MUSEUM HAPPENINGS

Virtual Events

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History has continued to host virtual events to engage museum members and the community, increasing from last year’s number of events by 66%. In December of 2021, author, New Mexican historian, and retired nuclear physicist, John Taylor, presented the virtual event “Remembering New Mexicans in WWII” on the 80th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. On January 28th, 2022, Dr. Sean Maloney, presented “Deconstructing Dr. Strangelove: The Secret History of Nuclear War Films.” By blending film analysis with Cold War history, Dr. Maloney looked at how celluloid crises stacked up against the reality that we are all still here. On April 22nd, 2022, Dr. Carol Stabile discussed her book The Broadcast 41: Women and the Anti-Communist Blacklist to celebrate Women’s History month and delve deeper into how Cold War politics affected women in film and television.

On March 31st, 2022, the museum expanded its virtual programming to fit the needs of an audience who normally relies on the museum to offer physical tours of the Trinity Test Site by hosting an in-depth virtual tour of the Trinity Site featuring Executive Director Jim Walther, and invaluable volunteers, Judith Mead and Duane Hughes. In May, Dr. Todd Rider provided a different perspective on the plausibility of the advancement of Nazi Germany’s nuclear weapons program. This was followed in June by a virtual event presented by Dr. John Ibson, an author and professor emeritus of California State University. Dr. Ibson helped celebrate Pride Month by discussing the life of the only known “out” gay man to work on the Manhattan Project.

In July, the museum’s team started the first ever two-part series: “Nuclear Fashion History.” As the first installment of this series, Dr. Thomas Cole presented about the history of the bikini and its atomic beginnings. In August, the museum finished this series with a deeper dive into the connections between the nuclear age and women’s fashion and bodies with the virtual event “Sex and Fashion in the Atomic Age” with Dr. Jennifer Le Zotte.

In October of 2022, an interesting discussion was hosted with the novelist Sarah James about her debut book The Woman with Two Shadows, a story inspired by the secrets of wartime Oak Ridge, Tennessee.