The Atomic Heritage Foundation is conducting a two-day conference in Washington, D.C. that brings together scholars, researchers and informal science education professionals to explore new approaches to engage the public in issues at the interface of science and society. The conference will consider recent scholarship about the legacy of the Manhattan Project during and post WWII and address how questions about science and society raised by the development of the atomic bomb can inform and be integrated with contemporary issues. Also attending the conference will be representatives from the American Science and Energy Museum in Oak Ridge, TN, the Los Alamos Historical Society in Los Alamos, NM, the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, NM, and the Columbia River Exhibition on Science, History and Technology in Richland, WA.
This exploratory workshop is intended both to advance the inter-disciplinary scholarship and to generate innovative ideas and recommendations for the development of exhibits, programs and media about this topic and its relevance to the 21st Century. The focus is not about presenting the underlying science of nuclear fission or energy, for example, but speaks to the greater challenges that emerge when presenting issues raised by science in the broader context of history, society and culture. Given the goals and inter-disciplinary nature of the topic and the diversity of the expertise of participating professionals, the workshop is being supported by the Informal Science Education program in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) and the Science, Technology and Society Program in the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE).
Workshop Goals For the 75th anniversary of the Manhattan Project, to be commemorated in 2017–2021, the Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF) is planning a national traveling exhibition. Public interest in the top-secret effort to make an atomic bomb in World War II is high. Yet appreciation of the history and science behind the Manhattan Project and its complex legacy for today is seriously lacking. No exhibition to date has treated the Manhattan Project comprehensively. AHF, supported by the National Science Foundation, hosted a workshop in February 2013 to explore ideas for a national traveling exhibition on the Manhattan Project and its legacy. The workshop was attended by museum and informal science learning experts, historians, scientists and social scientists. The general goals of the workshop were to advance interdisciplinary scholarship and informal education in science. A more specific goal was to develop ideas for interpreting the Manhattan Project with the practical goal of an exhibition. In two days, the AHF workshop produced numerous well-articulated ideas for a model, innovative exhibition based on the latest interdisciplinary scholarship and reflecting diverse perspectives. At a deeper level, the exhibition will illuminate a turning point in war and peace, humanity and nature. Recommendations Concept and design: Workshop participants discussed several exhibition models, but everyone agreed that a mix of interpretive modes will be required to present such a complex and controversial subject, and bring it alive for visitors. Books, films, DVDs, and a Web presence also will be necessary to supplement the exhibition. Tactics to deal with complexity and controversy in exhibitions: Several suggestions to help visitors get beyond strong emotions about an issue and consider other perspectives included to (1) present historical reenactments with actors reading Manhattan Project scientists’ actual words in a debate; (2) re-create features of the physical sites where the story took place; (3) use the testimony of eyewitnesses, either through documents or video; and (4) let visitors interact with each other and become involved through role-playing and character storytelling. Exhibit Organization: A number of ideas emerged about how the exhibition should be organized. A chronological approach raised certain problems, such as selecting a cutoff date. Some participants recommended ending the historical story in the late 1940s or early 1950s, and then having an "epilogue" about impacts on and contrasts with today. A separate suggestion was to offer visitors a "who what where when" before going into "why," to "detoxify" the subject. Another idea was to use the following framework: (1) the science (represent the preceding science and the inevitability of the discovery of fission), (2) the atomic bombs (in the context of strategic bombing history), (3) biographies (of the scientists and military personnel), and (4) outcomes (including both nuclear weapons and "Atoms for Peace"). The group also discussed the use of modules—physical units corresponding to a mental Venn diagram. The center module would be the bomb; four to eight others, on the sorts of themes the workshop examined, would extend off of it. Each module would contain artifacts, testimonies, documents, and so forth to form a coherent presentation that also would be intimately connected to the center. Not only would such a spatial plan communicate the relationships among the themes, but it would offer stand-alone, informative stories for visitors who might visit only one module. The storyline could be non-linear—a considerable advantage for those planning thematic content and for visitors who do not go through exhibitions in a designated sequence. In addition, the exhibition could fit into host sites of varying sizes by changing the number of modules on the floor. Market Research: Participants recommended conducting front-end research to determine what the public knows and wants, what the potential venues are interested in, and funders’ expectations. Manhattan Project and atomic exhibitions have more stakeholders than expected, so they have to be identified in advance. Look at what is selling now, especially across disciplines. Conduct focus groups and if the exhibition will travel abroad, bring in international participants. Investigate the gaps in science centers’ programs that this exhibition can fill. Some participants felt the sociological aspects of the Manhattan Project’s legacy (e.g., the national security state) would be especially interesting and new for audiences. Audience: Three main points here: age and generational considerations are very important; the exhibition ideally should travel to Europe and possibly Japan. Participants were most definite that the exhibition should be one we would be proud to show in Japan. Traveling: An exhibition will perform differently in different venues. For example, how many visitors attend, how long they stay, or how they use the exhibition depends in part on where the venue is, whether it is a community gathering place or a must-see location, what else is in the neighborhood. .
