Now through Oct. 16, visitors can see “J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Exhibit” at the Bradbury Science Museum. The exhibit is a collaborative production of the Bradbury and the National Security Research Center, the Lab’s classified library. It provides visitors with a unique opportunity to view objects related to physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, mastermind of the Manhattan Project, “father of the atomic bomb” and the Laboratory’s first director.
Items on view include Oppenheimer’s handwritten notes on the wartime Lab, his McKibbin Card (an ID card for all Project Y employees, meticulously recorded by Oppenheimer’s secretary, Dorothy McKibbin), and his personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the sacred Hindu text he turned to for poetic inspiration in the wake of the Trinity test.
The exhibit also features documents related to his 1954 security clearance trial and the Department of Energy’s 2022 order to vacate the trial decision.
Can’t get enough Oppenheimer? Be on the lookout later this summer for the National Security Research Center’s documentary, “Oppenheimer: Science, Mission, Legacy.” Watch the trailer.
The Bradbury Science Museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays. The museum is closed on Mondays. Admission is free.