National Museum Of Nuclear Science & History

First time to New Mexico and I went here as soon as I got off the plane. This place is AWESOME!!! If you love planes, missiles and nuclear bombs (what guy doesn’t) you will love his place. Very friendly staff and amazing artifacts to see and Learn about. It’s only 12 bucks to get in, so don’t be lame. Go and learn something and see some truly historical things that changed history as we know. Also their is a kids section that’s cool even for a 27 year old married guy.

I’m no nuclear scientist, and I don’t play one on TV. I’m a plane nut and avidly interested in aviation history.
The Heritage Park (outdoor) section of this museum is what really grabbed me. Yes, there are some unique non-​aviation displays here, not the least of which is Annie. As in Atomic Annie, the awesome, massive 280 mm nuclear cannon. Plus, a few rounds, or at least replicas. And where else can you find just the sail of a nuclear sub?
The manned aircraft displayed are are well done, but not terribly noteworthy, although it’s very nice to see a B-​29, B-​47, and B-​52 in the same collection, three examples of bomber design and progress. The B-​52 displayed is a pointy-​tail ‘B’ model, an interim and long-​retired variant.
What merits this museum a Five Star rating is its mind-​blowing and quite comprehensive collection of missiles, both ballistic and cruise. Missiles I’ve only seen in pictures are here: Bomarc, Honest John, Mace, Matador, and the sleek Snark, all ground-​launched cruise missiles, predecessors of the famous Tomahawk. And the Hound Dog, an air-​launched (from a B-​52) ground attack missile.
You want to see ballistic missiles? This museum has them: Thor, Titan II, Jupiter, Peacekeeper and Polaris. You won’t find this type of display in many other places, if any. The missiles are what make this museum so interesting. Well, there’s the atomic cannon, too. Oh, and a Nike Hercules anti-​aircraft missile and launcher display, as well. There are many other lesser exhibits, too.
This museum is well worth a visit to Albuquerque, if only for the Heritage Park displays. I’m sure many others will find the indoor displays and information quite interesting, as well. This is a great museum, that’s for sure.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail in this museum. It is laid out in an chronological manner to take you through the beginnings of nuclear science through the applications in engineering and weapons. I appreciated the dedicated information to Los Alamos, much of which I had not heard before. Will definitely be bringing visitors here in the future!

4 stars because I learned a lot about the development of the nuclear bomb in New Mexico and it provided a lot of interesting context around the evolution of the nuclear program in the United States. New Mexico is home to Los Alamos, the Trinity Test Site, White Sands Missile Range, and many other important aspects of the American Nuclear program. If you are looking to augment your trip to Albuquerque with some important nuclear understanding, this museum is definitely worth a stop.
That being said, I was extremely unimpressed by the lack of perspective offered by the museum. It failed to go into much detail about the negative aspects of the decision to drop the bomb. Nestled into the descriptions were details about the death tolls, but there were more pictures of Holocaust victims and American prisoners of war than images of those whose lives were ruined by the fallout. I didn’t see any mention of black rain.
The Cold War was similarly one sided. What about all of the crazy things that happened on the Soviet side in terms of development? And nuclear energy. Shouldn’t there be an exhibit explaining the problems that lead to disasters such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima? I understand the desire to stay away from the «negative,» but that hardly seems logical when dealing with such crucial issue.
I did learn a LOT from my visit. It was particularly incredible to learn about broken arrows. Additionally, the resources available about the Manhattan Project, decision to drop the bomb, and impact of nuclear energy on American culture were fabulous. However, I think the museum needs to do a bit more work before it can be trusted as the authority on all things nuclear.

This is a lovely place in ABQ! My husband and I really enjoyed learning about the Manhattan Project, and other nuclear projects throughout history in the US. Our favorite part was the teenagers showing off science projects/​experiments in their lobby. Kids and families were gathered in circles to listen and participate! As a teacher, this made my heart happy that learnign was so engaging here!

An excellent collection of all things nuclear. The staff was more than helpful on answering questions.
They have information on the history of nuclear weapons and the political issues of the times. There is also displays of energy sources and nuclear medicine.

Really really AWESOME. Lots of airplanes, incredible information and exhibits, and hands-​on activities. There really isn’t anything that I can say to expand on what everyone has already said on Unilocal.I especially enjoyed all the info about Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project.

Well worth a visit to know a little more than just the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many docents around to ask questions. Fun stuff for kids. Planes and other things to kill people with out back. My pet peeve about these kinds of exhibits is that if you show what was done and why it was done, you should show what it did to the people there. But just a personal quibble. The museum is much more than that. Highly recommended

What a cool little museum. My father-​in-​law is a nuclear engineer and had been wanting to take us here for quite some time.
We didn’t have to pay for admission because my in-​laws are members. It was nice to see how excited my dad was and to see the history.
The gift shop has a variety of t-​shirts and other miscellaneous items. We each chose a shirt to remember our experience.

This is a great place for science and history enthusiasts. It might be a little much for a kid younger than 12 to digest, but they have great displays. Lots of reading, so clean those glasses. They have great stories that stick with you and a cute gift shop. The outside displays are amazing. I’d highly recommend it.
Look for local coupons, we used a $ 1 off one from the city.
The museum is a little outside of the center of town. If you’re there over lunch, there is a Jimmy Johns and Costco in walking distance, but that’s it.

Another great place to go if you’re a person who’s into airplanes. A lovely outdoor field full of ‘em.
There’s also a great deal of displays inside the museum, spanning many eras of nuclear history. I wish they had a bit more on the nuclear fallouts in Japan and elsewhere, because without a little more nuclear-​shaming, the museum makes it seem like there wasn’t a lot of negative consequences to the atom bomb.
Many of the displays are interactive, and I especially appreciated the naïve pro-​nuclear items (a three mile island lamp?).

