The new Atomic Testing Museum makes an impression of atomic proportions

Senator Harry Reid gestures during his remarks at the grand opening of the Atomic Testing Museum.

On February 19, 2005, hundreds of enthusiastic well-wishers gathered under a large white canopy at DRI’s southern Nevada campus to celebrate the opening of Las Vegas’ newest attraction, and arguably one of it’s most unique: the Atomic Testing Museum. An unforgettable milestone for its founder – the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation – the Smithsonian-affiliated museum successfully recreates the physical and emotional senses attributed to the Cold War era, and more specifically, with being a part of the Nevada Test Site’s history.

The grand opening of the museum this year coincides nicely with Las Vegas’ Centennial celebrations, as the test site played a vital role in Las Vegas history. Sen. Harry Reid, Mayor Oscar Goodman, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and Chancellor Jim Rogers were among the speakers who welcomed the newest attraction to Las Vegas. All of them recognized the importance of the test site workers who dedicated years of their lives for a common goal in a desolate area 65 miles north of Las Vegas. Ambassador Linton Brooks of the National Nuclear Security Administration, DRI President Steve Wells and Dr. Brent Glass, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, also spoke of the importance of seeing the museum come to fruition. Peaceful protestors who spent the day waving signs on the street corner also took time to peruse the museum and admittedly found it to be a treasure trove of information.

So, what’s all the rumbling about? Take a look. . .

Visitors purchase tickets to the museum at the replica of a guard station entrance to the Nevada Test Site.

After purchasing a ticket at a replica of a guard station at the Nevada Test Site, visitors walk by images of “Trinity,” the first atomic bomb which was detonated on July 16, 1945, in Alamogordo, New Mexico. A three-screen projection system lights up with images of how the Cold War came about, beginning with Hitler invading Austria, images of Einstein, the Manhattan Project, Japan entering the Pacific Rim and the development of the Trinity bomb. The museum then unravels the story of why the Nevada Test Site, established in 1951, was chosen as the first continental test site and how it evolved out of a nuclear arms race, with the goals of producing the newest, biggest and best defense weaponry the world had ever seen. The Nevada Test Site played a vital role in the Cold War, with thousands of people dedicating their lives to a common cause that involved conducting 100 atmospheric and 828 underground nuclear tests between 1951 and 1992, when the second moratorium on nuclear testing occurred.

As the chronology of Cold War history unfolds through a timeline comparing popular culture, nuclear testing events and world events, several television screens show footage of the day. In the Atomic Age gallery, nuclear physics is explained with a good explanation of how an atom works. You will see Einstein’s 1939 letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt explaining the implications of nuclear chain reactions, as well as a large glass case housing artifacts from popular culture, like the “Atomic” sewing kit from the 1950s and 1960s, the Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab Chemistry Set from the 1950s and the “Atomic Disintegrator” toy repeating cap pistol by Hubley, circa 1950.

The museum aptly recreates the feeling of being an onlooker with the earth-shaking Ground Zero Theater. Amidst great footage and narration, suddenly the bench shakes and a blast of warm air recreates the experience of watching a nuclear detonation. On screen, Test Controller Troy Wade recounts the anxiety he felt and describes the awesome sights – and responsibility – of the weapon he helped test.

The entrance to the Underground Testing Gallery brings a feeling of going underground as visitors pass through a decoupler like those used in tunnel testing.

Ramping down through an actual decoupler like those used in underground testing, visitors pass by mannequins and an old television, like the ones used on the site when recreating a bomb shelter. In addition to building bombs, it was also important to determine how to survive a nuclear attack. The Underground Testing gallery showcases the effects of 828 tests in a pock-marked pictorial of Yucca Flat on the test site. Timelines again stream along the walls taking visitors forward in time from the 1960s through the 1990s, when India and Pakistan tested in 1998.

Upon entering a mock Control Point area with a large video screen, visitors can pick up a phone and press buttons to hear first-hand accounts of what it’s like to be a test controller, scientific advisor, off-site safety advisor, test director and weather advisor preparing and detonating a device.

Rounding the corner to enter the Versatile Lab gallery, it becomes evident that times have changed and so has the use of nuclear weapons. The Versatile Lab lives up to its name by showcasing how the test site has become a large laboratory that houses special projects, trainings and teams of people, such as the Hazardous Materials Spill Center, NASA Apollo astronaut training and nuclear weapons accident training. An interactive touch screen program helps visitors understand subcritical testing - the approach now taken for nuclear testing since the 1992 moratorium - which involves determining how the pieces and parts of a weapon can physically and chemically degrade over time.

Science takes a different turn in the Stewards of the Land gallery, where the geologic history of the Nevada Test Site is traced back to volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The environmental management taking place at the site today is highlighted with an interactive unit showing the study of the migration of radioactivity in groundwater. In another hands-on display, a Geiger counter – like those used today at the test site – is provided to understand what radioactivity is, where it exists and how to detect it.

In July 1957, the first live firing of a Genie nuclear-armed air-to-air missile like this one was launched over Yucca Flat from an F-896 Scorpion interceptor.

The Innovators gallery, with its murals featuring the many faces of the Nevada Test Site, pays tribute to the thousands who played a part in keeping the country safe throughout the Cold War and beyond. Multiple screens feature people instrumental to the programs at the Nevada Test Site who give first-hand accounts of what it’s like to be a very significant part of history. The Discovery and Innovation gallery is next, describing the challenge of nuclear peace. Gripping large manipulator arms, visitors peer through glass to try their “hand” at handling hypothetical radioactive materials.

Finally, what is the future of the Nevada Test Site? The Today and Tomorrow gallery tells about stockpile stewardship; in other words, ensuring the preservation of core intellectual and technical competencies of the United States in nuclear weapons. To remind us of how far we have come since before, during and after the Cold War, a piece of the Berlin Wall stands for hope, followed by a piece of the World Trade Center as a stoic reminder of the important need to remain on guard and ready. The Nevada Test Site still stands ready – with emergency management and counter-terrorism training programs.

The atomic testing at the Nevada Test Site became somewhat of a tourist attraction for Las Vegas in the early 1950s. Half a century later, the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation’s museum successfully illustrates the significance of the test site as much more than an attraction, but rather an important landmark of scientific discovery at a crucial time in America’s history. Dr. Bill Johnson, a DRI archaeologist who has preserved artifacts from the Nevada Test Site found in the museum today, now directs the museum.

“The Atomic Testing Museum has grown from a glimmer in the eyes of the NTS Historical Foundation, to the ultimate acknowledgment and preservation of the people and projects of the test site,” Johnson said. “We have hosted Japanese protestors, students, tourists and dignitaries alike since we opened our doors, and I don’t think anyone has walked away without a new understanding about the Cold War era and the test site’s place in that history.”

The museum is located at 755 East Flamingo Road and is open to the public from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. The entrance fee is $10, with discounts for seniors and students. Children six and under are free. Become a Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation member for just $30 per year and gain free access to the museum and to the Changing Exhibit Hall adjacent to the museum, which features new exhibits approximately every six months. For more information, call (702) 794-5161 or visit www.atomictestingmuseum.org.

–Heather Emmons