Have you ever heard of the Manhattan Project? It might make you think of New York City, but if you are familiar with World War II, you will know that the Manhattan Project created and tested the atomic bombs.
(We have been taking advantage of my son’s Every Kid Outdoors Pass and visiting as many National Park sites as possible. For this post, I will use the term National Park to mean any park site, including historic sites, monuments, etc.)
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Our family loves history, but my husband, in particular, is a history buff, and he was very excited to visit part of the Manhattan Project National Park. While several parks are spread over more than one state due to their large size (Yellowstone) or just because they are close to a border, this one is unusual in that it is in three distinctly different locations. The three parts of this park are in Tennessee, New Mexico, and Washington states.
Our trip only brought us to the portion in New Mexico, but we hope to make it to the Tennessee portion on our next adventure.
Our Suggested Itinerary
The New Mexico portion of this National Park is actually very small. It consists of a small two-room visitor center with a few informational boards. However, they also have a map for a walking tour of the area near the visitor’s center, where you can see various buildings that were an integral part of the town that was built there due to the Manhattan Project.
On the tour, there is also a wonderful (and free) science museum, which includes a short film about the town’s and the Manhattan Project’s history.
I would recommend starting at the visitor’s center to get your passport stamps and Junior Ranger badges. The wonderful rangers and volunteers there will show you the map and help you get your bearings. Then you can start your walking tour. Our family took about an hour to complete the walking tour portion. The tour is approximately a mile from the visitor’s center and goes back to the science museum. The local history center also has some guided tours available.
We went to the Bradbury Science Museum at the end of our tour. There, you can watch a film about the history of the Manhattan Project and see and interact with multiple other exhibits about nuclear science. There were earthquake simulators, models of the atomic bombs, information about nuclear defense, and more. This science museum had exhibits for all ages. We only had about an hour to spend at the museum, and we got a good feel for the various exhibits and watched the film. However, if you had more time, you could spend two to three hours exploring the museum.
History and Science at Manhattan Project National Park
The Manhattan Project National Park (New Mexico site) is one where history and science naturally come together. The site and the town reflect the fact that it was built during the wartime period. For example, one of the housing sections was bathtub row because they were the only homes in town with bathtubs because they were built before the war. Due to the war efforts, the materials were unavailable to put bathtubs into the new construction.
The Bradbury Science Museum, a partner with the park site, provides an abundance of science related to the Manhattan Project. There are exhibits about how atomic bombs worked, a simulator that shows the difference between how bombs and earthquakes shake the ground, magnetics, and more. We especially appreciated that the content was appropriate for a wide variety of ages and knowledge levels.
If you can visit, let me know how you like it, and remember to take your park passport and get it stamped! We have found that the passport is a great way for the children to get a souvenir at each park with no additional expense after the initial passport purchase.
Basic Information About Manhattan Project National Park (New Mexico Site)
Where:
Los Alamos Visitor Center
475 20th Street, Suite C
Los Alamos, NM 87544
Hours of Operation:
National Park Visitor’s Center:
Friday-Monday 10:00-3:00 (Closed Major Holidays)
Bradbury Science Museum:
Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Costs:
Free
Homeschool Discount:
No Fees
Website:
https://www.nps.gov/mapr/index.htm
Food:
No food is available on site, but restaurants and parks are nearby.
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Deals and Freebies
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