As a Blue Star Museum, AMSE recognizes and thanks our military families for their service and sacrifice.  Additionally, AMSE joins other Blue Star Museums as we encourage families and young people to become life-long museum goers.  There are 30 Tennessee museums participating in the Blue Star Museums program this year, explained Jim Comish, AMSE director.

AMSE, where science and history Come Alive!, is excited to become a partner in the Blue Star Museums and offer free admission to our active-duty military and their immediate families this summer.  A family-oriented museum, AMSE chronicles the World War II Manhattan Project that created the 1940′s secret city of Oak Ridge and the science that emerged through interactive exhibits, artifacts, audiovisuals and live demonstrations.  AMSE is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 1 – 5 pm.  For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, visit www.amse.org  Join us on June 21-22 in Oak Ridge for the Secret City Festival and to learn more go to www.secretcityfestival.com

This year, more than 1,800 museums in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa are taking part in the Blue Star Museums initiative, including more than 450 new museums this year.  The effort to recruit museums has involved partnerships with the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children’s Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, and the Association of Science -Technology Centers.

Contact: Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
May 21, 2013

The guided bus tour includes highlights of the history of Oak Ridge and the history of science and technology at the three U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge facilities.

The tour program is sponsored by the DOE Oak Ridge Office and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 Site Office.  Tour partners include UT-Battelle, which operates the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; B&W Y-12, contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex; UCOR (URS/CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC), the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation Environmental Management contractor; and, the AMSE.

For more information, please call Lissa Clarke, AMSE, at (865) 576-3218 or DiAnn Fields, DOE, at (865) 576-0885, or visit www.amse.org.

May 1 – May 12   ZOOM INTO NANO

May 1 – June 1  REGISTRATION OPEN FOR AMSE’s SCIENCE EXPLORER CAMP for rising 5th (10 years old), 6th and 7th graders.  The week long sessions are June 10 – 14 and June 17 – 21 from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm at Freels Bend Cabin in Oak Ridge.  Students will focus on a variety of science topics  approached with field explorations and hands-on activities.  Located at the historic Freels Bend Cabin site, campers cover topics such as insects, habitats, water, life sciences, weather, geology, fossils, flight, electricity, and robots.  The week includes a tour of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as special presentations by ORNL researchers.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

May 1 – July 28  JAPAN 1945: IMAGES BY U.S. MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER JOE O’DONNELL is a traveling exhibition organized by the Tennessee State Museum that showcases 22 of the most compelling images to document the aftermath of U.S. bombing raids on the Japanese cities struck by the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Artifacts and explanatory panels complete the exhibition.  Books are available about this exhibition in the museum’s Discovery Shop. AMSE Lobby.

May 10  HOMESCHOOL FRIDAY PROGRAM features “Geology” for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 for non-members and $5 for AMSE members.  Grades 3-6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with the cost of $12 non-members and $9 for AMSE members. Students will learn about the layers of the earth, their composition, depth, temperatures, and their relation to minerals.  Activities include testing 9 kinds of minerals and observing 15 kinds of rocks.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

May 24  HOMESCHOOL FRIDAY PROGRAM features “Trees” at Freels Bend Cabin in Oak Ridge for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 for non-members and $5 for AMSE members.  Grades 3-6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with the cost of $12 for non-members and $9 for AMSE members.  Which trees are used to make baseball bats, pencils and Popsicle sticks?  Learn about the trees of East Tennessee and how they are used in our lives.  Students will learn how to measure a tree’s height and diameter in this outdoor class.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

Note:  The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm.  Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6-17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge.  AMSE members are no charge.  Group rates are available with advance reservations.  AMSE memberships are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individuals $25 and Family & Friends $75.  AMSE members receive unlimited museum visits and free admission to 250 museums that participate in the ASTC Passport Program.  AMSE members get discounts in the Discovery Shop, discounts on classes, workshops, camps and birthday parties.  For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org  To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Contact:  Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
April 22, 2013

Accepting TAM’s Award of Excellence on behalf of AMSE for the museum was Ken Mayes, AMSE Deputy Director, who attended the organization’s annual conference in Middle Tennessee on March 20.   The purpose of TAM’s Excellence Award is to recognize, encourage, and promote excellence within the activities of the Tennessee Museum community.  Awards are based on creativity, originality, resourcefulness, success, support of museum mission statement and utilization of staff and volunteers.

