Exciting updates from Manhattan Project National Historical Park

Park’s public engagement specialist shares recent preservation progress and future tours

By Jonathan Creel | February 1, 2022

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S-Site Magazine, the only remaining high explosives storage from Project Y, is one of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s ongoing preservation projects. Jonathan Creel, Los Alamos National Laboratory

While COVID caused the cancellation of annual public tours of Pajarito Site (TA-18) — the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s publically accessible site at Los Alamos National Laboratory — in 2021, that didn’t mean the park’s team took a break last year. Instead, we used the time to focus on the preservation of our historic structures and devised ways to share even more of these places with you. From repairing crumbling concrete walls at V-Site to developing virtual tours of our properties, we made great advances in enhancing future visitors’ experiences with the historical park. Our team is excited to continue this work in 2022. See Manhattan Project National Historical Park's accomplishments in last year and what is to come in the months ahead.

Tours in 2022

The public tours remain a major priority for us and we are currently planning to resume them later in 2022. This year, there will not be on-site tours in April because our preservation team is replacing the roof on the Slotin Building. This is part of our effort to restore the building interior back to how it was in May of 1946, when Louis Slotin’s criticality accident took place. Instead of public tours in April, we are preparing a virtual event for the spring.

However, we are targeting July for in-person tours to coincide with Los Alamos ScienceFest. We are planning for in-person October tours as well. Of course, these are subject to change due to public health restrictions. We will share updates with newsletter readers and on the Bradbury Science Museum’s website as they develop. Specific dates and details will be determined in the coming months.

We look forward to sharing even more stories about the people, places and events that shaped Los Alamos in the coming year.