Science and Energy Museum Rocks
Learning About Energy, the Environment, and Nuclear Weapons of WW II
The American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge,Tennessee, is a storehouse of knowledge about the city's secret history, along with the science of power and energy
At East Tennessee's AMSE, Science Rules! Maybe that's because it's located in Oak Ridge, home of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the first Secret City built to make atomic bombs during World War II.
The Manhattan Project
In the early 1940s, Allied scientists worried that Hitler's minions were creating a powerful new weapon based on the rapidly expanding knowledge of nuclear physics. They convinced President Roosevelt to fund a top-secret project to beat Hitler at the weapons game. Under the code name "The Manhattan Project," and led by Army General Leslie R. Groves, the government bought 59,000 acres of land in this isolated farming community and ordered all residents to leave quickly.
Within months, three Oak Ridge facilities--X-10, Y-12 and K-25--sprang up in three separate valleys. Their task was to develop fuel for the first atomic bombs. And at X-10, the world's first full-scale reactor was built to research the man-made element, plutonium, for a second type of bomb (Two other Secret Cities, in Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, were later built).
Atomic Weapons that Ended the War
The museum holds a life-size model of "Little Boy," the first uranium bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. It's hard to believe that a weapon only about 8 feet long and two feet in diameter could destroy a city and kill 200,000 people. The intense power came from splitting apart the nuclei of uranium atoms. A plutonium bomb, "Fat Man," was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, three days later, and the war ended.
WW II buffs will appreciate reading the stories, and seeing the original insignia, uniforms (including WACs) and other war memorabilia on display.
The Secret City Behind the Fence
This permanent exhibit shows the hardships of life in Oak Ridge during the war years, for those who lost their homes to the project, as well as for those thousands of workers brought in to build and operate the new plants. And as in other factories during the war, many employees were women.
This exhibit features videos, interviews, original photos, and interactive displays. War-time in Oak Ridge meant IDs, guard gates, long lines for groceries, deep mud on the streets, stove-heated pre-fab wooden "hutments," and billboards and posters everywhere reminding workers to Keep Quiet about their jobs.
Although the Oak Ridge plants were open and operating 24 hours a day, residents still had time for relaxation, going to the movies, watching productions at a Community Playhouse, and worshiping at the non-denominational Chapel on the Hill, which served a wide range of faiths, on a rotating schedule.
The World inside the Atom
A large section of the AMSE is devoted to the history of nuclear physics. All the major discoveries and the scientists behind them, from Newton to Niels Bohr to Einstein, and beyond, are featured in an interactive display. Visitors can test their new physics knowledge with electronic "quiz boxes."
Earth's Energy Resources
Because East Tennessee is home to many coal mines, it's not surprising to find several exhibits here on mining methods and different types of coal, including large samples that can be touched. Other displays show the Tennessee Valley Authority's hydroelectric dam system, which provided the electricity needed to operate the Oak Ridge fuel processing plants during the war, and continues to power the region today.
Splitting atoms provides huge amounts of energy that can be harnessed for electricity, as well for weapons. Displays in this area show how nuclear power, in the form of heat, can be used to make steam, which is then converted to electricity. Oil and gas drilling are also explained, alongside a detailed scale model of an offshore oil rig.
Biofuels research is highlighted in a living display planted out in front of the museum. A stand of poplar trees and switchgrass demonstrate some of the crops that Oak Ridge researchers hope to develop as a renewable source of ethanol production. And a solar array on the roof provides power to the city's electrical grid, as displayed on a monitor inside the museum.
Protecting the Environment from Nuclear Wastes
Because of the research done at Oak Ridge, radioactive waste is buried there that will remain dangerous for thousands of years. A new interactive video exhibit walks the visitor through a case study managing and protecting the public from nuclear wastes.
Science for the Youngest Visitors
Several hands-on interactive exhibits both entertain and educate preschool through elementary aged visitors. There's even a tiny tots play area. And the most popular exhibit is the "Quarter Race."
Museum Details: AMSE, 300 S. Tulane Ave., Oak Ridge, TN 37830, (865) 576-3218.
Museum Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
