American Museum of Science and Energy Archives

Rick Springfield, The Dirty Guv’nahs to headline Secret City Festival

April 11, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield, the pop rock singer-songwriter and musician who won a 1981 Grammy for “Jessie’s Girl,” will headline the Saturday night concert at this year’s Secret City Festival, organizers said Thursday.

Springfield has sold 25 million albums worldwide, including 17 Top 40 hits, such as “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” “An Affair of the Heart,” “I’ve Done Everything for You,” “Love Somebody,” and “Human Touch,” a press release said. “Jessie’s Girl” was a No. 1 hit, and the song earned Springfield a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal.

The Friday night concert at the June 21-22 Secret City Festival features Knoxville-native rock ‘n’ roll band The Dirty Guv’nahs. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Music, Top Stories Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, arts and crafts, Arts Council of Oak Ridge, City of Oak Ridge, concerts, Jessie's Girl, Oak Ridge Civic Center, Rick Springfield, Secret City Festival, The Dirty Guv'nahs, the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, World War II

AMSE announces bridge building contest winners

March 22, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bearden Bridge Building High Point Trophy

Bearden High School in Knoxville receives the High Point Trophy at a recent bridge building contest at the American Museum of Science and Energy. Pictured above, from left, are Bearden High School student Hayes Griffin, physics teacher William Schult, and students Jack Li, J.J. Shankles, David Maulick and Bryan Fitzsimmons. (Submitted photos)

The American Museum of Science and Energy has announced the winners in the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest earlier this month.

The contest was held March 9 at AMSE. Students entered 113 model bridges, and 74 of those qualified to be tested, an AMSE press release said. The entries came from students at Oak Ridge High School, Bearden High School, Brentwood High School, Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Christ’s Legacy Academy, and two homeschool students. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Alyona Moss, American Museum of Science and Energy, AMSE, Bearden High School, Blackman High School, Brentwood High School, bridge building, Christ's Legacy Academy, Clair Clark, Dalton Chaffee, East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest, Hayes Griffin, homeschool, Josiah Chan, Madison Headrick, Martin Dickey, Noah Hylton, Oak Ridge High School

‘Girls of Atomic City’ author will be at March 19 lecture, book signing

March 11, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Denise Kiernan

A March 19 community lecture will feature an author who has written about Oak Ridge women and the second world war.

Denise Kiernan is author of “The Girls of the Atomic City—the Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II.”

She will be the featured speaker during the Tuesday, March 19, lecture, which starts at 6 p.m. at the American Museum of Science and Energy. It’s part of the 16th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series.

Crossville artist unveils oil portrait of photographer Ed Westcott at AMSE

February 26, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

A Crossville artist will unveil her oil portrait of Manhattan Project photographer Ed Westcott during a ceremony at the American Museum of Science and Energy this afternoon.

The ceremony is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. Westcott and at least one son and daughter are expected to attend, and a small reception will follow the unveiling ceremony, a press release said.

Post-war photos from Japan in 1945 opens at AMSE

February 18, 2013 By American Museum of Science and Energy 1 Comment

Joe O'Donnell and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945

A photo exhibit that opened this month at the American Museum of Science and Energy documents the aftermath of the U.S. bombings in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. (Submitted photo)

An exhibit that opened this month at an Oak Ridge museum includes photos documenting the aftermath of U.S. bombing raids in Japan in August 1945 during World War II.

The exhibit at the American Museum of Science and Energy is titled “Japan 1945: Images by U.S. Marine Photographer Joe O’Donnell.” It was organized by the Tennessee State Museum from O’Donnell’s original negatives. It opened Feb. 1 and will be on display through July 28.

DOE sponsors middle school science bowl Saturday

January 30, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The third annual U.S. Department of Energy’s East Tennessee Middle School Science Bowl will be hosted Saturday at the Oak Ridge campus of the Roane State Community College.

Starting at 9 a.m., students from 12 local middle schools will participate in a fast-paced academic competition offering students the opportunity to match their wits in math and science, a press release said.

Author of Smoky Mountains Park history book at AMSE on Saturday

December 21, 2012 By American Museum of Science and Energy Leave a Comment

A history exhibit curator and author will present a program and sign his book, “The Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Postcard History Series,” at the American Museum of Science and Energy on Saturday.

The program by Adam H. Alfrey, curator of exhibits at the East Tennessee History Center in Knoxville, will draw from public and private collections of vintage postcards, a press release said. It starts at 2 p.m. Saturday at AMSE.

The press release said the pictorial history “boasts more than 200 vintage images and provides readers with a unique opportunity to reconnect with the history that shaped their community.”

One hundred Westcott photos now on AMSE website

December 18, 2012 By American Museum of Science and Energy Leave a Comment

The 100th photo from a collection of World War II pictures taken by James Edward Westcott, the official U.S. Army Manhattan Project photographer, was added to an American Museum of Science and Energy website today.

During the past year, the World War II images taken in Oak Ridge by James Edward Westcott, the official U.S. Army Manhattan Project photographer, have been scanned one image at a time every Tuesday and Thursday into the American Museum of Science and Energy’s website.

