Nuclear Museum

Albuquerque New Mexico is the location of a fascinating museum. The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is an affiliate of the Smithsonian and features an enormous amount of exhibits, many of them being interactive. This nuclear museum does an excellent job in explaining many of the applications of nuclear science with exhibits that date back into the 1950's and even before. 

National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History which was established in 1969 is located at 601 Eubank Blvd SE which is not far from the Albuquerque International Airport. This museum originally had different names and was located at a few different sites prior to it's final move. The museum was originally established at nearby Kirtland Air Force Base. In 1973, the museum name was changed to the National Atomic Museum but closed in September 2001. From 2002 to 2009 the museum was operating out of an Old Town Albuquerque site and then relocated to the current location in April 2009.The stated mission for The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is “to serve as America’s resource for nuclear history and science".

Fascinating Exhibits

The nuclear museum in Albuquerque has an amazing amount of unique exhibits both old and new. All of these have a connection to science and atomic energy.

Shoe Fitting Fluoroscope

One exhibit is a 1930's Shoe Fitting Fluoroscope. This piece of equipment shown in this article was used in shoe stores to make sure you were buying the right fitting shoe. It was used by both adults and children. It was promoted as being the "scientific" way to find the right fit. The apparatus was actually outlawed in the 1960's mostly due to the problem of radiation exposure. The belief was that you could certainly find a proper shoe without having the radiation exposure.

Another interesting small exhibit is the Radio-Rem Outfit. It was manufactured by Schiefflin and Company of New York. This Outfit contained eight bottles that were filled with water and left to charge over a four day period. Inside each bottle was a radium-containing brownish-pink terra cotta rod which released radon into the water. According to the manufacturer's literature, the radium was in the form of radium sulphate. After four days, one bottle would be consumed in the morning and a second bottle consumed in the afternoon. After drinking the water, the bottles were refilled and allowed to recharge.This was the early use of radiation therapy to treat certain tumors. Eventually this particular treatment was considered too small and ineffective.

Radio-Rem Outfit

Another very unique exhibit is the Revigator. The Revigator was another medical device constructed of a of a ceramic water crock lined with radioactive materials. The water would be irradiated by radium. Instructions were to fill the crock nightly with water and drink six or more glasses daily. Promotion for this device stated that it was beneficial for such maladies as arthritis and senility. As a side note, at one time radium was promoted as a cure-all for a variety of ailments. This lasted from the late 1800's into the 1920's. It was eventually determined that there were other particles in the water concoction such as arsenic and lead which wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Spa Radium is another version of the Revigator shown above. Among the claims for this type of therapy were " This Radium Spa is unconditionally guaranteed to make any water placed herein radioactive within twelve hours equal in strength to the average of the most effective health springs of the world".

Instructions were to rinse and dry in the sun every week and drink at least eight glasses of it per day. The firm Radium Spa stated "Keep Well With a Radium-Spa in Your Home!" In many ways this was in a home in much the same way as today's spring water cooler. The Radium Spa's and the Revigator's were quite popular during the 1920's and 1930's before it was learned that the radium also brought on unwanted health results. During those decades there were many touted cure-alls that really hadn't been scientifically tested for side effects. regulation in the health industry was in it's early stages.

El Tronics Pocket Geiger Counter

The El Tronics Geiger Counter. Here is an exhibit at The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History that dates back to the early days of radiation measuring.  El Tronics was located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and manufactured a variety of equipment. This particular model is a Model PR-1 from 1955. This was a pocket model which was advertised with full page ads in magazines such as Popular Electronics during the 1950's. El tronics was a leading manufacturer of these devices and sold them to labs, mining prospectors and to the military. Back during the 1950's the model shown here sold for about $22.

Links to two additional photo articles on our Western Trips site include the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos New Mexico and  the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas Texas.

Links to two more Western Trips photo articles you'll enjoy include the actual F-15 First Responder on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum outside Santa Rosa California and a vintage Beechcraft 18 on display at the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum in Hood River Oregon.

Also see our article and photos of the Helicopters of the USS Midway

B-29 Superfortress "The Duke of Albuquerque"

Famous Aircraft Displays

The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History also has a very large outdoor display area. This nuclear museum exhibits an array of rockets and aircraft dating back to the first years of nuclear weaponry. 

Some of the aircraft on display includes both a B-52 and B-29 Bomber. The Boeing Stratofortress B-52 has been the main long range heavy bomber of the Strategic Air Command.The 1945 model B-29 Superfortress on display was named "The Duke of Albuquerque". This plane from World War Two was equipped with four Pratt and Whitney R-3350 engines and is scheduled for restoration.

If your travels take you to New Mexico and in particular the Albuquerque area, a visit to The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, a gem of a museum, is definitely worth your time. The museum is about a six mile drive southeast of downtown Albuquerque.

(Photos from author's collection)
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