Founded in 1998,the Atomic testing Museum gives us history and incites
into one of the darkest days of mankind. It also documents nuclear
research in the USA.
The Atomic Testing Museum
by Roger Thompson
At 755 East Flamingo Road in Las Vegas resides one
of the more unusual museums that visitors to this wild city can view.
Considering that we're talking about Vegas, that's saying something. In
fact, this museum would be considered unusual anywhere. For at that
site is housed The Atomic Testing Museum.
Sponsored in large part by the Smithsonian, and
run by the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation, it offers displays
and videos documenting the almost 50-year history of nuclear weapons
testing in Nevada. Though the major original site for atomic bomb tests
during WWII was near Alamogordo, New Mexico, by the time the hydrogen
bomb came along testing had shifted to Nevada.
For more than four decades, local residents of Las
Vegas and visitors to the casinos could actually feel the earth shake
and then see the mushroom clouds centered in the Nevada desert test
sites not too many miles away. Gamblers would head under the tables as
the chandeliers swayed. Later, testing moved underground where the
fallout was contained. But the man-made earthquakes were just as
strong, if not more so.
As of 1992, in part due to an agreement among the
major powers to end live testing, the smoke cleared and the ground
became quiet. But the history of all those tests has been preserved at
The Atomic Testing Museum. Visitors can read about the growing power of
H-bombs as they progressed from January, 1951 to the final test in
September 1992. Along the way, the bombs got smaller and the explosions
bigger. There are numerous displays, videos and even a few interactive
devices. Guests can actually manipulate the same type of arms that were
used to handle radioactive material behind a protective lead-glass
cage.
The Ground Zero Theater gives an in-depth
presentation of the efforts used to build the U.S. arsenal. In this
simulated concrete bunker with red lights and wooden benches with decor
to match the real thing you'll get a glimpse into the world of the bomb
makers and their products. Despite their destructive power, most people
will be fascinated with the blossoming mushroom clouds produced by the
gigantic explosions.
There are dozens of photographs, including one
depicting one of the earliest American nuclear tests: the Bikini Atoll,
1954. One second the small island was there, the next it was vaporized.
Along with the historical and scientific displays there are collections
of related memorabilia of the day, called the 'Atom Bomb and Pop
Culture'. You'll see cereal boxes offering an Atomic Bomb ring, the
once-popular 'Atomic Cocktail' and other items from a time when the
science behind the bomb was praised not feared.
While you're there, you can pick up an Albert
Einstein T-shirt. Though he didn't work on the project, nor did
research on atomic physics, his letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt helped
encourage the U.S. to initiate the research during WWII. Housed inside
the Frank H. Rogers Science and Technology Building, the museum was
first opened in March 2005. It also employs knowledgeable staff, some
of whom actually worked at the test site, who can answer visitors
questions. Come get a view from those who witnessed the events first
hand.
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About the Author
Roger Thompson writes for Leading Portal
for cash back awards for weight loss, hoodia
The Atomic Museum
illuminates the nuclear weapons path and by educating the public - we
hope and pray that never again will such devastating force be used. |
