Oak Ridge, Tenn. – (April 22, 2008) – The American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in Oak Ridge is gearing up for the 2008 Secret City Festival with a special admission rate for everyone, a totally remodeled “Oak Ridge Story: The Manhattan Project and World War II” permanent exhibition, an Oak Ridge Cultural Heritage Preservation exhibit, topographic maps exhibit of Oak Ridge prepared in 1947 for the Atomic Energy Commission, “Team Up! Explore Science & Sports” traveling exhibition, and Manhattan Project site public bus tours.
AMSE, the first museum in the United States to tell the story of nuclear energy, opened on March 19, 1949, thirty minutes after the gates opened allowing the public their first glimpse of the Secret City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Visitors to AMSE will receive a Secret City Festival admission rate of $3.00 per person on June 20 – 21, 2008, which is up to a $2 discount off regular admission.
Secrets of the Manhattan Project and the first atomic bomb are revealed in AMSE’s newly renovated permanent exhibition “Oak Ridge Story: World War II and the Manhattan Project.” This new exhibition features hundreds of photographs by renowned official U. S. Army photographer Edward Westcott, Jr., as well as vintage newsreels and a wealth of fresh information on WWII and the dawn of the atomic age.
AMSE visitors will discover how residents in four rural communities were displaced when their 79,000 acres were taken for the war effort by the U. S. Corps of Engineers; find out how the first sustained controlled nuclear reaction in Chicago would be the catalyst for the construction in Oak Ridge of the three mystery plants to enrich the fuel for the first atomic weapons; see the variety of housing for the military and civilians living in the 1940’s Secret City; and get the complete story of the three Manhattan Project sites, including Oak Ridge, Hanford, and Los Alamos and their contributions to building the atomic bombs that would end WWII.
Through artifacts and oral histories preserved and showcased in “The Oak Ridge Story” exhibition, AMSE visitors will see the actual objects that tell the citizen and soldier stories of war, lifestyle and peace experienced by 75,000 people who would keep the secret in the military pioneer town.
Showcased in the AMSE lobby will be a special exhibition on Oak Ridge’s wartime buildings constructed in the 1940’s and the preservation efforts being proposed. Through the partnership of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association (ORHPA) and AMSE, the joint exhibition will spotlight the Oak Ridge Cultural Heritage, whereby AMSE visitors will get a glimpse into the history of each structure and why preservation is necessary to further tell the greatest story of the 20th Century. This is the second year for ORHPA and AMSE to collaborate on an Oak Ridge Manhattan Project exhibition, a follow-up to the 2007 exhibit “The Story of Wheat,” one of the four original rural communities that was taken over by the U.S. Corps of Engineers for the WWII Manhattan Project.
To further relate the geography of the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project sites, AMSE visitors can view framed topographic maps of Oak Ridge prepared in 1947 for the Atomic Energy Commission. Through these maps, AMSE visitors will be able to see how the city behind the fence with its alphabetical street names, schools, housing, business and recreational facilities appeared before the 1949 public opening of the city’s gates.
Children of all ages can test their own skills in sports such as basketball, tennis, soccer, and football, while learning about math and physics in the “TEAM UP! Explore Science & Sports” traveling exhibition of 13 activity stations at AMSE from June 1 – August 31. Sports enthusiasts can discover their pitching speed in a radar-equipped booth, experiment with balance using pommel-horse and balance beam interactives, discover the correct angle and amount of force needed to bounce a basketball to a teammate and more. AMSE visitors will get in the game with virtual reality, discover the sole of the game with various athletic footwear, and use the locker room featuring professional sports equipment and apparel.
For those visitors wanting to take the Manhattan Project bus tours with guide commentary to the Manhattan Project plant sites, registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. at AMSE Monday through Friday for the DOE Facilities Public Bus Tour beginning June 2 through September 2008. During the Secret City Festival, bus tours of 1.5 hours in length to the K-25 Heritage History Trail will depart at 9 am, 10 am, 11 am and 12 noon both days from the AMSE parking lot. On June 21 only, three bus tours with guide commentary to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Graphite Reactor, a national historic landmark, will depart from AMSE.
The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 – 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is nominal. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. For more information on AMSE memberships, programs, exhibits, events and Manhattan Project plant site bus tours, go to www.amse.org. To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.
Immediate Release: April 22, 2008