Yesterday, @hobotang and I took a Wednesday Walk through the historic American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN.

We lived in Oak Ridge for nine months when we first moved to Tennessee and I became mildly obsessed with Oak Ridge history. For those unfamiliar with Oak Ridge but even slightly familiar with WWII, Oak Ridge was the Secret City, formed specifically for military purposes. 75,000 people came to Oak Ridge in the span of just a few years and almost all were completely unaware that the work they were doing (and sworn to keep secret) was enriching uranium for the atomic bombs that would decimate Japan and ultimately end WWII.

Regardless of the humanitarian opinion of what happened here (and why), the history stands that Oak Ridge has been and will probably be for years to come, a hub of science and energy.

This museum will close its doors on July 29, 2018, after losing tremendous funding and being downsized to a fraction of its current existence.

I couldn't stand to miss this slice of Oak Ridge history, so I convinced @hobotang to spend our morning off together visiting this museum. And, what a slice of history it was.

This is the actual first photo taken on a trip to the museum.

I still laugh when I see this image. It's sad to think that the original Oak Ridgers lived in a near dystopian land, walking around with their ID badges pinned to their shirts, checking their validity at checkpoints throughout their cities, living in trailers and shitty apartments and working on a project they knew absolutely nothing about. This caricature represents the actual ID card template that individuals wore, and @hobotang's hair certainly doesn't fit in the frame.

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The first exhibit we visited was about the Manhattan Project, the name for the clandestine chemical project that instituted Oak Ridge. What you see on this wall is a mere preview of the information overload to come!

It's incredible how small this exhibit actual is (see the photo below), and how much information they crammed into it.

While the room couldn't have been more than 1000 square feet, every single wall and center island display was covered from floor to ceiling with photos, massive paragraphs of historical texts, collages, artifacts, and interesting sparses of sound that is looped in certain areas of the room. As much as I love to read about history... there was no way I could take in the entirety of that room.

The rest of the museum is a combination of 90s-era science and energy game-like attractions for kids (an entire room dedicated to the atom!) and a load of propaganda for how great the science programs in Oak Ridge have become.

Propaganda is something that was very prevalent in WWII, and something I personally find disgusting. I work in marketing and do everything I can to create honest communication that benefits who its meant for and merely entertains or leaves be who it isn't meant for.

If it were up to me, this museum would be called:

Oak Ridge Museum of Atomic Science Propaganda and Fun Energy-related Games

Upstairs in the strangely carpeted and very dusty energy game space.

Before you go, here's a photo of an inflatable T-Rex demonstrating the origin of fossil fuels.

Cool.

We had a lot of fun and were happy we took the opportunity to do a Wednesday Walk, per the Steemit trend. This got us out on our day off and pushed us to try something new. Even though the museum was hilariously outdated and strange, it was a pleasure to learn just a bit more about our local history.

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Since we're both typically behind the camera, here is a rare shot of the two of us together.

Obscured, of course, by a distorted mirror.

Hi, I'm Amelia! It's nice to meet you.

I'm a writer, minimalist, tiny home dweller, and maker living in East Tennessee, USA. You might have found me through the Ladies of Steemit curation initiative, showcasing the female voices on the Steemit platform. Let's hang out on the blockchain and see where it takes us.

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