Edward Teller
A photo exhibition that opens next week at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will focus on Manhattan Project scientists who went on to join the United States space program.
The “Race to Space” photo exhibition is hosted by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and Explore Oak Ridge. The month-long exhibit will open Tuesday, August 15, with a reception from 8 to 9 a.m. The photo exhibit is sponsored by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, and Explore Oak Ridge.
It is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s activities that highlight this month’s once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, a press release said.
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike. It is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The images displayed in the photo exhibit highlight some of the scientists who were critical during the Manhattan Project and then went on to work on the ‘space race,'” the press release said. “Competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in spaceflight capability began in the 1940s. The technological advantage required for such supremacy was seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of ideological superiority. The space race spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites; unmanned space probes of the moon, Venus, and Mars; and eventually human landing on the moon. The space race left an enormous legacy of research and development leading to extraordinary spin-off technologies.”
Also this month, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, in cooperation with the American Museum of Science and Energy, is hosting “From Manhattan to the Moon,” a display of a lunar sample that was gathered on the Apollo 15 mission in 1972. The lunar sample will be on display at AMSE from Saturday, August 12, until Tuesday, August 29. The lunar sample is on loan from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will be crossing Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, where the entire area of the park falls within the path of totality. The park will be offering two free viewing locations where park rangers will be distributing free eclipse glasses and free eclipse viewers that include a commemorative artistic rendering of the “All-American” total solar eclipse. Park rangers will also be discussing safe viewing practices and using enhanced viewing equipment to help visitors enjoy all phases of the eclipse. Special Junior Ranger activities will also be available for kids.
Manhattan Project NHP’s solar eclipse viewing locations include:
- American Museum of Science and Energy/Manhattan Project National Historical Park Visitor Center located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.
- East Tennessee Technology Park located at 200 Heritage Center Boulevard in Oak Ridge.
For more information, call Manhattan Project National Historical Park at (865) 576-6767.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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