The last time we went through Knoxville, I wanted to stop at the Manhattan Project NPS but we didn't have any time. This time I made sure we had a chance to visit at least one of the sites throughout the Knoxville Area. There are many locations including several museums. I gave the hubby the option which museum we were going to visit. We decided on K-25 History Center.
K-25 was one of the gaseous diffusion plant that helped create the atomic bomb during WWII. It was a mile long building where they diffused the uranium. It is located really in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of Oak Park.
K-25 is not really a museum. It is really just a display of history of K-25 on the second floor of this building.
There is a model of the entire mile long complex.
There are videos, timelines, and diagrams that explained how their diffused the uranium.
You can look out the windows and view the outline of the complex that has since been knocked down.
It is not that exciting of a place in the typical museum sense. However the science and history lessons presented through video are fascinating. When I saw what little there was too see I was disappointed but it was actually worth our time. I was glad I still went in with an opened mind.
There is still a lot of places we have not seen of the Oak Park Manhattan Project, including the Y-12 plant (which I need to figure out how to actually get a tour of). I know we will continue to knock them off as we find ourselves in the Knoxville area. If you are ever in the Knoxville Area the Manhattan Project sites are worth checking out.
Stay tuned to find out which Manhattan Project we visit next in the next few years.
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