building's progress. The new museum opened on April 4, 2009, in its new location under the new name National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. Funding for construction came from multiple sources, including: * $5 million in Federal funds for design and construction * $1 million transferred from the State of New Mexico to the City of Albuquerque for infrastructure * $2.63 million from corporations * $25,000 from foundations * $500,000 from individual contributions The new facility incorporates 16 permanent indoor exhibit areas, two classrooms, a theater, a combined library and conference room, a gallery for temporary exhibits, and the Museum's store in 30,000 sq ft (0.28 ha). of space. The site provides of outdoor space for exhibits of military aircraft, missiles, vehicles, and the sail of the nuclear submarine. Museum operating costs of approximately $2.5M annually are provided by NAMF through earned and contributed revenues associated with the operation of the museum from admissions, NAMF memberships, grants, summer camps, events/rentals, and Museum store proceeds. A contract for services between Sandia National Laboratories and NAMF exists as well.

Exhibits and displays

:''Section source: NMoNSH'' The Museum is dedicated to preserving and presenting information about scientific, historical, and cultural aspects of the Atomic Age. Permanent exhibits focus on the following: Nuke105

Pioneers of the Atom – An interactive display that introduces the individuals who questioned and defined the matter which makes up the universe. Visitors can use the interactive kiosk to trace the study of the atom. World War II – A display that teaches the history leading up to the creation and use of the atomic bomb and the countries that became involved. Critical Assembly, the Secrets of Los Alamos 1944: An Installation by

Jim Sanborn Herbert James Sanborn, Jr. (born November 14, 1945) is an American List of sculptors, sculptor. He is best known for creating the encrypted ''Kryptos'' sculpture at Central Intelligence Agency, CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Biography S ...

– A special exhibition, staged as a tableau, that recreates the laboratory environment in which the first atomic bomb was assembled. Based on scholarly and eyewitness accounts, this exhibit features many artifacts that would have been (or were actually) present at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the 1940s. (This exhibit replaced "Secrets, Lies & Atomic Spies" in 2017.) The Decision to Drop – The dawn of the Atomic Age began with the design and testing of the world's first atomic bomb during the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. Visitors are introduced to the daily lives of the scientists who lived at Los Alamos and journey with them to the

Trinity site Trinity was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. MWT (11:29:21 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT) on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was of an implosion-type nuclear ...

, where the first explosion occurred in 1945. These exhibits include a series of displays striving for an objective examination of the history leading up to and the policy decisions regarding the deployment of the first nuclear weapons code-named

Little Boy Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb (L-11) used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ...

and

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in warfare. A Fat Man ...

. The exhibit includes the text of comments by Manhattan Project staff (including a contentious

Edward Teller Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...

statement advocating a high-altitude night-time demonstration detonation over Tokyo to precipitate Japanese surrender), the text of statements by Japanese politicians and military leaders, a copy of the

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

protesting use without warning submitted by nuclear physicist Leó Szilárd, and photographs from the

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a museum located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan, dedicated to documenting the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. The museum was established in August 1955 with the ...

. The display also features video footage of the reminiscences of Col. Paul Tibbets (pilot of the ''

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel (United States), Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the Atomi ...

'', the

B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan), and coverage of the emotion the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

produced in the United States. Hiroshima and Nagasaki – This exhibit pays tribute to the people affected by the detonation of the atomic weapons that the Manhattan Project developed. This exhibit features images of these cities before, during, and after the bombings and representations of the commitment to peace that these communities continue to uphold today.

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

– An examination of the strategic conflict between the United States and the USSR in the second half of the 20th century, through US nuclear testing in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

and at the

Nevada Test Site The Nevada National Security Sites (N2S2 or NNSS), popularized as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a reservation of the United States Department of Energy located in the southeastern portion of Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of ...

, Soviet nuclear development, the October 1962

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, and leading to the eventual

collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

. This also includes the Palomares exhibition, an extensive accounting of the January 17,

1966 Palomares B-52 crash The Palomares incident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a United States Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress#Variants, B-52G bomber collided with a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-135 tanker during Aerial refueling, mid-air refueling at over th ...

