In February 2017, a magnificent exhibition, “Critical Assembly, the Secrets of Los Alamos 1944: An Installation by Jim Sanborn,” opened at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, NM. “Critical Assembly” was a temporary exhibition at the Museum through October 2017, but has now become permanent. Now, it has reopened as a permanent exhibition at the Museum, thanks to philanthropists Clay and Dorothy Perkins.
“Critical Assembly” recreates the Manhattan Project scientists’ experiments at Los Alamos to determine when plutonium would go “critical” in an atomic bomb. Artist Jim Sanborn spent ten years investigating the Manhattan Project and collecting artifacts from the Black Hole in Los Alamos and many other sources. For more information, please see the Los Alamos Monitor article or our article on the exhibit. You can watch a terrific interview with Sanborn here.
From January 12-April 27, the Los Alamos History Museum’s Rotating Exhibit Gallery will host an extraordinary exhibit of Nobel Laureate portraits by Peter Badge. The portraits include physicists Hans Bethe, Joseph Rotblat, and Roy Glauber. Badge, who has photographed over 400 Nobel Laureates, said, “It is such an honor to showcase the portraits of Nobel Laureates in the place where so many of them lived and conducted research that has also delivered tremendous value to society.”
Construction work is underway at what will be the new location for the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in Oak Ridge, TN. According to Oak Ridge Today, “Inside, there will be about 7,200 square feet of exhibit space, two 800-square-foot classrooms, and a large theater with a stage, consultant Ray Evans told Oak Ridge City Council members during a December 19 work session.” Construction work is expected to take about 4.5 months and cost about $1.5 million. The Museum may move in June. For now, AMSE is still open at 300 S. Tulane Ave., where it has welcomed tourists since 1975.
On January 24, the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Energy, and Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will have an open house at the Children’s Museum to celebrate the Museum as the new location for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s Oak Ridge visitor center and offices. The open house will be from 3-6 PM. For more information, please see Manhattan Project Park has open house at Children’s Museum on Jan. 24.