Once a month we will update you with snapshots of the many exciting things happening at AMSE and the K-25 History Center. Please read the sections below and click on the links provided to find more information, and thanks as always for your support of our museums.
We hope to see you soon and often.
| |
|
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
EVENTS
DOE PUBLIC BUS TOURS
VOLUNTEERS
EXHIBITS
ART CONTEST
EDUCATION
STEM of HISTORY
DISCOVERY SHOP
PROGRAMS
SUPPORT
MEMBERSHIP
HOURS OF OPERATION
| |
The inaugural AMSEF Gala is fast approaching! Please make plans to join us at 6:00 pm on April 22 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Oak Ridge for what promises to be a memorable evening. We will recognize our first AMSE Excellence Award winners, Drs. Thomas Zacharia and Jim Roberto, as well as the winners of our first AMSEF STEAM Art Contest. In addition to other fun activities and an exciting auction, Kai Bird, the author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, will be our keynote speaker! The basis of the upcoming movie, Oppenheimer, American Prometheus won the Pulitzer Prize for Kai and his co-author, Martin Sherwin, in 2006, as well as the Duff | |
|
AMSE and K-25 History Center Director:
Alan Lowe
| Cooper Award, the Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year, and the Discover Magazine Best Book of the Year. Please make plans to join us – you can find tickets here: | |
|
The AMSE Foundation works to preserve the vital history of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and its impact on critical American science through the American Museum of Science and Energy and the K-25 History Center. It also provides robust STEAM programming to inspire the next generation of the nation's best scientists.
Please save the date for our first-ever AMSE Foundation Gala, Celebrating Excellence in Energy and Elements. This event will take place on the evening of Saturday, April 22, 2023, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Oak Ridge.
| |
|
We are excited to let you know there are only a limited number of tickets available for the Gala. If you are interested in supporting the multitude of educational experiences we offer to this community and the region get your ticket soon! | |
Take a sneak peak at our live auction items! | |
Free members only Meet-&-Greet with Kai Bird | |
Members of the AMSE Foundation are welcomed to meet and spend a bit of time with our Energy and Elements Gala Keynote speaker on April 22nd from 1-2pm at the American Museum of Science and Energy. This informal gathering is in support of your generous support of the work the AMSE Foundation puts forth into the community. For more information check out our website. | |
Save-the-Date - Family Game Night | |
|
May 19th 5-7pm
AMSE’s Family Game Night is an evening filled with exciting, fun and if it’s your vibe, challenging games for everyone. Including classic favorites, a variety of board and skill games along with console games on the giant screen! Our third Family Game Night continues to evolve into a spectacular evening of laughs, friendly gamesmanship and wonderful memories for all.
The cost of this evening is $5 for all participants. Members are free.
| |
Mark your Calendar: June 17th, Time (TBD)
Sally’s Night Program
| |
Astronaut Sally Ride lived her life with extraordinary energy, passion, curiosity and joy. All astronauts lead exciting lives, but some are larger than life even before they reach for the stars. As a learner and an educator, Sally understood the power of role models to inspire young people to explore their own interests and talents. This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool and promises to be an engaging evening with unique educational experiences and stargazing (weather permitting). | |
|
|
As NASA prepares to return to the Moon the American Museum of Science and Energy’s 2023 Summer Camp will explore and share what it’s like to survive in space and on the lunar and Martian terrain.
“To the Moon and Beyond” will allow campers to explore and immerse themselves in hands-on experiments and experiences to replicate the astronaut experience. Special guests, exciting experiences, captivating experiments, NASA trained instructors, and so much more!
Camp will be at the American Museum of Science and Energy from June 19th to 23rd from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm. The cost will be $200 for non-members and $175 for members. There are a limited number of spaces available for this year's camp as there are some unique surprises on the schedule.
| |
|
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S
PUBLIC FACILITIES BUS TOUR
| | |
|
Bus Tours are open!
This one-of-a-kind tour allows guests to visit the location of the three original and primary sites of the Manhattan Project in East Tennessee: K-25, Y-12 and X-10, now the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
| |
|
Beginning April 2023: DOE Public Facilities Bus Tours. These tours are currently being planned and scheduled, with volunteer training beginning in mid-March. If you are interested in this one-of-a-kind tour and sharing the incredible history and scientific progress of the region, please reach out to learn more.