The Photography of Ed Westcott can be viewed on computer, tablet or smartphone with internet connectivity at http://photosofedwestcott.tumblr.com  This project serves as a resource to educate the public about the role Oak Ridge played in World War II’s Manhattan Project. Using the social media blogging platform, Tumblr, was a way to publish the photos online for free and makes it easy for the user to share or like.  Other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were also used to reach the audience, as well as a link from the AMSE website, explained Mayes.

The WWII Manhattan Project images taken by James Edward Westcott, the official U. S. Army Oak Ridge Manhattan Project photographer, were scanned by AMSE volunteers.  In 2012, one new image was added every Tuesday and Thursday to the AMSE webpage and on December 18, 2012, the 100th photograph was added.  This photograph showed people waiting in line outside the telephone office in Oak Ridge and was taken by Westcott in 1944.  Westcott’s photos officially document the historic construction and operation of the of the “secret city,” and the daily life of those living there.  Westcott’s photos of Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project years are invaluable to the preservation of the story of a unique moment in the United States history.

Come to AMSE, 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, and experience Oak Ridge’s role in the Manhattan Project in AMSE’s flagship exhibition “Oak Ridge; World War II Secret City.”  Visit AMSE’s Discovery Shop and purchase books with Westcott’s images including Through the Lens of Ed Westcott: A Photographic History of World War II Secret City and the AMSE lobby exhibit by the same name; Images of America: Oak Ridge by Ed Westcott, which are among several history and science books, kits, gifts, posters and apparel for purchase.  The Discovery Shop is open Monday – Saturday from 10:30 am – 4:45 pm and Sunday from 1:00 pm – 4:45 pm.  AMSE is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm.  AMSE admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6-17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge.  AMSE members are free.  Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations.  For more information on AMSE membership benefits, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org

Contact:  Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
April 2, 2013

April 1 – May 12   ZOOM INTO NANO

April 1 – June 1  REGISTRATION OPEN FOR AMSE’s SCIENCE EXPLORER CAMP for rising 5th (10 years old), 6th and 7th graders.  The week long sessions are June 10 – 14 and June 17 – 21 from 8:00 am – 3:30 pm at Freels Bend Cabin in Oak Ridge.  Students will focus on a variety of science topics  approached with field explorations and hands-on activities.  Located at the historic Freels Bend Cabin site, campers cover topics such as insects, habitats, water, life sciences, weather, geology, fossils, flight, electricity, and robots.  The week includes a tour of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as well as special presentations by ORNL researchers.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

April 1 – July 28  JAPAN 1945: IMAGES BY U.S. MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER JOE O’DONNELL is a traveling exhibition organized by the Tennessee State Museum that showcases 22 of the most compelling images to document the aftermath of U.S. bombing raids on the Japanese cities struck by the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Artifacts and explanatory panels complete the exhibition.  Books are available about this exhibition in the museum’s Discovery Shop. AMSE Lobby.

April 5  HOMESCHOOL FRIDAY PROGRAM features “Flight and Hovercraft” for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 for non-members and $5 for AMSE members.  Grades 3-6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with the cost of $12 non-members and $9 for AMSE members. Students make and experiment with a different kind of simple paper airplane, make their own simple model hovercraft and witness an air-jet demonstration.  Students also learn why real airplanes fly and observe other tricks with moving air.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

April 19  HOMESCHOOL FRIDAY PROGRAM features “Butterflies” at Freels Bend Cabin in Oak Ridge for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 for non-members and $5 for AMSE members.  Grades 3-6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with the cost of $12 for non-members and $9 for AMSE members.  Students will learn about butterfly anatomy, life cycle, habitats, and monarch migration.  Microscopic examination, migration plotting, and a butterfly survival game are among the activities featured in this program.  For more information and registration forms, click www.amse.org or get a flyer at AMSE.

Note:  The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm.  Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6-17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge.  AMSE members are no charge.  Group rates are available with advance reservations.  AMSE memberships are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individuals $25 and Family & Friends $75.  AMSE members receive unlimited museum visits and free admission to 250 museums that participate in the ASTC Passport Program.  AMSE members get discounts in the Discovery Shop, discounts on classes, workshops, camps and birthday parties.  For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org  To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Contact:  Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
March 27, 2013

Families can participate in the biggest event for the smallest science, when they do nanotechnology experiments and create make & take nano souvenirs at NANO DAY on March 30 anytime between 10 am – 2 pm at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Nanoscale science and engineering is the process through which materials are manipulated on the molecular scale to generate very, very small structures and devices. Advances in nanotechnology are likely to change the way we design and fabricate everything from faster computers with greater storage capacity to stain repellent clothes to things that are still beyond our imagination.