If you can’t go to DC, Houston, or Florida, this would be the last resort. Better displays at the various military bases throughout the country. Admission is on the high side compared to similar facilities. Gift shop is very overpriced.

I like going here and seeing whatever extra exhibit is around. The staff are always friendly and seem glad to see us. Good spread of items to explain the nuances of nuclear history and science as seen from a USA perspective.
Don’t go expecting to see it from the perspective of any other country, though, just a good thing to go with in mind.
I was a little sad to see the peace cranes and the book missing this go around. That always made me feel a little better about things I won’t get into in this review. But it was a sad thing that it wasn’t there.
The code breaking machine was there, though and that was neat. Also, fun to set off the Geiger counter if you just got any nuclear medicine treatment recently. I had a CT and a HIDA within a week of one another and came the same day as the HIDA scan and set it off like crazy. That was sort of awesome.
I was glad to see the new paint job on the planes as I’d helped donate to the cause of repainting a piece of our history — clouded as it may be, it is still history. Pleased to see i was restored and gorgeous.

Came for a quick visit. My 9 year old son loved every exhibit. A couple of them weren’t working but so many others were. Quite interesting the one that shows all the daily use products that use radiation, that was actually scary. My son specially liked the atomic bomb echibit and tge Nano technology. Wish we had more time.

I think its worth visiting the nuclear museum if you’re here in town or if you are local. Educational fun lots of history. The staff are super friendly from the guides to the gift shop and ticket seller. I did however write the manager about my great experience there and got no response. I just never understand the lack of old fashioned values and customer service, especially when those who make the least at this museum provide the best service

Fantastic science museum! Highly recommended. This museum chronicles the history of nuclear science from the bomb all the way to today’s technology. Very well put together and a fun place to take part in all the science activities. Great for kids as they have a section just for young people as well.

This was the first museum I visited while in Albuquerque. My second day there, to be precise. First thing I did that morning, I got in my rented vehicle, set the GPS, and, I was on my way.
I was staying at the Travelodge on University/​Midtown. From there to this museum, using I-​40 as the main route, I think it’s safe to say, it took me about 10 minutes to arrive at the Starbucks just down the street from the museum during «rush hour?» I put «rush hour» within quotation marks because I find «rush hour» in Albuquerque hilarious. Folks, that’s not really a rush hour. But, I rest my case.
Once you pass the Starbucks, before you know it, in the distance on Eubank Blvd, you will clearly see an erect large rocket with USA labeled on it to the right. Then, when you’re exactly in front of the museum, you will see some huge military airplanes in the yard. Pretty much, they stand-​out.
I paid $ 12.00 admission to enter this museum. More than what I was expecting to pay but it was well worth it. So much information in here. Information that I myself didn’t know.
All in all, I’m glad this was one of my stops while visiting Albuquerque.
Things to note and blah, blah, blahs:
* Parking — there is plenty here.
* Not exactly in the touristy part of town, but, easily accessible using I-​40.
* Ask questions — At least when I was here, there were two greeters sitting at the entrance. They will be happy to answer any of your questions.
* Like the other museums I visited while in Albuquerque, there were school children here during my visit. LOTS of them actually. If you come with your children, there are plenty of interactive displays for them to play with and, for adults, too.
* Gift Shop — Ok, I’m going to say something in this Unilocal you won’t hear me say in the others. This gift shop is on the pricy side of things. Cool things for sale that you won’t find anywhere else in Albuquerque, though. Just make sure you don’t walk in there with a spoiled child. While I was there, there was that one kid arguing with his mother about the Einstein solar powered dancing doll. I bought some things for myself while there.

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History is a very cool collection of modern American history. Great place for kids, nerds, geeks, history enthusiasts, sciencey types, and everyone else!
There is a tremendous amount of ‘hands on’ learning activities. Exhibit areas include all aspects of energy creation and its history, nano concepts, atomic structure, propaganda history, medical progress, WW2 artifacts, cold war artifacts, and so much more!
Parking is easy and free out front. Restrooms are spotless. Docents are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.
Pro Tip: Don’t wear sandals or flip flops if you plan to go out back and view the large artifacts out back. Tell your kids not to run, really. Also, unless your wheels are gigantic I can’t imagine a stroller out there. The gravel ranges in size from rough pea and sand to golf ball sized and is unpleasant in open footwear. It is a very large area to walk around and there are no paved sidewalks to guide you.
Everyone in our party had a great time and learned a lot too. I would highly recommend this museum for an outing!

The parts of the museum that are complete are very well done. It is kind of sad to see the disrepair of the unrestored vehicles outside in back. They are trying to raise money to restore these amazing pieces of history. Inside you will find some very cool artifacts and exhibits as well as a couple of videos. Many of the hands on exhibits were broken or not working correctly, in fact, I would say at least half were not working. The facility was clean and the volunteers were friendly. They have a great little gift shop too. I definitely learned a lot about our country’s nuclear history by the time I left.

I have recently begun learning about nuclear science and this museum did a great job combining the historical, scientific, and applications of nuclear science (nuclear energy/​medicine/​weapons). There was so much information, it was actually a bit overwhelming!
While the historical aspect of the museum was clearly laid out in an interesting way, what I really enjoyed was the scale models of fat boy, little man, and the ‘gadget’. As well as the outdoor planes and missiles display.
I also enjoyed the video presentation from the history channel. It was informative, providing really great background on the science behind nuclear weapons as well as the moral dilemma faced by all involved. It is amazing that they were able to interview those actually involved in the Manhattan Project and the pilot of the Enola Gay.
I could have spent the whole day going through everything, learning about the history and the science!