If you want some peaceful atomic tourism and happen to be driving through Idaho in the summer, I can't recommend the Experimental Breeder Reactor museum enough. Then again, I'm a nuclear engineer, so maybe this is too personal of a recommendation.
I want to go to the site of the CP-1 reactor. Not much left but a plaque, but that's where the modern age really began. Apparently you can buy some graphite from the CP-1 as a paperweight, but I'm not sure how legit it is. They say you can buy trinitite too, but the market has a lot of fakes.
For a time, Argonne National Laboratory was raffling off lucite-encased blocks of CP-1 graphite at conferences. They probably have a stockroom somewhere of the stuff to give to VIPs, etc.
The nuclear weapon museum in Albuquerque is amazing in many ways. It’s surreal to see a B61 used to prop open a door. Also, they have a bunch of ICBMs in a junkyard basically out back. It’s really amazing to see these machines that brought civilization to the brink of destruction during the Cold War just lying around on the ground in the hot desert sun filled with tumbleweeds.
There is a newer site, The Atomic Archive, but IMHO it lacks the charm of the now-archived version. To be fair, it does cover a lot more stuff, offering history, documents, books, etc., in addition to tourism guides.
I would like to recommend "Trinity And Beyond," a 1995 documentary on the development of atomic weapons narrated by Bill Shatner. It features beautifully restored footage of many detonations and a fairly matter-of-fact, unbiased account of the history and events.
Adding to the list, I found Canada's cold war museum to be really interesting. Known as the "Diefenbunker", the museum was actually an underground government shelter for 500 high ranking officials in case of an attack. Very little of it is off-limits and the ominous feel of the place is still very present. It's a short drive outside Ottawa and definitely worth the detour if you're into that kind of stuff.
I remember driving by the Bomarc site as a kid to visit my grandparents. There was also the remains of a Pinetree Line station further north that you could see from the highway. It's gone now, but I always wanted to see inside
I visited Chernobyl and Pripyat right before the first COVID19 breakout. Little did I know that Ukraine would be invaded at that time. I'm happy I got the opportunity and did it. The excursion was very interesting and thought provoking.
You know with the non-ratification of the CTBT treaty, along with a casual reading into Project Plowshare and the other nuclear test treaties leads me to believe the undertaking of non-military civilian operations utilizing nuclear detonation is still technically legal internationally. And as the detonation of conventional pyrotechnics is legal to be used in the civilian sphere for spectacle and celebration, there is also absolutely nothing legally preventing a nation from incorporating a megaton warhead, into a fireworks display.
> there is also absolutely nothing legally preventing a nation from incorporating a megaton warhead, into a fireworks display
Well, "nothing" is quite the wrong word to use here... There is no international law preventing it, on some countries (including the US; for others, there is).
I think the "atom-punk" era of the 40s-60s was a prime example of how technological advancement makes the real world almost surreal. The most powerful force in the universe was discovered and harnessed in the late hours of the greatest conflict in world history, and transformed into the harbinger of an unnerving utopia. It feels that the same thing is happening with AI, though I believe the effects of this revolution will be far greater.
I guess this is a bit of an interest of mine as I've been to the museums in Las Vegas and Albuquerque, though I'd call myself more of a general science tourist.
It does remind me that I'd like to go by the Trinity test site (I think one of the lesser known aspects of the development of the bomb is that the first ever nuclear detonation was actually carried out on US soil/sand), but it's only open twice per year.
I was thinking it was going to be some kind of "miniature replicas of famous places" that could be visited, which would be cool. I see now it's about "tourist locations around the world that have either been the site of atomic explosions, display exhibits on the development of atomic devices, or contain vehicles that were designed to deliver atomic weapons."
Red Gate Woods is southwest of Chicago, and was once home to Chicago Pile 2 & 3.[1] There's not much to see, but it is the only public park/nuclear waste dump I'm aware of.
We did the NTS bus tour 20 years ago after we got married in Vegas. Everything left on the surface after a test is left in place, all the way back to the beginning. Color coded flags indicate radiation levels. It’s fascinating, weird, and creepy all at once.
I can highly recommend the Delta-01 Minuteman launch control facility in South Dakota, near Badlands National Park. Only 6 visitors at a time, so tickets are hard to come by. But it's an eerily awesome facility. Also the nearby visitor's center and missile silo are cool. But the launch control facility is the star of the show.
Also Trinity is worth visiting, although both a pain to get to and only open 2 days a year.
My memory is that some of the US sites required you to show ID, and could exclude some people. Possibly, all non-nationals.
I've had friends who rocked up for conferences who were turned away at the door because of state sanctions against them, and the presence of a swimming pool training reactor on campus. You sometimes need to be careful, depending on your national affiliations.
Had everything gone according to plan, we'd be eating radioactive food by now and we'd be flying all on our own, no flying cars necessary. Radiation was much more fun when we still believed in miracles.