– a mid-air collision between two USAF aircraft (a B-52 bomber and a

KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...

tanker) over

Palomares, Almería Palomares is an agricultural, fishing, and tourist town along the Mediterranean Sea in the Almería (province), Almería province of Andalusia, Spain. It is about Above mean sea level, above sea level. The village falls within the municipality ...

, resulting in

radioactive contamination Radioactive contamination, also called radiological pollution, is the deposition of, or presence of Radioactive decay, radioactive substances on surfaces or within solids, liquids, or gases (including the human body), where their presence is uni ...

following the accidental dropping of four hydrogen bombs. Heritage Park – This 9-acre outdoor exhibit is complete with planes, rockets, missiles, cannons, and a nuclear submarine sail. Nuclear Medicine – A display of early and modern medical equipment using nuclear physics principles. Little Albert's Lab – An area presided over by an

animatronic An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

version of Albert Einstein, provides hands-on, family-friendly science activities for children. Nano – An interactive exhibition where visitors can imagine and discover a world they cannot see and learn about big ideas from the small nanoscience world. (This display is now part of Little Albert's Lab.) Energy Encounter – A series of displays focusing on the civilian use of nuclear power, including: * history of

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s and discussion of their engineering principles * examination of nuclear power accidents, safety engineering, and waste treatment/storage * models of the American

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station The Palo Verde Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located near Tonopah, Arizona about west of downtown Phoenix. Palo Verde generates the most electricity of any power plant in the United States per year, and is the largest power pl ...

and French

Superphénix Superphénix (; , SPX) was a nuclear power station prototype on the Rhône river at Creys-Mépieu, Creys-Malville in France, close to the border with Switzerland. Superphénix was a 1,242 MWe fast breeder reactor with the twin goals of reprocessi ...

Fast breeder A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be fueled with more-commonly available isotopes of uranium and thorium, such as uranium-238 and thorium-232, as opposed to the rare ...

reactor * a model of the NS ''Savannah'', the first nuclear-powered merchant ship * nuclear energy as one part of a spectrum of alternative energy-producing methods Radiation 101 – A display of everyday items and activities that expose people to ionizing radiation as well as a free-standing case containing the companion exhibit to the online exhibition
Atomic Advertising
Atomic Pop Culture – Visitors may be entertained while viewing how American popular culture reflected the dawning of the Atomic Age. This includes vintage movie memorabilia, comic books, accessories, and more. Nuclear Waste Transportation – The TruPact II container is on display in this exhibita type of transportation container used by the

US Department of Energy US or Us most often refers to: * Us (pronoun), ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainme ...

(DOE) to transport

transuranic waste Transuranic waste (TRU) is stated by U.S. regulations, and independent of state or origin, to be waste which has been contaminated with alpha emitting transuranic radionuclides possessing half-lives greater than 20 years and in concentrations g ...

. What's Up With U(ranium) – An exhibit that seeks to engage visitors in answering questions like "where does uranium come from," "how does it move through the environment," "how does it affect us," and "is it radioactive?" Uranium; Enriching Your Future – A partially interactive exhibit that explains how nuclear power contributes to the energy industry. Dark Cube: Heisenberg's Race for the Bomb – A special exhibition where visitors can learn about Nazi Germany's futile effort to outpace the Manhattan Project's atomic weapons research featuring a "dense, two-inch charcoal-black cube made of pure uranium metal that Nazi scientists suspended with 663 other similar cubes." Nuclear by Mail – This exhibit displays the development of nuclear science and technology in the 20th century through these developments' appearance on stationery. Temporary Exhibit Hall – An area devoted to different temporary exhibits. Both self-guided and docent-led tours are available.

Noteworthy artifacts

* replicas of

and

* the only full size replica of the "

Gadget A gadget is a machine, mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''wikt:gizmo, gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in Glass ...

