Atomic Testing Museum Opens in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Atomic Testing Museum, the

first museum of its kind in the nation, officially opened to the

public on February 20. An invaluable resource, the museum provides

multiple viewpoints on the work conducted at the Nevada Test Site and

its impact on the nation.

The Nevada Test Site served as the nation's principal on-continent

nuclear weapons testing facility from 1951-1992.

"Our goal is to educate visitors on the significant role the Nevada

Test Site played in local, national and international history and to

encourage public exchange about it," said Bill Johnson, director of

the Atomic Testing Museum.

The 8,000 square foot permanent exhibit hall includes artifacts on

loan from personal collections, the Smithsonian Institution, Lawrence

Livermore Laboratory and pieces of the Berlin wall and World Trade

Centers. Designed to be a highly interactive experience, the exhibits

include touch screens, motion-sensitive plasma TV presentations,

audio interviews with former workers from the test site and various

other multi-media components.

"The galleries have been designed to immerse visitors immediately,"

Johnson said. "The museum takes people from a copy of a letter from

Einstein urging President Roosevelt to investigate the use of atomic

technology all the way to the 1992 moratorium on atomic tests. Along

the way there's a number of interactive stations and timeline walls."

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum also has a 2,000

square foot changing exhibit hall, a museum store and a History Walk.

Adjacent to the museum are the Nuclear Testing Archives, a collection

of over 310,000 documents related to radioactive fallout from U.S.

testing of nuclear devices.

About the Atomic Testing Museum

In development since 1997, the Atomic Testing Museum is a program of

the 501(c)(3) non-profit Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation

(NTSHF) and an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum

has received approximately $2 million in federal grants and $3

million in grants and pledges from private sources. Located just off

the famous Las Vegas Strip in the Frank H. Rogers Science and

Technology Building on the Desert Research Institute campus at 755

East Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV, patrons can visit the museum Mon-

Sat, 9am-5pm and Sun, 1-5pm. Admission is $10 with discounts for

seniors, students and military personnel with proper identification.

For more information call (702) 794-5161 or visit www.atomictestingmuseum.org