Oak Ridge Today

Rain delays flat top house move to Children’s Museum

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The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade was scheduled to be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, but the move has been postponed. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Moving the historic flat top house from the American Museum of Science and Energy to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, October 2), but the move has been postponed because of delays in site preparation due to recent heavy rains, a press release said.

The move will be rescheduled for later this month, according to Beth Shea, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. Residents along West Outer Drive from the Museum to Illinois Avenue will be notified of the move date and asked to move cars from the street on the day of the move, the press release said.

The Children’s Museum offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE, now closed temporarily as the museum moves to Main Street Oak Ridge, announced its move. Its new location doesn’t have space to keep the flat top as an exhibit. The Children’s Museum does have room on its property southeast of the museum building at 461 West Outer Drive, the press release said. [Read more…]

Historic flat top house moving from AMSE to Children’s Museum

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The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on October 2, project officials said Monday.

The Children’s Museum kicked off a Go Fund Me campaign for the project on Monday, inviting the community to help raise $25,000 to support the move and preserve and maintain the flat top.

The Children’s Museum said it offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE announced that it is moving to Main Street Oak Ridge. The former AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue, which had been used for about four decades, closed in late July. The new AMSE location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, is expected to open in October. There isn’t enough space to keep the flat top as an exhibit at the new AMSE, a press release said.

But the Children’s Museum does have room for the flat top on its property, the press release said. The flat top will be southeast of the museum building, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in north Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Flat top house at AMSE is moving to new location

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The flat top house at the American Museum of Science and Energy is moving from its current location on South Tulane Avenue.

The new location hasn’t been announced yet, although an announcement about the move will be made Monday by representatives of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue has been used for more than 40 years. But it closed in late July because the museum is moving to a new location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The new AMSE will be near JCPenney on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge. It is scheduled to open in October. [Read more…]

Items from AMSE on Tulane will be for sale

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Items from the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue will be available for sale from September 6-8.

That museum location closed in July as officials move the museum to a renovated building at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The new museum is expected to open in October.

The public property sale in September was announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Energy Integrated Support Center—Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. The sale will take place September 6-8 at 300 South Tulane Avenue, the AMSE facility on Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers open, more businesses planned

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Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers was open, as pictured above on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues as part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers was open, as pictured above on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues as part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is open at South Illinois and South Tulane avenues, and more businesses are planned at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

So far, Main Street Oak Ridge features a dozen new businesses—including retail stores, a restaurant, and a hotel—and the relocated American Museum of Science and Energy near JCPenney, an anchor store at the northeast side of the mall.

Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, which opened Tuesday in a building that will include another business, was busy Tuesday afternoon, with a parking lot that was mostly full, a drive-through line that wrapped around two sides of the building, and a customer line that stretched from the counter inside to the door. The restaurant has been getting good reviews online.

Plans for the new restaurant were announced in May 2017, and construction was under way at the 1.4-acre site, which is next to the rebuilt Taco Bell restaurant on South Illinois Avenue, in January. [Read more…]

New AMSE has grand opening in October

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The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The last location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue closed at the end of July, and the museum will re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in October, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The new American Museum of Science and Energy at Main Street Oak Ridge will have a grand opening ceremony on October 18, officials said Friday.

The ceremony will welcome visitors to the new location on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge, near JCPenney. The new 18,000-square-foot space will include a newly designed exhibit gallery featuring state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and hands-on activities, as well as a lecture hall and classroom facilities, a press release said.

“AMSE is planning a multi-phase opening to ensure a smooth transition and quality experience for museum staff, stakeholders, and the public,” the press release said.

On October 1, AMSE will open to the public on a limited schedule, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed on weekends). This will lead up to AMSE’s grand opening event on October 18, the press release said. [Read more…]

DOE bus tour to start at New Hope Center during AMSE move

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DOE Public Bus Tour

A U.S. Department of Energy public bus tour in August 2012. (File DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Members of the public who want to take the U.S. Department of Energy Facilities Public Bus Tour will need to go to the New Hope Center to register starting Monday, July 30.

