Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

5th Anniversary of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park

Category:
Secretary of DOI Sally Jewel and of DOE Ernie Moniz shake hands on launching the new park as a partnership between their two agencies.

Join us in celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park! The official signing ceremony with Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of Energy Ernie Moniz  that established the new Park was held on November 10, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo courtesy of Oak Ridge Today). The Park has three units: in Los Alamos, NM, Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA. The Superintendent’s office is located in the NPS’s Denver Service Center in Colorado. 

Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF) is partnering with the Los Alamos County, Los Alamos Historical Society and many others on a weeklong series of events and programs. Visitors to the Los Alamos County’s website (link coming soon) will find a schedule of events for the week beginning Tuesday, November 10 through Tuesday, November 17. There will be a variety of presentations and articles about the Park, links to virtual walking tours and many other resources.

On Tuesday, November 10, a panel with Kris Kirby, Superintendent of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, former Los Alamos Historical Society’s executive director Heather McClenahan, AHF’s Cindy Kelly and several others will talk about the creation of the Park, progress over the last five years, and prospects for the future.

On Thursday, November 12, at 5 PM MT, AHF’s Cindy Kelly will provide an hour-long retrospective on the making of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park that began in the late 1990s. At this time, the abandoned Manhattan Project buildings owed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory were slated for demolition. The creation of the park benefitted from a great collaboration of organizations and people, similar to the Manhattan Project itself.

On Tuesday, November 17, historian Alex Wellerstein will talk about the “Best Kept Secret of the War.” Other highlights include Allan Carr, archivist for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, sharing his insights about the history of the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. AHF’s resources such as Ranger in Your Pocket tours, oral history collection on “Voices of the Manhattan Project” and the documentary “Sense of Place” will be available to commemorate the anniversary. Enjoy!