American Museum of Science and Energy (Atomic Energy Museum)
The American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) is a science museum in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, designed to teach children and adults about energy, especially nuclear power, and to document the role Oak Ridge played in the Manhattan Project. The museum opened as the American Museum of Atomic Energy in 1949 in an old World War II cafeteria on Jefferson Circle. It moved to its second facility in 1975 and was renamed AMSE in 1978. As of June 2019, the museum is located in the shopping mall across the street from the old location.
The museum has both permanent and rotating exhibits, including robots, science puzzles, a NOAA weather station, a timeline of atomic discoveries, a large Van de Graaff generator, a display devoted to nuclear weapons and the Y-12 Plant, and a solar energy demonstration project. Its flagship exhibit, titled "Secret City - The Oak Ridge Story", was completely redesigned and rebuilt in 2007. A World War II-vintage flat top house, one of many inhabited by Manhattan Project workers in Oak Ridge, opened as a walk-through attraction in 2009, but was moved to the grounds of the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge in 2018 and is now used by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park as part of a display of the history of Oak Ridge. Several photos by Ed Westcott are on display.
The museum also provides bus tours of the local sites of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park including the X-10 Graphite Reactor National Historic Landmark, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the East Tennessee Technology Park, located on the site of the K-25 Building.
The K-25 History Center, a 7,500-square foot museum operated by AMSE opened at the K-25 site in 2020.
The museum is open seven days a week. The museum was free to the public for many years when its operation was fully funded by the U.S. federal government, but now charges for admission. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
The museum has both permanent and rotating exhibits, including robots, science puzzles, a NOAA weather station, a timeline of atomic discoveries, a large Van de Graaff generator, a display devoted to nuclear weapons and the Y-12 Plant, and a solar energy demonstration project. Its flagship exhibit, titled "Secret City - The Oak Ridge Story", was completely redesigned and rebuilt in 2007. A World War II-vintage flat top house, one of many inhabited by Manhattan Project workers in Oak Ridge, opened as a walk-through attraction in 2009, but was moved to the grounds of the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge in 2018 and is now used by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park as part of a display of the history of Oak Ridge. Several photos by Ed Westcott are on display.
The museum also provides bus tours of the local sites of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park including the X-10 Graphite Reactor National Historic Landmark, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the East Tennessee Technology Park, located on the site of the K-25 Building.
The K-25 History Center, a 7,500-square foot museum operated by AMSE opened at the K-25 site in 2020.
The museum is open seven days a week. The museum was free to the public for many years when its operation was fully funded by the U.S. federal government, but now charges for admission. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
Map - American Museum of Science and Energy (Atomic Energy Museum)
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Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |