Oak Ridge Today

AMSE celebrates 70 years

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Image courtesy American Museum of Science and Energy

Image courtesy American Museum of Science and Energy

 

The American Museum of Science and Energy is celebrating 70 years. As part of the celebration, there are three events scheduled next week, on March 19 and March 23, at AMSE and Oak Ridge History Museum.

It’s being called a platinum anniversary celebration of science, ingenuity, and the catalyst of the Atomic Age.

“As an anchor of the community, AMSE is proud to celebrate a city that once only existed a vision,” a press release said. “The footprint of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, will forever be etched into history as one of the foundations of the Manhattan Project. Seventy years ago, steps were taken to preserve that vision and recognize how the world was changed by the ‘Secret City.’ The museum tells the story about how and why people learned to split the atom. On March 19, 1949, the city’s gates and the nation’s first atomic energy museum, named the American Museum of Atomic Energy, were opened to the public for the first time. [Read more…]

Flat top house to move to Children’s Museum on Tuesday

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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. 16, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The flat top house move from the American Museum of Science and Energy to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 16. The move was delayed earlier this month due to heavy rains.

The move is expected to begin at AMSE about 9:45 a.m. and continue along Illinois Avenue about 10 a.m. Tuesday. Residents along West Outer Drive from Illinois Avenue to the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive have been notified of the move date and are asked to move cars from the street on Tuesday, a press release said.

The Children’s Museum offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE, which is re-opening in its new location in Main Street Oak Ridge, announced its move. AMSE’s new location doesn’t have space to keep the flat top as an exhibit, the press release said. The Children’s Museum does have room on its property southeast of the museum building. [Read more…]

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…]

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…]

Heritage tourism expert to speak at AMSE community meeting Thursday

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Lee Waddell Curtis

Lee Waddell Curtis

The last in a series of four community meetings on the American Museum of Science and Energy will feature a state heritage tourism expert.

Lee Waddell Curtis, director of program development and legislative liaison for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, will discuss the growth and significance of heritage tourism in Tennessee during a Thursday evening meeting at AMSE.

The community meetings have been sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. They are designed to gather input on the future of AMSE operations.

A press release said Curtis has an extensive background in cultural and heritage tourism, and her responsibilities include overseeing and developing the Tennessee Civil War Trails program and serving as the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development’s heritage tourism contact. In addition, she represents the department on several national and statewide organizations, and served as a board member of the state’s Sesquicentennial Commission. [Read more…]

Presidential museum, Baker Center director featured at AMSE meeting Thursday

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Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe, director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, will be the featured speaker this week in the third of a series of community meetings on the future of the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The community meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, October 9, at AMSE.

Lowe was previously founding director of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Thursday’s meeting has been organized by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. Lowe’s presentation is titled “The Path Forward for AMSE: Lessons Learned from a Life in Museums.” [Read more…]

Presidential museum, heritage tourism experts to be featured in AMSE meetings

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Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe

The director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas will be featured in a community meeting in October on the future of the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

During that Thursday, October 9 meeting, Alan Lowe will discuss the process of developing and managing facilities that function as both research libraries and historical museum attractions, a press release said.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located inside the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In his role as director, Lowe oversees millions of presidential records as well as exhibits related to the important issues and events of the Bush Administration, a press release said. [Read more…]

Guest column: City manager urges citizen engagement in key decisions

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

Many projects are happening in Oak Ridge at the present time. Our city does not slow down and is affected by issues at the state, federal, and local levels.

As your city manager, I am concentrating on matters such as the implementation of EPA sewer requirements on a tight timeframe, creation of a national park, development of a new mall, and installation of a new dispatch center.

Among its many other decisions, Oak Ridge will be facing a pair of major initiatives which particularly important for our community. The American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE), owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory contractor UT-Battelle, is under new leadership as veteran museum director David Moore takes the helm. With this change, the DOE knows that the long-term viability of a museum is dependent upon local and regional involvement.

Recently, the AMSE Foundation and the City of Oak Ridge have been co-hosting a series of community meetings about AMSE to discuss options for developing a new operating model for the museum. Two of four public discussions have been held about this topic.

Last week, we heard from the directors of the MUSE in Knoxville, the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, and the new Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol to hear how today’s museums remain current and relevant to their visitors. Turnout for the first two meetings has been very encouraging; the next public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, from 6-8 p.m., when heritage tourism will be discussed. [Read more…]

Second meeting on AMSE features regional museum executives

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The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

 

The second in a series of community meetings on the American Museum of Science and Energy will feature executives from regional museums and attractions. They will discuss how their museums were established and developed, and how each is currently managed and operated.

The executives who are participating are:

  • John Joslyn, owner/operator of The Titanic Museums in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri;
  • Leah Ross, executive director of Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Association in Bristol, Virginia, and Tennessee; and
  • Ellie Kittrell, executive director of The MUSE Knoxville (formerly The Discovery Center).

The community meeting is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. It’s scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 19, at AMSE. [Read more…]

Community considers future of AMSE as Congress debates Manhattan Project park

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David Moore and Mark Watson

During Thursday’s community meeting at AMSE, David Moore, left, said a few words about his background after being introduced by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, right. (Photos by Sara Wise)

 

The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation teamed up with the City of Oak Ridge on Thursday to host the first of four community meetings meant to allow the community to have some input into the future of the museum, and how it might fit into the proposed Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

The first meeting was at the museum on Thursday night. It began with presentations that focused on providing information to help audience members make informed suggestions about the museum.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Communication Director David Keim was among those who made presentations. He said that the museum attracted 71,500 visitors in 2013 and received $1.6 million in federal funding.

Keim explained why AMSE’s contract with Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. was allowed to run out June 30. [Read more…]

City, AMSE Foundation have community meeting on museum Thursday

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AMSE Sign

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

The City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation are sponsoring a community meeting on Thursday that will include discussions of ways to strengthen the museum as a community and regional asset and destination attraction.

The meeting will also include an information session on current museum operations and the role of the AMSE Foundation. New AMSE Director David Moore will be at the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the museum, which is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. Registration and light refreshments will be available beginning at 5:30 p.m., a press release said.

In a press release, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said it’s the right time to get the community involved in a dialogue about the museum. [Read more…]