Children's Museum of Oak Ridge Archives

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

Posted at 10:57 pm July 12, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

oakridge_graphite-reactor_mainpg_1_1 — 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

Posted at 2:39 pm June 9, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 6:01 pm April 22, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 8:35 pm February 11, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 2:13 pm February 11, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

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…]

Manhattan Project Park staff back at work after government shutdown ends

Posted at 2:08 pm January 28, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The partial government shutdown that started three weeks ago has affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge. There are no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, as pictured above on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The partial government shutdown that started Dec. 22, 2018, and ended with a temporary spending measure approved Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge. During the shutdown, there were no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, as pictured above on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Federal employees of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, are back at work after the partial government shutdown ended Friday.

The shutdown started Saturday, December 22, and it lasted 35 days. It was the longest government shutdown ever.

During the shutdown, there were no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. The National Park Service did not monitor or update social media and websites during the shutdown, and it did not provide visitor services at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, including public information. Also, all park programs were canceled.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park said its staff resumed regular operations on Sunday after Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed a short-term continuing resolution that re-opened the government for three weeks. [Read more…]

Government shutdown affects National Park Service in Oak Ridge

Posted at 7:59 pm January 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The partial government shutdown that started three weeks ago has affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge. There are no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, as pictured above on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The partial government shutdown that started three weeks ago has affected the National Park Service in Oak Ridge.

There are no National Park Service staff members or volunteers working at the Park Service desk at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The Park Service left maps and brochures for visitors to pick up at the museum, but there is no one there to give a certain type of stamp that visitors can use to log visits to national parks.

A sign on the National Park Service desk on Friday said “Closed until further notice,” with a simple sketch of a frowning face underneath it.

Oak Ridge is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Established about three years ago, the park commemorates the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Besides Oak Ridge, the park includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. [Read more…]

NOAA building in Oak Ridge closed due to government shutdown

Posted at 3:29 pm January 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The NOAA building on South Illinois Avenue, shown above on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, has a sign posted on the front door announcing that it is closed due to the partial shutdown of the federal government. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building in Oak Ridge is closed due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, which is now three weeks old and approaching a record length.

NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is one of nine cabinet-level departments affected by the partial government shutdown. The shutdown, which mostly hinges on a dispute between President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress over whether to allocate $5.7 billion in funding for a wall on the border with Mexico, also affects the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the federal judiciary, and other related government programs.

About 380,000 workers were to be sent home and not be paid for their time off during the shutdown, the New York Times reported. Another 420,000 deemed too essential to be furloughed are being forced to work without pay, the newspaper said. After past shutdowns, such workers have been reimbursed later.

It wasn’t immediately clear Friday afternoon how many NOAA workers in Oak Ridge, part of an air research laboratory that has a division here, have been furloughed and how many, if any, are being forced to work without pay. A sign posted on the front door announced that the building is closed due to the shutdown. [Read more…]

Knoxville TV stations offer unique experiences for Children’s Museum Gala Auction

Posted at 3:56 pm November 29, 2018
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Frank Murpjy, of WNOX radio, will emcee the Children’s Museum Gala Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Submitted photo)

Celebrate Oak Ridge’s 75th birthday at Children’s Museum Gala

Knoxville’s three local TV stations are offering opportunities to shadow a meteorologist, be a news anchor in a mock news cast, and tour a haunted mansion, as auction experiences up for bid during a Gala on Friday at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The Children’s Museum is hosting its 17th annual Gala, a museum benefit with the theme “Oak Ridge at 75: A Night of Nostalgia,” at 6 p.m. Friday at the Museum, 461 West Outer Drive.

Guests will have a chance to bid on an exclusive offer to shadow WBIR-TV Todd Howell, the station’s chief meteorologist since 1996, for a day.

At WVLT-TV, after a station tour and catered lunch with news anchors Ted Hall or Amanda Hara, or both, the winning bidder will read actual news scripts on the news set with anchors during a mock news cast that will be recorded and sent to the winner. [Read more…]

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

Posted at 9:47 am October 16, 2018
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 1:25 pm October 2, 2018
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

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

Posted at 12:39 pm September 11, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]