by Christopher Timm

Created on: February 25, 2009   Last Updated: February 26, 2009

The National Atomic Museum is a truely unique museum that provides both the basics and details on the history of the evolution of our understanding of radioactive energy and its uses - peaceful and for defense. The museum is moving and growing starting with a new name: The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. It is located at 601 Eubank Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM and will re-open on April 4, 2009. You can't miss it - look for the Redstone missile on Eubank, the Terrier missiles on the corner and the large model of a Beryllium atom above the entrance!

For those that visited the museum when it was still on Kirtland Air Force Base prior to 9-11-2001, you will see all of the outside exhibits - the B-29, the B-52, the Atomic Cannon, the Minuteman, and the Titan to name a few as well as some new ones such as a nuclear submarine sail. Inside the museum, look for the Periodic Table of Elements on the floor of the entryway. Many of the elements are dedicated to scientists and soldiers from the nuclear era and their accomplishments. Beyond that, the museum layout leads you to several thought provoking paths. In one direction, the visitor is given a primer on nuclear science going back to the time of the earliest scientists and philosphers and continuing to the advent of the harnessing of nuclear energy. The history of the pioneering works of Madame Curie in the nuclear science field is a prominent feature.

The museum will have an expanded exhibit area that provides basic facts and information about radiation around us. It discusses the types of radiation, the sources of radiation, and the effects of radiation in an easily understood and well-documented series of exhibits. In fact, that exhibit is recommended as the first stop for any visitor who does not have a good understanding of nuclear energy and radiation.

One path will take the visitor through the history of the Manhatten Project and the continued arms race of the Cold War Era. Key features in that area are actual casings from Fat Man and Little Boy atomic bombs that had been the US arsenal at the end of WWII and a large display and discussion of the Decision to Drop those bombs on Japan. Very thought-provoking. You will also see some unique displays from the Manhatten Project including the Packard limosine used to ferry the scientists from Santa Fe to the secret city of Los Alamos and from Los Alamos to the Trinity Site. The Plymouth that was use to carry the plutomium for the first atomic bomb test at

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