If you have ever thought about volunteering, now is the time! Please contact Tony at tschnadelbach@amse.org to learn more about our volunteer opportunities.
| |
|
Are you interested in welcoming guests from around the world to Oak Ridge? What about sharing the history and science behind our city? Look no more because we have volunteer roles for you! 2023 is upon us and what better way to get involved during the new year than volunteering at AMSE. We have volunteer roles available at the following:
America Museum of Science and Energy (115 Main Street East, Oak Ridge, TN) and the K-25 History Center (652 Enrichment Street, Oak Ridge, TN).
| |
4-hour long shifts are available throughout the week at both sites. Monday-Saturday: 9am-Noon and 1-5pm, as well as Sunday from 1-5pm. There are some after hour needs available related to public programs too. | |
|
|
With quite a few events stacking on the calendar we would like to encourage anyone looking for volunteer roles to please message us here or email
Tony Schnadelbach at tschnadelbach@amse.org. We'd love to get you plugged in at AMSE!
| |
Spring is in the air, but fall is on our minds at AMSE. Coming in November will be our new exhibit on molten salt reactors. MSRs were born in Oak Ridge in the 1950s and have recently | |
|
reemerged as the technology of our nuclear future. With fun interactives, the museum will demonstrate how MSRs work and why their safety, compact size, and reliability make them tomorrow's energy source. The exhibit will also focus on Kairos Power which is building the Hermes demonstration reactor near our K-25 History Center. Their iterative designs featuring coated particle fuel with low pressure liquid fluoride salt coolants are accelerating the speed at which new reactors are being developed and built. | |
Our current exhibit, "Let's Play" continues to challenge and enchant visitors. The popularity of the museum's electronic games exhibit is obvious from the orchestra of beeps, boops, and pinball dings drifting across the museum. Several of our employees may have become experts on the games. Feel free to challenge any employee to beat you at Simon, Pong, or Tempest. Even if you lose to Tony, you'll learn something. | |
|
The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation won a 2023 Award of Excellence for the temporary exhibit “Science of the Signal” at the Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM) Statewide Conference. | |
|
The Awards Ceremony was held in Bartlett, TN at Davies Manor Plantation on March 15, 2023. The TAM Awards of Excellence were presented to museums across the state for exceptional projects, programs and events held during 2022.
| |
|
The purpose of the TAM Awards of Excellence program is to recognize, encourage, and promote excellence within the activities of the Tennessee museum community. Nominations are made by museum staff and individuals, and sent in December to the regional representative. Each entry is presented to the TAM Awards Committee which is composed of the seven regional representatives, the committee chair, and three at-large members. The committee makes the final judging and decisions of awards. Awards are based on creativity, originality, resourcefulness, success, support of museum mission statement, and utilization of staff and volunteers. Categories include permanent, temporary, blockbuster and traveling exhibits; educational programming; special events; publications; digital media; audio visual; special recognition; and volunteerism. | |
“This year we presented 76 awards, representing 34 museums, including two awards recognizing Emerging Museum Professionals, five awards recognizing outstanding volunteerism, and our overall winner of the Past President’s Award, chosen by the past Presidents of TAM, which this year was presented to the Memphis Museum of Science and History,” stated Tori Mason, Historic Site Manager at Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, who serves as the chair of the TAM Awards Committee. “Once again, Tennessee museums showed their creativity, resourcefulness, commitment and heart, while providing outstanding programs and opportunities for their audiences. Our state is fortunate to have so many excellent museums and historic sites that are committed to providing exceptional exhibitions, events and educational programming for visitors to enjoy.” | |
|
|
The Observing with NASA (OWN) Kiosk is here through May at least thanks to the generosity of our friends at NASA..
Our recent Science Event teaching guests how to use the OWN (Observing with NASA) Kiosk was a great success. This fantastic kiosk is open for all guests and focuses on Astrophotography which allows guests to create their own masterpiece using NASA satellites.
| |
Our window for submission to the 1st Annual STEAM Art Contest has closed. All types of artists from professional to student work have submitted a number of excellent works. Visitors to the museum can view the pieces and submit their own choice for their favorites to win special recognition at the Energy and Elements Gala on April 22nd. Visit the gift shop for the voter's form! | |
|
The STEM of History (SOH) is a podcast produced by the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation (AMSEF) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee with funding support from Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities. This series examines the intersection of science with history. It focuses on tracing how scientific inquiry is interpreted in the historical record, and in turn, the impact of historical analysis to informing scientific inquiry.