" and Trinity Test Tower * assorted modern nuclear bombs and warheads * a WE.177 bomb (

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

nuclear weapon deployed from the 1960s until 1998) * a

Norden bombsight The Norden Mk. XV, known as the Norden M series in U.S. Army service, is a bombsight that was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean War, ...

* two of the actual B28 bomb casings from the

Palomares hydrogen bombs incident The Palomares incident occurred on 17 January 1966, when a United States Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress#Variants, B-52G bomber collided with a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-135 tanker during Aerial refueling, mid-air refueling at over th ...

* a collection of items reflecting daily life at Los Alamos during the

as well as a case representing Oak Ridge * an assortment of

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

and products exemplifying the impact of the Atomic Age on US culture. * an early

fluoroscope Fluoroscopy (), informally referred to as "fluoro", is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging, a fluoroscope () allows a surgeon to see t ...

X-ray device * a PRISM 2000 XP Gamma Camera (example of more modern nuclear imaging technology) * a display of nuclear and homeopathic medical quackery artifacts * an extensive model collection of military aircraft and other vehicles * a

Lego Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

model of

Chicago Pile-1 Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1) was the first artificial nuclear reactor. On 2 December 1942, the first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated in CP-1 during an experiment led by Enrico Fermi. The secret development of the react ...

* a cube of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

used by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in their effort to build an atomic weapon (on indefinite loan from Dr. Tim Koeth) * a 260 mm M65 Atomic Cannon, often referred to as "Atomic Annie" Controversy arose when the Museum relocated to the Old Town museum district and erected its Redstone rocket at the corner of 20th Street and Mountain Road NW. Some people saw the erecting of the rocket in an area of the city frequented by lovers of the arts and families with children as emblematic of pervasive military-industrial complex influence in Albuquerque and New Mexico. Others saw the rocket as relevant to an accurate portrayal of New Mexico's involvement in the nuclear age. With the opening of the new museum, the Redstone rocket was relocated to the Eubank site.

Aircraft on display

Due to its colocation with Kirtland AFB, the museum has acquired several historically significant aircraft.

Governance

In 2023, Jennifer Hayden became the President and CEO of the NMNSH, replacing Jim Walther, who was executive director of the museum for 26 years. The museum is governed by a board of trustees of 23 members, including Sandra Biedron and Katrina Groth. The board also includes persons honored as trustees by the museum, including

Richard Rhodes Richard Lee Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American historian, journalist, and author of both fiction and nonfiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' (1986), and most recently, ''Energy: A Human History ...

, and once included

Pete Domenici Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici ( ; May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in ...

and

Murray Gell-Mann Murray Gell-Mann (; September 15, 1929 – May 24, 2019) was an American theoretical physicist who played a preeminent role in the development of the theory of elementary particles. Gell-Mann introduced the concept of quarks as the funda ...

Science education and community activities

The Museum conducts year-round primary, secondary, and adult education programs both in-house and via outreach using the Up'n'Atom Mobile. Professional educator development programs support New Mexico school curriculum standards. The museum hosts guest speakers, annual special events, and week-long youth science camps in the summer. Rental space is available for birthdays, weddings, conferences, and other occasions.

In popular culture

The former museum site was used in the 2008

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

television show ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' in a storyline as a drug drop area.Breaking Bad Locations: National atomic museum
/ref> It appeared in several scenes in the season 2 episode '' Negro y Azul''.

References

External links

* * Trinity tomic TestSite: The 50th Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb (an e-book at Project Gutenberg) * * A Visitor's Pictorial Web Site of the old Museum at Kirtland AFB
National Atomic Museum Pictorial

Kirtland AFB Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base. It is located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator C ...

.
NMNS&H online collection access

NMNS&H's first online exhibit
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum of Nuclear Science and History Museums in Albuquerque, New Mexico Aerospace museums in New Mexico Nuclear technology in the United States Nuclear history of the United States Military and war museums in New Mexico Science museums in New Mexico 1969 establishments in New Mexico Museums established in 1969 Nuclear Science & History Nuclear Science & History Nuclear Science & History Physical museums with virtual catalogues and exhibits Cold War museums in the United States World War II museums in the United States