Oak Ridge Today



 










Museums, national park center closed

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Museums and the national park welcome center in Oak Ridge are closed because of COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has infected more than 200,000 people in at least 144 countries around the world and killed more than 8,000 people.

The museums closed in Oak Ridge are the American Museum of Science and Energy, Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, K-25 History Center, Oak Ridge History Museum at Midtown Community Center (Wildcat Den), and Y-12 History Museum at New Hope Center.

Also closed is the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Welcome Center at the Children’s Museum.

The AMSE bus tours are also not operating now.

[Read more…]

Panhellenic Alumnae Association contributes to flat top exhibit at Children’s Museum

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Beth Shea, left, Children’s Museum executive director, receives a check from Panhellenic Alumnae Association President Joan Vicary to help restore and maintain the original Oak Ridge flat top house at the Museum. (Submitted photo)

 

After hearing plans for an exhibit featuring an original Oak Ridge flat top house, the Oak Ridge Panhellenic Alumnae Association decided to support efforts by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge to restore and maintain the house.

Joan Vicary, Panhellenic Alumnae Association president, recently presented Children’s Museum Executive Director Beth Shea with a check for $1,800 to help complete the exhibit.

“The decision was unanimous that we wanted to support this project,” Vicary said. The association holds fundraisers and selects an Oak Ridge organization to support each year, a press release said. Members of the group visited the flat top on the museum’s grounds, heard plans for the history exhibit, and decided to help with funds raised in 2019, she explained. [Read more…]

Experience world cultures at Children’s Museum International Festival

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Folk dancers representing many cultures around the world will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 29, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home. The festival entertainment will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Februar 29 at the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

Entertainers include the Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers; Spice of India Dancers; Kinetics Wellness Studio, with instructor Katrien Sevrin and students presenting contemporary Egyptian dance; Pasión Flamenca, performing flamenco and Spanish folk dances; the Meriaki Greek Dancers from St. George Greek Orthodox Church; the Tennessee Irish Dancers; Debka and the Oasis Dancers; National Martial Arts, demonstrating martial arts with audience participation; and the Asian Culture Center of Tennessee, along with the University of Tennessee Japanese Program. [Read more…]

Learn about women in the Manhattan Project on Dec. 21

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Close up of welding in prefabrication shop 1944 (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

What was life like for women and women scientists during World War II and the Manhattan Project?

You can join National Park Service staff on Saturday, December 21, as they discuss the social changes that occurred during World War II and how that affected women in the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during the war, and it included Oak Ridge.

The December 21 program is free to the public, but if you would like to explore the Children’s Museum, you will need to pay admission at the front desk. The Children’s Museum is located at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Children’s Museum benefit to feature anthropologist Bill Bass, radio’s Frank Murphy

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Frank Murphy, left, and Dr. Bill Bass will appear together at a fundraiser on Sept. 28, 2019, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Dr. William “Bill” Bass, founder of the “Body Farm” at the University of Tennessee, and radio personality Frank Murphy have appeared together many times since Murphy began interviewing the renowned forensic anthropologist each time a new Jefferson Bass novel was published.

“I’ve worked on four different radio stations in Knoxville and have interviewed him on all four,” said Murphy, afternoon show host on Classic Hits 93.1 WNOX.

Bass and Murphy will appear together again on Saturday, September 28, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge as Bass discusses the science behind the Jefferson Bass novel “Bones of Betrayal,” a collaboration between Bass and co-author Jon Jefferson. Set in Oak Ridge, the novel explores the murder of a physicist, involved in the Manhattan Project race to build the bomb, whose body is discovered in a frozen swimming pool.

Bass will speak at 7 p.m., and Murphy will emcee the benefit presentation hosted by the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive. An earlier VIP reception begins at 5:45 p.m. Food may be purchased from Lanai Food Truck and Razzleberry’s Café, and beverages, including beer, wine, water, and soda, may also be purchased. Doors open at 5:30pm. [Read more…]

Arts Council asks for help funding arts, music, ballet

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The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is asking for your help funding arts, music, ballet, and other organizations.

The Arts Council organizes the United Arts Fund Drive. That helps member organizations that include Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, Oak Ridge Civic Ballet, Oak Ridge Arts Center, Oak Ridge Community Band, Oak Ridge Philharmonia, and Music Arts.

There are also two affiliate organizations, Tennessee Mountain Writters and Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The funds raised through the United Arts Fund Drive go directly to the member organizations you designate, a press release said.

“It is through your support that these organizations can continue to grow and thrive,” the release said.

[Read more…]

Forensic anthropologist Bill Bass, founder of ‘Body Farm,’ to speak at Children’s Museum

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Bill Bass

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will host a benefit presentation this fall by William “Bill” Bass, author, renowned forensic anthropologist, and founder of the “Body Farm,” the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee.