AMSE visitors of all ages can engage their minds and use their hands in the various nano activity stations located throughout AMSE. Come explore the amazing properties of memory metal, liquid crystals, magnetic fluid and more.

Led by an AMSE educator volunteers, children and adults do hands-on experiments to discover how and why nanotechnology is used in fabrics, materials, products, and tools. AMSE visitors can make a liquid crystal card and a UV bracelet souvenir to take home.

Additionally, AMSE visitors can stretch a molecule, dissolve a crystal, shrink a pattern, and experiment with magnification in “Zoom Into Nano,” a traveling exhibition with many interactive stations on the museum’s second level through May 12.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 1 – 5 pm. AMSE admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6-17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge. AMSE members are no charge. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. AMSE memberships, good for 12 months from purchase, are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individuals $25, and Family & Friends $75. AMSE members receive unlimited museum visits and free admission to 250 museums that participate in the ASTC Passport Program. AMSE members get discounts on Discovery Shop merchandise and discounts on classes, workshops, camps and birthday parties. For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Students from Bearden High, Blackman High in Murfreesboro, Brentwood High in Brentwood, Oak Ridge High, Christ’s Legacy Academy and two homeschool students entered 113 model bridges; however, only 74 bridges qualified to be tested in the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The objective of the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest is to build a model bridge, according to prescribed size and weight specifications, that is capable of supporting the greatest load per unit of mass. The students entered their model bridges at AMSE, where engineers checked the model bridges for specific weight and dimension guidelines, before the model bridges were tested in the AMSE auditorium.

The top three Senior High winners receiving cash awards and a trophy were Martin Dickey, first place, $150 for this Luttrell homeschool student, with Dalton Chaffee, second place at $100 and Hayes Griffin, third place at $50, both students from Bearden High. Each school of the top three winners also received the same amount as the Senior High students. The top two winners, Martin Dickey and Dalton Chaffee, will advance to the International Bridge Building Contest on April 26 at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The High Point Trophy awarded for the team with the most bridges with the highest structural efficiency ratio from one school, went to Bearden High.

The top three Junior High winners each receiving a trophy were Clair Clark, first place and Alyona Moss, second place, both students at Christ’s Legacy Academy in Athens and Noah Hylton, third place, Oak Ridge homeschool student.

The top three winners of the Most Aesthetic Bridge were Madison Headrick, first place, Christ’s Legacy Academy; Lee Ratanaphom, second place, Blackman High and Josiah Chan, third place Oak Ridge High. All these students bridges qualified to be tested in the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building contest.

Sponsors of the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest were the American Museum of Science and Energy, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, and the AMSE Foundation. The engineers staffing the event were Ken Fricke, Jim Tonne, Steve McDonald, Mark Eisenhauer, Dave Campbell and Robert Kennedy. Don Miller provided photography of the event and winners.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm. Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6 – 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge. AMSE members are no charge. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. AMSE memberships, good for 12 months from purchase date, are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individual $25, Family & Friends $75. AMSE members receive unlimited museum visits and free admission to 250 museums that participate in the ASTC Passport Program. AMSE members get discounts in the museum’s Discovery Shop, discounts on classes, workshops, camps and birthday parties. For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and special events, click on www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Pre-registered basswood model bridges, built to certain specifications, have been entered from Bearden High School, Knoxville; Oak Ridge High, Oak Ridge, Blackman High, Murfreesboro; Christ Legacy Academy, Athens and Home schools.

The object of this Model Bridge Building Contest is to see who can design, construct and test the most efficient bridge within prescribed size and weight specifications, that is capable of supporting the greatest load per unit of mass. The construction and testing of model bridges promotes the study and application of the fundamental principles of physics and develops hands-on skills through bridge construction. Model bridges are intended to be simplified versions of real-world bridges, which are designed to accept a load in any position and permit the load to travel across the entire bridge.

