I'm a science fan and have been to museums around the world. This one really surprised me in both the materials and quality. Apparently Senator Harry Reid (NV) has been getting some big earmarks for this museum. I really enjoyed the models of nuclear weapons that I've never seen elsewhere - howitzer rounds, ramjets. I learned about how they tested nuclear weapons and failures that I hadn't heard of before. Even my 11yr old, who normally gets bored, found interesting stuff. It takes about 2 hours to get a good feel for this museum and I'd consider going back someday to really explore it in depth.

Initially I didn't plan to go to the Atomic Testing Museum, however, because I got a 3 day power pass for the attractions (in this case I get free admission), so, I gave it a try. And it turns out to be the most educational experience I had during my trip.

The museum itself is not very large in terms of size, but it has tons of imformations about the atomic testing. For people who are not interest in this topic they may feel bored; so i suggest to people who are not into this topic, they should start off by watching the short movie about the history of atomic testing in the state of Nevada to get the general idea. Then if you have any question of concern, ask one of their staffs, they are all super nice. Before I went to the museum, I didnt expect much; however, after i left, I think I learned a lot and it should be a place that all tourists should go (well, except you are gambliers who just want to stay on the strip, lol)

The Atomic Testing Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the development and testing of the atomic bomb and other nuclear weaponry. The whole tour could be done in an hour or less.

My overall impression was that it was an incomplete picture of the development and use of the atomic bomb and I personally did not think that was close to worth the price of admission ($14.00 per adult).

There was a 10 minute video about atomic bomb testing early in the tour that was supposed to be one of the highlights of the museum. It was definitely one of the more interesting aspects of the museum. However, while it has been described by at least one professional Travel Reviewer as "intense," it was nothing close to intense and did not live up to the hype from other reviewers.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the museum, from my perspective, is that there was virtually nothing about the victims of the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not to mention those on the Marshall Islands who were impacted by atomic bomb testing there.

I understand the rationale for dropping the bombs and for developing nuclear weaponry over the years to help ensure peace, but to not include the story of the first victims of the bombs when talking about the impact of the atomic bomb is incredibly sad. The atomic bomb may be a necessary tool, but it is a terrible tool. I am a Caucasian American who served in the military, so I don't have an axe to grind. I just find the absence of more information about the hundreds of thousands of victims of the two bombs dropped in Japan to be a travesty, like learning about the science involved in creating gas chambers in World War II without talking about the tragedy of the millions who were victims of that science.

That is one of the reasons this museum lacks heart and why I personally found it so un-engaging. For me this lack of heart took away something of the overall impact and the value of the museum.

Pros:
Lots of scientific facts
Lots of text and vintage video footage
Displays and artifcacts associated with the atomic bomb over the years

Cons:
Dated
Staff looked bored
Nothing about the victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
10 minute video on atomic bomb testing was a disappointment versus the hype.

Would I recommend visiting the museum? Yes, but only if you have a very specific interest in a rather sterile history of the atomic bomb from the U.S. perspective. In my opinion, it is not worth the price of admission if you are expecting anything more than that.

I thought this was a nice museum. It had tons of information on the subject. There was everything from literature from the era to videos of the testings which you got to watch in a kind of recreation of a bomb shelter. There was lots of very cool artifacts too. It is a self guided tour that you can go along push buttons and it tells you a story while you watch a video or look at artifacts. Was it super exciting NO. But it was something nice to do during the day off of the strip and out of the casinos. It was informative and there was lots to look at. There were little games you could play at the end. They have a room that has science type activites for small children. They even had a piece of the Berlin Wall which I thought was a huge piece of history on it's own. I would recommend this to anyone that has an interest in science or just history in general.