Today, the AMSE website will add the 100th photograph. The picture shows people waiting in line outside the telephone office in Oak Ridge, and it was taken by Westcott in 1944.

“The photos of Oak Ridge taken by Ed Westcott during the Manhattan Project years are invaluable to the preservation of the story of a unique moment in the United States history,” said Julie Kellis, AMSE collections curator.

Free movie nights at AMSE continue this month

December 6, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The American Museum of Science and Energy is offering free admission to three more movies on Friday nights in December.

It’s part of the ”Movies at the Museum” series that started in November.

This Friday night, AMSE will show ”The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.” This 1953 film (NR) follows a carnivorous dinosaur that resulted from an arctic nuclear test, thawed out, and started making its way down the east coast of North America, a press release said.

Free movie and AMSE admission Friday

November 27, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The American Museum of Science and Energy is offering free admission and a free movie Friday night.

The free movie is ”King Kong vs. Godzilla,” a 1962 film about a pharmaceutical company that captures King Kong and brings him to Japan, where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released Godzilla.

Veterans Day program on Thursday features Vietnam vet

November 5, 2012 By John Huotari 2 Comments

A Veterans Day ceremony on Thursday in Oak Ridge will feature Freddie J. Owens, twice wounded in combat in Vietnam and a survivor of the 1962 Ia Drang Valley battle, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnam Army. (Submitted photo)

A Veterans Day program in Oak Ridge on Thursday will pay tribute to those who served and died in Vietnam.

The featured speaker is Freddie J. Owens, who was wounded in combat twice in Vietnam and is a survivor of the 1962 Ia Drang Valley battle, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnam Army, a press release said. Owens will discuss his experiences serving in Vietnam as a squad leader with the 1st Calvary Division (Air Assault).

Thursday’s program, titled “Our Forgotten Heroes,” is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office, and it is open to the public. It will start at 10 a.m. Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 200 S. Tulane Ave.

Owens’ military decorations include the Combat Infantry Badge, Air-Assault Badge with Star Cluster, Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart with Cluster, Air Medal with Combat Cluster, Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) Gallantry Cross, and Army Commendation medal.

The press release said Armistice Day was founded more than 90 years ago to recognize the sacrifices made by World War I veterans. Nov. 11 was the day chosen for the celebration and remembrance. It coincided with the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—Nov. 11, 1918, when the armistice was signed, ending the war.

More than 48 million veterans have served the United States since its birth in 1776, and almost half are still alive today, the press release said. One of every 10 people in the country is a veteran.

For more information concerning ORO’s Veteran’s Support Group program, contact Ballard Jackson at the DOE Oak Ridge Office at (865) 241-6137 or jacksonba@oro.doe.gov.

Filed Under: Community, Top Stories Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, Ballard Jackson, DOE, Freddie J. Owens, Oak Ridge Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Veterans Day, Vietnam

AMSE hosts ‘Movies at the Museum’ in November, December

November 3, 2012 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Three movies, including “Jurassic Park” and a docudrama on the Manhattan Project, will be shown free at the American Museum of Science and Energy in November.

The museum will show three more films in December, including the 1998 movie “Godzilla.”

The showings are part of AMSE’s “Movies at the Museum” on Friday nights.

Here is more information on the movies:

Nov. 9—”The Beginning or The End.” This is a 1947 docudrama on the Manhattan Project and creation of the atomic bomb and later bombing of Japan. This movie kicks off “Movies at the Museum.” Many of the people depicted in the film were well-known government figures and scientists who were directly or indirectly involved in producing the atomic bomb during world War II, a press release said. Among those portrayed were U.S. President Harry S. Truman; Gen. Leslie R. Groves, head of the atomic bomb project; and J. Robert Oppenheimer, head of the team of scientists that developed the bomb.
Nov. 16—”Jurassic Park.” This film was produced in 1993 and focuses on an age-old fantasy that becomes a reality as dinosaurs are genetically re-created for the greatest theme park in this adaptation of Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel.
Nov. 30—”King Kong vs. Godzilla.” This is a movie from 1962 about a pharmaceutical company that captures King Kong and brings him to Japan, where he escapes from captivity and battles a recently released Godzilla.
Dec. 7—”The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.” This 1953 film follows a carnivorous dinosaur that resulted from an arctic nuclear test, thawed out, and started making its way down the east coast of North America.
Dec. 14—”Godzilla.” In this 1998 movie, an enormous, radioactively mutated lizard runs rampant on the island of Manhattan.
Dec. 28—”Dinosaur.” This 2000 film is about an orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs that joins an arduous trek to a sanctuary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home.

The press release said “Movies at the Museum” is presented by the AMSE Foundation and several businesses and organizations.

AMSE opens at 5:30 p.m. for the series, and the featured movie starts at 7 p.m. in the AMSE auditorium. For links to the six movie descriptions, reviews and ratings, click on www.amse.org for guidance in age or family-appropriate content.

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.

Filed Under: Movies, Top Stories Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, AMSE, Movies at the Museum