"They were protesting the very thing that gave them the freedom to protest: Nuclear Testing."

I knew that atomic testing took place in Nevada. What I didn't was how long the testing went on, until 1992, and how close the Test Site was to the Strip, about 75 miles away.

The test site was so close that Las Vegas hotels, like the Stardust, would capitalize on the tests by offering special tours, where buses full of spectators were carted to the top of the ridge, given special goggles, and sat in folding chairs to watch the bombs detonate.




While visiting Las Vegas, I went to the the Atomic Testing Museum, which commemorates the Nevada Test Site. Before I continue, let me be clear on my personal views on the Bomb: It may have been necessary; it may have been inevitable; but by no means do I consider it Good.

The first half of the museum began with the '40s, and the subsequent age of atomic delight in '50s. It focuses on the propaganda, educational films and atomic-inspired products of the era without a lick of irony. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were mentioned in passing, as a necessary measure to bring WWII to a quick end.

A is for Atom (awesome vintage film; crazy dancing radium up all night!)

The next exhibit was about specific tests conducted at Nevada: one, where a small town of five, fully-furnished houses was constructed to see which material best stood up to an atomic blast. In another, a joint venture with Japan, a village of traditional Japanese house were built to see how well rice paper shielded residents from radiation, so Japan could understand the long-term effects of the nuclear attack. However, in both cases, the test was described but never the results.

A small movie theater offered a simulated Atomic Bomb detonation, which mimicked what soldiers in the '50s and '60s would go through during nuclear training. The experience was so frightening, I got goosebumps. The simulation was followed by a short film of interviews with men who had worked at the Nevada Test Site. One man talked about how hard everyone worked and how everyone chipped in to get the job done. He talked about what a great time they had, and how everyone enjoyed working together. Another man let us know that Atomic testing preserves our Freedom, and we have the right to be Free because of atomic testing.

A short digression: I was visiting my friend Kim while in Vegas. She and her boyfriend had taken a weekend to explore a few towns in central Nevada. In one, Caliente, she stopped by a local railroad museum and struck up a conversation with two older women who were working there. The topic came around to the Atomic Age in Nevada, and one of the women said that when she was a child, people from the government would come to their school and pass out little badges. After they pinned the badges to their clothes, they would change color, and the children would have a great time comparing their badges.

The badges were measuring their exposure to radiation. You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter

I asked Kim, who had been to the Atomic Museum, if they had any of those badges at the museum. She said she wasn't sure--she could have overlooked them.

I did happen to find them. A whole case full:


The badges were labeled "Dosimeter," followed by the date of acquisition. That was all. I searched the exhibit for an explanation of what a dosimeter was, but there was none. Had Kim not told me that story, I would have had no idea what they were, or what they were used for.

I talked to my Mom about my experience at the museum. She, a child of the 50's, grew up in the thick of the cold war. She ducked-and-covered during atomic drills. She remembers her father taking her to the backyard at night, and showing her Sputnik zipping across the sky. For her, the threat of nuclear attack was very real and very frightening. Her stories of those times carry none of the celebratory joy of a job well done that the Atomic Testing Museum presents.

When I told her about the museum, she said this:

"Sometimes, History can be defined as 'what memories we choose to preserve.'"


The Atomic Testing Museum

Cancer at the Nevada Test Site

And be sure to pick up a souvenir shot glass at the gift shop.