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The Atomic Museum

Artillery shell in a glass display case at a museum.

The National Atomic Testing Museum is a repository for one of the most comprehensive collections of nuclear history. The museum covers the period from the nation’s first nuclear test, code-named Trinity, to the first test at the Nevada Test Site on January 27, 1951, to the present.

As part of its mission, the National Atomic Testing Museum seeks to collect and preserve a wide variety of materials and artifacts relating to atomic testing, the Nevada Test Site, the Cold War and nuclear and radiological science and technology. The current collection includes thousands of rare photographs, videos, artifacts, scientific and nuclear reports and data and one-of-a-kind scientist collections.

A Smithsonian Affiliate, the museum is home to more than 3,500 artifacts across 14,000 square feet, including one of the largest collections of survey meters spanning more than 65 years; a full-size nuclear rocket reactor; the Genie air-to-air missile; and personal atomic weapons such as the Backpack Nuke and the Davy Crockett XM-388.

The collection also includes Mitchell cameras, downhole cameras and an international collection of civil defense items. The museum houses more than 16,000 official government and unofficial personal photos encapsulating more than 80 years of atomic history and 6,000 documents telling stories from the Pacific Proving Ground to the Nevada Test Site.

About The Museum

Our Mission

The National Atomic Testing Museum is operated and maintained by the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation (NTSHF), an IRS 501(c)3 charitable, non-profit organization chartered in Nevada.

The mission of the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation is to preserve and foster public accessibility to the history associated with the Nevada Test Site, now known as the Nevada National Security Sites, and the nation’s nuclear weapons program. The NTSHF promotes and supports cultural, educational and scientific programming to encourage the development and public exchange of views regarding the Nevada Test Site and its impact on the nation. The major program of the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation is the National Atomic Testing Museum.

The National Atomic Testing Museum (NATM) is operated and maintained by its parent organization, the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation (NTSHF), an IRS 501(c) 3 charitable, non-profit organization chartered in Nevada.