Our last stop, and thought-provoking experience on this trip,  was a visit to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque.  The museum offered a sweeping look at the Atomic Age—from the early discoveries in nuclear physics to the complex legacy of atomic weapons, energy, medicine, and culture.  The museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Museum.

Inside, exhibits trace the path from scientific breakthroughs through the Manhattan Project, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, and into today’s nuclear landscape.

The displays are immersive and often sobering, especially the full-scale replicas of the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs. 

The Hiroshima/Nagasaki section was reminiscent of our visit to Japan several years ago, where we saw remaining damage as well as listened to survivor stories. 

One particularly striking installation is “Critical Assembly,” a life-size recreation of the Manhattan Project laboratory.

This “Critical Assembly” installation includes original electronic instruments, hardware, furniture, tools and materials used by Los Alamos National Laboratory during the 1940s.

These objects were acquired by the artist, JIm Sanborn, during a six-year period from a variety of sources, including former laboratory employees. Any materials Sanborn was unable to collect in Los Alamos, he machined and fabricated himself.

The museum also highlights how nuclear science impacts daily life, with fascinating sections on nuclear medicine, energy, and even pop culture, including vintage atomic-age toys, ads, and propaganda.

Outdoors, Heritage Park sprawls across nine acres and features impressive military aircraft, rockets, and even the sail of a nuclear submarine.

Visiting this museum is an emotional journey through some of the most consequential scientific and ethical decisions of the 20th century. It invites reflection, not only on what was achieved, but at what cost. 

This is especially true at this moment of history as the U.S., just days ago,  bombed the nuclear facilities in Iran.  We still do not have a realization what that will mean to us and the world order.