On March 9, students Grades (7 – 12) can also register their model bridges from 8:30 am – 11 am in the AMSE lobby. The public is invited to observe the Aesthetics judging at 10 am in the AMSE lobby and the Bridge Testing beginning at 11 am in the AMSE Auditorium, concluding with the Awards Ceremony.

The Middle School students (grades 7 – 9) and High School students (grades 9 – 12) will compete for the top three places in each division. Ninth graders can select whether they would rather enter their bridge in the Middle School or High School division. The top three winners will receive a trophy in the Middle School division. The top three Senior High winners each receive a trophy and cash awards of $150 first, $100 second and $50 third, with a like amount of cash awarded to their school. The top two Senior High winners advance to the International Model Bridge Building Contest on April 27 at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Sponsors of the East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest are the American Museum of Science and Energy, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers and the AMSE Foundation.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday 1 – 5 pm. Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6 – 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge. AMSE members are no charge. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. AMSE Membership, good for 12 months from purchase, are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individuals $25 and Family & Friends $75. AMSE members receive unlimited museum visits and free admission to 250 museums that participate in the ASTC Passport Program.. AMSE members also receive discounts in the Discovery Shop, discounts of classes, workshops, camp and birthday parties. For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and events, visit www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Contact:  Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
March 5, 2012

March 9 -  East Tennessee Model Bridge Building Contest

March 1 – May 12  ZOOM INTO NANO traveling exhibition offers a hands-on, interactive experience on how scientists study and make things that are too small to see.  Nanoscale science and engineering is the process through which materials are manipulated on the molecular scale to generate very, very small structures and devices.  AMSE Second Level.

March 1 – July 29  JAPAN 1945: IMAGES BY U.S. MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER JOE O’DONNELL is a traveling exhibition organized by the Tennessee State Museum that showcases 22 of the most compelling images to document the aftermath of U.S. bombing raids on the Japanese cities struck by the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Artifacts and explanatory panels complete the exhibition.  Books are available about this exhibition in the museums’s Discovery Shop. AMSE Lobby.

March 8  Homeschool Friday Program is “Our Microscopic World” for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 non-members and $5 AMSE members. Grades 3 – 6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with cost of $12 non-members and $9 AMSE members.  This program is an introduction to the importance of microorganisms.  Students will use a projection microscope, a stereoscope and student microscopes. For registration info www.amse.org

March 19  “Meet The Author” Denise Kiernan, and attend the book signing for The Girls of Atomic City at 6:00 pm in the AMSE lobby followed by Kiernan’s program based on her book featuring the “Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II” at 7:00 pm in the AMSE Auditorium.  The 16th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series is co-sponsored by Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The public is cordially invited and the event is free of charge. The museum’s Discovery Shop will open at 5:30 pm for purchases of the book The Girls of Atomic City.  This book can also be purchased in the Discovery Shop on Monday through Saturday from 9 am – 4:45 pm and Sunday 1 pm – 4:45 pm.

March 22  Homeschool Friday Program is “Create A Critter” for Grades K-2 at 10:30 am for one hour with cost of $7 non-members and $5 AMSE members.   Grades 3 – 6 at 12:30 pm for two hours with cost of $12 non-members and $9 AMSE members.  Given a scenario of an animal, students will design a “critter” with materials provided making allowances for what it eats, where it lives, how it protects itself and will explain how each critter has adapted to its environment.  For registration info www.amse.org

March 30  “NANO DAY at AMSE”  will offer special hands-on nano science experiments and make & take nano science souvenirs for all ages from 10 am – 2 pm at various activity stations throughout the museum.  Come explore the amazing properties of memory metal, liquid crystals, magnetic fluid and more.

Please Note:  The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 1 – 5 pm.  AMSE admission is Adults $5, Seniors $4, Students (6 – 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) no charge.  AMSE members are free.  Group rates are available with advance reservations.  AMSE memberships, good for 12 months from purchase date, are Family $40, Grandparents $35, Individuals $25 and Family & Friends $75.  AMSE members receive unlimited AMSE visits and free admission to museums that participate in the Association of Science Technology (ASTC) Passport Program,  AMSE members also get discounts on Discovery Shop merchandise, discounts on classes, programs, camps and birthday parties.  For more information on AMSE memberships, exhibits, programs and special events, go to www.amse.org  To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Contact:  Lissa Clarke
Public Information Officer
American Museum of Science and Energy
Tel. (865) 576-3218
February 22, 2013