This fascinating glimpse into how Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) has been present throughout history shows no great feat has ever been accomplished without the aid of these four key elements. Listen to an amazing list of guests and contributors in original interviews “talk shop” about how the world goes round and attempts to improve itself with every spin.
The STEM of HISTORY has been developed with a generous grant from Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities. https://amse.org/stem-of-history/
| |
The Discovery Shop is excited to be partnering with Evans Candy Company in Clinton. We are now offering freeze dried candy, with a variety of flavor options that we will be stocking. We are unable to ship this item due to its fragility but are excited to be partnering with a local company that has ties to the Clinton community and to Oak Ridge to offer this super popular sweet treat! | |
[Rn] 5f3 6d1 7s2 (A Photography Exhibition of Uranium Enrichment of Oak Ridge) is now available for viewing at the K-25 History Center. | | |
|
In honor or our Keynote Speaker at the Energy and Elements Gala on April 22nd our featured AMSEcast is the one-and-only Kai Bird. | | |
Join the American Museum of Science and Energy's exciting virtual "Race to Space" and receive a custom t-shirt. This race encourages everyone to walk or run to the International Space Station virtually. As participants log and report distances to AMSE, we will send out fun 3D printed medals at each atmospheric milestone. The race is completed at the participant’s pace. | |
|
Did you know you could walk Oak Ridge’s North Boundary Greenway once
(about 12.7 miles) to earn your Troposphere medal (reach 10 miles)? Explore
an older part of Oak Ridge and stop by AMSE’s sister Museum, the K-25
History Center just down the road. Or explore the Ijams Nature Center and
walk the Gravel Rd, Hayworth Hollow, and Imerys Trails to be on your way to
earning your Troposphere medal.
| |
We encourage folks to get to know our Race to Space sponsor,GEM Technologies, Inc., and visit our Race to Space partners, the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and the Ijams Nature Center. | |
|
|
April:
Applied Minds: How Engineers Think
by Guru Madhavan
| |
|
|
SPONSORED BY AMSE is very proud to have Terra Integras, LLC. as a sponsor for AMSE’s Online Book Club! We sincerely appreciate their support, and we hope that all of you join the book club and check out the amazing things going on at Terra Integras. | |
|
|
AMSE is proud to partner with the Oak Ridge Public Library, Clinton Public Library, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Libraries, and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park for our online Book Club.
We encourage our Book Club members to visit AMSE’s online “The Discovery Shop” to buy this month’s book or borrow a copy from our Oak Ridge Public Library or Clinton Public Library partners.
| |
|
Why? Seriously, being a member of
the ASTC Travel Passport Program
gives members free general admission
to participating science centers and
museums outside their local area. Join
the savviest of science-loving families
and adults and visit more than 350
science centers and museums in 20
countries around the world! As an
AMSE Membership holder you also
can get huge discounted rates at ANY
Smithsonian Affiliate Museum.
| |
|
|
Created in the midst of the pandemic
and supported by initial funding from
our partners at ORNL, our virtual,
hands-on classes have been recognized by the Tennessee Association of Museums with a Certificate of Excellence. Since we began offering these innovative classes, nearly 700 students have taken part. Our original topics are States of Matter, Electricity, Bees and Pollination. The newly established 117 Society allows each member to donate one of the original, virtual hands-on Periodic Table classes we are creating to a school of the member’s choice,
free of charge. There will be a Periodic
| |
Table class for middle school students, and another appropriate for high school students. These classes will be available starting in the fall of 2022. | |
Please consider a gift to the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation (AMSEF), a 501(c)(3) organization. Last year was a big year for AMSEF – we proudly operate both the American Museum of Science and Energy and the K-25 History Center. We need your help to ensure the success of both those wonderful institutions and to help us accomplish our vital mission of STEAM education. | |
There are many ways to give – please consider a one-time gift, an individual or family membership, or becoming part of our new 117 Society. Or you can always send your gifts to 115 Main St. East, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you often in 2022 at AMSE and the K-25 History Center.
| |
|
American Museum of Science and Energy
& K-25 History Center
|
Monday through Saturday:
9AM – 5PM
Sunday:
1PM – 5PM
| |
|
AMSE address:
115 Main Street East
Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
| |
K-25 address:
652 Enrichment Street,
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
| |
You can always reach us by calling
+1 (865) 294-4531 or emailing us at
info@AMSE.org.
Check us out online at
amse.org and
k25historycenter.org.
| |
Come see us soon at AMSE and the K-25 History Center! | |
|
American Museum of
Science and Energy
AMSE.org
| |
| | | |