The New Hope Center is at 602 Scarboro Road at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“The American Museum of Science and Energy located at 300 South Tulane Avenue will close its doors for the last time at the close of business on Sunday, July 29, to prepare to move to its new location at 115 Main Street East, which will open this fall,” a press release said. “During the move, bus tour registration will take place at the Y-12 New Hope Center.”

Bus tour registration is offered two ways: 1) online at www.amse.org or 2) walk-in registration the day of the tour with seating first come, first served. [Read more…]

Site work starts for Tire Discounters in front of AMSE

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Site work is pictured above on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, on the lot where a Tire Discounters will be built along South Illinois Avenue in front of the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Site work is pictured above on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, on the lot where a Tire Discounters will be built along South Illinois Avenue in front of the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Site work was under way last week for a Tire Discounters on property south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, the first development on any part of the museum site.

There could be other developments later on the southern 7.4 acres of the 19-acre museum site, possibly including a grocery or retail store of about 55,000 square feet and retail or restaurant space. (See here and here.)

The Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved a rezoning for the 7.4 acres, which will include the Tire Discounters store, in November.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved a final master plan for a planned unit development on the property during a special meeting in March. The final master plan was subject to certain conditions. Among them were one requirement to submit a new or revised traffic impact study when the site plan for the grocery store or large “box” store is submitted and one to install sidewalks on the northern boundary of the property. [Read more…]

AMSE director named

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AMSE Sign

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (File photo by Sara Wise)

 

Julia Bussinger has been named director of the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, effective July 16. As director, Bussinger will be responsible for supervising staff and managing the daily operations of AMSE, a press release said.

The museum is moving soon from its current location on South Tulane Avenue to a new home in renovated space near JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The new facility is expected to open this fall, and the current location will close July 29.

“We welcome Julia to Oak Ridge and are extremely pleased to have someone of her caliber to oversee the day-to-day operations of the AMSE,” said Ken Tarcza, manager of the Integrated Support Center—Oak Ridge for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Bussinger has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Sofia University in Bulgaria, a master’s degree in philosophy in conservation, and a doctorate in conservation from Gothenburg University in Sweden. She also has significant experience managing a variety of museums and has managed multiple projects and collaborations with businesses and community organizations, the press release said. [Read more…]

AMSE: Current museum could close this month, with new home open this fall

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The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said. The new location is pictured above under construction on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The current location of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue could close at the end of July, and the museum could re-open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge in the early fall, officials said.

In the meantime, the museum might not be open a month or two as exhibits are moved, said Ken Tarcza, manager of the Oak Ridge Office for the U.S. Department of Energy. But DOE bus tours will continue, Tarcza said at a meeting to give an update about the AMSE project at Oak Ridge High School on June 14. Some specifics of the transition haven’t been worked out yet.

Tarcza said the new 18,000-square-foot museum will feature state-of-the-art interactive exhibits and hands-on activities. It will be in renovated space on the north side of Main Street Oak Ridge near JCPenney. Besides exhibits and activities, the new museum will also have a lecture hall and two classrooms.

There will be four major categories featured in the museum, Tarcza said: energy leadership, “big science,” national security, and environmental restoration. Many of the exhibits at the current AMSE need to be refreshed, and the majority of the exhibits at the new location will have a brand-new design, Tarcza said. [Read more…]

Learn more about new AMSE on Thursday

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Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

 

You can learn more about the new American Museum of Science and Energy this evening (Thursday, June 14).

The “Informational Night” will be hosted from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Oak Ridge High School by the U.S. Department of Energy in conjunction with its partners, the AMSE Foundation and the City of Oak Ridge, a press release said. The public is invited.

The session is intended to brief the local community about the progress made on the new AMSE facility and showcase the layout and design of the exhibits, the press release said. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park premieres Minuteman missile film on Saturday

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The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will have a special premiere showing of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site film, "Beneath the Plains," in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will have a special premiere showing of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site film, “Beneath the Plains,” in Oak Ridge on Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Submitted photo)

 

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will have a special premiere showing of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site film, “Beneath the Plains,” in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The film showing is scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday at the American Museum of Science and Energy, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The 30-minute film gives visitors a glimpse of how 1,000 missiles were kept on constant alert, a press release said.

“Hidden in plain sight during the Cold War, these nuclear weapons stood as a deterrent against a nuclear attack to the United States and its allies,” the press release said. [Read more…]