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  

DOE PUBLIC BUS TOUR  

EXHIBITS  

EDUCATION  

EVENTS

DISCOVERY SHOP   

K-25 HISTORY CENTER  

PROGRAMS    

MEMBERSHIP  

VOLUNTEERS  

VISIT 

I am very excited about our upcoming event: Pollen Power! It will take place on Saturday, October 22nd, at AMSE from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.  We will have a host of activities, speakers and vendors all focused on those powerful pollinators that help make our world go around and put food on our tables.  I must admit that bees and wasps have all too often found me a good target for their stingers.  I especially felt like I was the bumble bee’s favorite victim when I mowed yards as a kid.  But as we have prepared for October 22nd, I’ve learned so much about a whole range of pollinators, about their incredible complexity and their vital roles in our ecosystem.  I still 

AMSE and K-25 History Center Director:

Alan Lowe

want to avoid those stingers, but now I

have a much greater appreciation for our pollinator friends, and I am sure you will too after coming to Pollen Power!  Please join us for what is sure to bee a very fun event! 

Positive reviews of this season’s DOE Public Facilities Bus Tour continue to come in everyday! 

We have just received the green light to expand the seats on the tour bus. This means the bus will be running at full capacity with over thirty seats available! The tour will still operate on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. In years past, these tours have still sold out, get your seats reserved today. Norm Dobbs walks a group through the K-25 History Center. 

Check out this great link from the Department of Energy’s Energycast new program: DOE Public Bus Tour Returns with New Attractions 

November dates have been opened. The last tour of the year is November 11th.

Check out AMSE.org and our social media pages regularly for updates.

Norm Dobbs walks a group through the K-25 History Center. 

AMSE is looking forward to its new space exhibit! With a grant from the Arts & Culture Alliance, local artist Brandon Woods is creating a large sculpture of the new James Webb Telescope. Due for installation in October, this piece will be surrounded by panels and interactives that describe the Telescope's engineering and purpose, and Oak Ridge's contributions to our exploration of the universe. 

Additionally, AMSE has been awarded by NASA a temporary kiosk exhibit about the James Webb Telescope. Beginning in January, visitors will be able to manipulate and edit actual images from the telescope to discover how scientists use the Telescope's data to unravel mysteries far beyond our little planet. 

In late September two of AMSE’s educators, Lenell Wright and Corwin "Corky" Witt travelled to Pigeon Forge and presented educational materials to the 2022 East Tennessee PIE (Partners In Education) STEM Conference. Their topics included our virtual classes, outreach, in-house educational classes and more. 

In addition, we got to share some space and ideas with the Muse’s Outreach Manager, Mary-Bartlett Smythe. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported or received one of our ORNL grant funded virtual classes. Last year we received a federal grant allowing us to take our three virtual classes into Oak Ridge and various Title 1 schools throughout the region. We are nearly at the end of our sixty-four classroom and several hundred kids virtual program commitment. Our most popular classes are Solid, Liquid & Gas and Bee Pollination classes. 

Super huge thanks to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for recognizing and supporting the efforts of the AMSE Foundation and our tremendous educators and technical team.

Introducing our recurring Sip of Science series which this time is all about Pollen Power. Showcasing one of the world’s most valuable and endangered class of animals: Pollinators! We will feature fantastic hands-on activities for all ages, guest speakers, vendors, foods, a few surprises, and so much more all designed to expand awareness of the amazing little critters that are responsible for nearly one third of the planet's food supply! 

AMSE will participate in two Halloween events this season 

#1

Oak Ridge will host its 40th Annual City-Wide Halloween Event on October 27th from 6 pm until 8 pm. 

This year’s event will be a walk-through at A. K. Bissell park 

#2

Fall Festival & Halloween Spooktacular Event Information: 

Date: Saturday, October 29 

Time: 1 – 4 p.m. 

Location: Tommy Shumpert Park – Disk Golf Course 

Every month we try to feature something innovative or completely unique from our giftshop. This month we are setting the stage for some historical upkeep. The story of the Manhattan Project has shaped the direction of the world and these two books frame the work being done in the region perfectly.

You’ll want to check out this Roadside America feature with our own Quinn Argall. 

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/78990 

New AMSEcast episodes premiere this month. Click below to listen before the episodes are released to the public.

There's a lot to learn in this world and AMSEcast is a feast for the curious.

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.

August 2022

Panama Fever

by Matthew Parker

We recently recorded an interview with Matthew Parker for AMSEcast. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

We are always looking for new volunteers, both for service at AMSE and the K-25 History Center, and for the DOE Bus Tours. For the latter, if you think you would be the perfect fit for this unique, historic tour, please reach out to us. When we have confirmed the start date of the tours, we will designate dates for the Bus Tour Training, which is a requirement for our Tour Guides and Assistant Tour Guides.  Please consider volunteering at one of our museums – you can find more information here. 

We are always looking for eligible volunteers for AMSE/K-25 History Center as well as the DOE Public Bus Tours, if you are interested please contact Glenda Bingham at (865) 294-4517 or gbingham@amse.org.

Norm Dobbs takes a group through the X-10 Graphite Reactor (L) and the K-25 History Center (above).

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.

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