Learn about volunteering in the Manhattan Project National Park on Thursday

 

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center on Thursday.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park-Oak Ridge will host a volunteer opportunities information session starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. It’s scheduled to last until 12 p.m.

The new park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, was formally established on November 10, 2015, in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony featured U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

The Midtown Community Center is at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

“Be a part of the excitement and join in the effort to implement our National Park!” organizers said.

If you’re interested in being a volunteer, you can attend the Thursday meeting to learn more or contact Effie Houston at (423) 569-9778 or Effie_Houston@nps.gov.

The new park includes four buildings in Oak Ridge: the Graphite Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the footprint of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park, and Building 9731 and Building 9204-3, or Beta-3, at Y-12 National Security Complex. The Alexander Inn, which is not a U.S. Department of Energy building, is also eligible for inclusion.

Learn more about the Manhattan Project National Historical Park here. It’s the nation’s 409th park and the first major federal effort to commemorate the Manhattan Project, considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century.

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