L to R: Atomic Museum CEO, Rob McCoy, Brigadier General Stacy Jo Huser of the National Nuclear Security Administration and board of trustees chair John Longenecker cutting ribbon; “The Bomb Without The Boom” exhibit.
(Photos courtesy of the Atomic Museum)
ATOMIC MUSEUM DEBUTS NEW EXHIBIT, “THE BOMB WITHOUT THE BOOM”
New Exhibit Answers the Question, “What Happened to our Nukes?”
Now open inside the Atomic Museum is “The Bomb Without The Boom,” the brand-new exhibit which answers the question, “What happened to our nukes?”
The exhibit highlights the Stockpile Stewardship Program and how, with the use of innovative and exciting science-based experiments, the United States today can assure the safety and reliability of its nuclear weapons without underground testing in a post-Cold War world. Showing how data gleaned from the use of lasers and small amounts of explosives are fed into super computers, this exhibit demonstrates how these practices give scientists both peace of mind and confirmation of the viability of U.S. nuclear weapons.
At the exhibit, museum guests will discover:
- How nuclear weapons of both the past and present function.
- Information about specific bombs, such as the B57 produced during the Cold War and the B61 created after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- How the United States studies the effects of high explosives on nuclear materials, such as plutonium, in subcritical experiments to enhance the safety of stockpiled weapons.
- Information about modern nuclear medicine and how data collected by supercomputers can be utilized to identify causes of climate change.
“The new exhibit offers fascinating insight into the history and current state of our nation’s nuclear weapons program.” said Rob McCoy, chief executive officer of the Atomic Museum. “We are about the positive reception the exhibit has already received and look forward to welcoming more museum guests to this first-of-its-kind presentation on our nation’s Stockpile Stewardship Program.”
“The Bomb Without The Boom” is open during regular museum hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit atomicmuseum.vegas.
ABOUT THE ATOMIC MUSEUM
The Atomic Museum is operated and maintained by its parent company, the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation (NTSHF), an IRS 501(c)3 charitable, non-profit organization chartered in Nevada. The Atomic Museum is one of 37 museums designated as an Affiliate Partner of the Smithsonian Institution and is a repository for one of the most comprehensive collections of nuclear history in the world. Covering nuclear history beginning with the first test at the Nevada Test Site on January 27, 1951, the Atomic Museum’s exhibitions and programming also address current affairs related to the nuclear industry. For more information, go to atomicmuseum.vegas and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.