ATOMIC TESTING MUSEUM OPENS IN LAS VEGAS
Newest Attraction Highlights Nevada's Historical Role in Nation's Nuclear Testing Program

TLas Vegas (February 21, 2005) - 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.

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