Bass will speak at 7 p.m. Saturday, September 28, at the Museum, discussing the science behind the novel “Bones of Betrayal,” set in Oak Ridge, and answering questions from the audience. Frank Murphy, host of the afternoon show on Classic Hits 93.1 WNOX, will serve as emcee at the event.

The novel by Jefferson Bass, a collaboration between Bass and co-author Jon Jefferson, is a murder mystery set in Oak Ridge featuring a forensic anthropologist searching for clues to the death of a prominent scientist, a press release said. [Read more…]

Learn more about ‘Secret City,’ Manhattan Project during bus tours in August

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The X-10 Graphite Reactor with workers. (U.S. Department of Energy)

Two new bus tours offered in Oak Ridge in August will allow you to learn more about the unique heritage of the Manhattan Project, a press release said. The bus tours are the “Secret City” and “Oak Ridge Museums” tours.

The “Secret City” tour will be led by a National Park Service ranger, last three hours, and include that day’s admission to the American Museum of Science and Energy.

“During the Manhattan Project, a community was created almost overnight to accomplish the monumental task of producing enriched uranium on a large scale,” the press release said. “During the tour, visitors can develop an understanding of what life was like during World War II in a city behind a fence that no one was supposed to discuss. The tour will also include a visit to the X-10 Graphite Reactor, a National Historic Landmark, and the world’s first nuclear reactor designed and built for continuous operation.”

[Read more…]

Imagination Station Summer Camps begin June 10 at Children’s Museum

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Children enjoy Wizarding World summer camp at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge in 2018. (Submitted photo)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge invites children to explore a rainforest, become CSI investigators, combine art with poetry, make sweets in the kitchen, launch model rockets, and ride the rails, among other adventures, during Imagination Station Summer Camps.

Summer camps, from June 10-July 26, are for children from age 3 through rising fifth-graders. The Children’s Museum’s enriching environment provides the backdrop as an experienced staff helps campers learn and grow through play in fun and safe surroundings. Each camp is created with age-appropriate activities aligned with the child’s developmental stage.

The fee for Monday-Friday half-day camps is $115 for members and $135 for non-members. A discount is available if two siblings register for camp during the same week or if a child registers for two half-day camps in the same week. A limited number of scholarships for camp are available, thanks to a grant from the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. Download the scholarship application from the museum’s website. [Read more…]

Larry Burkholder receives Children’s Museum Friend of the Child Award

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Ronnie Bogard presents Larry Burkholder with the Children’s Museum Friend of the Child Award. (Submitted photo)

As a volunteer and advocate for the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, Larry Burkholder has always been willing to do whatever hard work needs to be done.

As a member of Knoxville Area Model Railroaders (KAMR), he has developed a mutually beneficial relationship between the railroaders and the Museum, and his hard work and perseverance has continued for years, according to Ronnie Bogard.

“Larry spearheaded the work renovating what was the former preschool area (of the Museum) for the KAMR club rooms; he helped set up the World of Trains exhibit; and he coordinated with Mark Fuhrman on the outdoor train garden,” explained Bogard, in presenting Burkholder recently with the Selma Shapiro Friend of the Child Award for 2019. [Read more…]

‘Before the Secret’ photo exhibit opens Thursday at Children’s Museum

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J. Nash Copeland Store 1939 74-220 County Store Oak Ridge Tennessee (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

J. Nash Copeland Store 1939 74-220 County Store Oak Ridge Tennessee (Photo submitted by National Park Service)

 

A new photography exhibit, “Before the Secret,” will open Thursday, February 14, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The exhibition will be in the Imagination Gallery. It will focus on life in the Oak Ridge area before the Manhattan Project, a press release said. The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will be offering free admission on Valentine’s Day to celebrate the opening day of the photography exhibition, the release said.

The photographs that are being displayed were taken between 1938 and 1943, right before the buildout of Clinton Engineer Works and what would become the town of Oak Ridge, the press release said. [Read more…]

International entertainers, food & crafts at Children’s Museum on Feb. 23

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Spice of India dancers will perform traditional Indian dances on Feb. 23, 2019, at the Children’s Museum International Festival. (Photo by Rob Welton)

Spice of India dancers will perform traditional Indian dances on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019, at the Children’s Museum International Festival. (Photo by Rob Welton)

 

The Oak Ridge International Folk Dancers will join entertainers representing cultures around the world when the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge hosts its annual International Festival on Saturday, February 23.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from many countries, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home, a press release said. The festival entertainment will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. February 23 at the Children’s Museum at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

Crafts that children may make and take include crocodile masks, an Egyptian necklace, and a French flag, the press release said. They may also learn about collecting international postage stamps and take their own passport around the festival booths to have it stamped and get a prize. [Read more…]

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