Exhibits
Main Gallery
Highlights
SPY
Now open inside the Atomic Museum is “SPY,” a brand-new boutique exhibit in partnership with the National Security Agency’s (NSA) National Cryptologic Museum in Fort Meade, Maryland. “SPY” spotlights how the NSA’s gathering of telemetry intelligence, which is used to obtain data on the internal functioning of missiles and space vehicles being tested by foreign governments, allowed the United States to keep pace with ever-changing technology.
Several artifacts relate to ensuring compliance with START I, which was the bilateral treaty signed in 1991 between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
Pop Culture
Enjoy our wide variety of pop culture artifacts that showcase the early popularity of the atomic bomb and its impact on everything from television shows to comic books and toys.
Davy Crockett
See lesser-known nuclear weapons that the U.S. developed, such as the Davy Crockett XM-388 projectile, the B54 backpack bomb, and the AIR-2 Genie air-to-air rocket.
Diagnostic Rack
Gaze up at the towering model of a diagnostic rack in our underground testing gallery. These racks would have held nuclear weapons and other equipment in place in massive holes as deep as 2000 feet.
Phoebus-2A
Marvel at a real Phoebus-2A nuclear reactor that was built as part of Project Rover. Phoebus-2A was the most powerful nuclear propulsion reactor designed for the project. Scientists at the time thought that this prototype could be modified to send astronauts to Mars.
Atomic Museum
Rotating Exhibits
“Trinity – The Day the World Changed”
– Get up close to the only exact replica of the world’s first atomic bomb and learn about the top-secret project that made it possible.
“Beyond the Manhattan Project”
– Discover how the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management team cleans various sites impacted by decades of nuclear weapons production and nuclear energy research.
“The Bomb Without the Boom”
– This Atomic Museum exhibit focuses on how the United States keeps our stockpile of nuclear weapons safe and reliable.
Atomic Museum
Past Exhibits
“Equipping Our Everyday Heroes”
– Explore the lifesaving equipment that the Department of Homeland Security develops for our nation’s first responders.