The Atomic Testing Museum presents the history of the Nevada Test Site, where nuclear weapons research and testing took place for about 50 years.
The museum covers everything from the big picture of the world political climate during this period, to how Nevada itself received and was impacted by the site and its activities.
The museum collection consists of printed displays, audio/visual, historic artifacts, small video theatres, etc. Vintage film footage of atom/hydrogen bomb testing is interesting and at times dramatic. The enormity of such an event can scarecly be imagined even after watching the films. There are also plenty of film clips from news reels and TV shows of the time period to give place to the cultural context in which these weapons were being developed/tested.
Various aspects of nuclear bombs are covered - how the science works, how it was developed, why it was developed, testing, nuclear waste, clean-up, etc. - even things you probably never wondered about - like the difference between atmospheric testing versus underground testing.
Some of the film clips seemed eerily casual about the radioactive particle fallout - for example - young men in the armed forces who had just watched the bomb testing are then observed dusting each other off with common brooms. Maybe they were sure the wind blew the stuff the other way.....
During my visit there was a special exhibit entitled "How To Photograph An Atomic Bomb" which included the stunning and yet devastating photograph of a South Pacific underwater bomb test. Almost heart-stopping.
I did not watch every single video available, nor read every single document, but was left with the impression that human health/life effects were skimmed over rather lightly. A few times theories were presented as facts. Most obnoxious is that in the first half of the museum, the loud audio displays blaring from multiple directions made it very difficult to absorb the information on the printed panels. This didn't seem to be a problem in the second half of the museum.
There is a gift shop in the lobby with some amusing items (like "atomic lip balm"). However, I think they missed the boat by not offering postcards with some of the more fearsome bomb test photographs - which are both spectacular and bone chilling at the same time.
Admission was a bit high at $12. Science and/or history buffs could easily spend a couple hours in here. There's a lot on display spanning from beginning of nuclear research to the current day related activities. You could do the museum "lite" by just watching some videos and glancing at a few bomb casings or go for brain stimulation by doing some serious study of the information presented here.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.