B Reactor History Room: The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project exhibit panel in the History Room.

See exhibit panel for specific image credits.

Main Text
At the bottom right, text reads: “In 1939, at the urging of prominent U.S. scientists, President Roosevelt established the Advisory Committee on Uranium to research uranium for use in an atomic weapon. In August 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected the Manhattan Engineer District in New York City to manage and scale up the uranium research project. Named the Manhattan Project, this massive effort mobilized scientists, engineers, laborers, and military personnel from around the country to create an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany might do the same. More than 30 sites across the country were involved in the work with key centers of production and research at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington.”

Exhibit Panel Description
The poster entitled, “The Manhattan Project,” shows a black-and-white photograph of the “Fat Man” bomb sitting on a rolling trailer at an assembly building on Tinian Island. At the left, two shirtless men stand next to the bulbous, egg-shaped weapon with big, white metal fins on its tail at the back right. Overhead, a large metal hook, attached to a metal loop on the top of the bomb, hangs from large-gauge chains and pulleys.

Visit This Exhibit Panel
In-person visitation of the B Reactor is only authorized on guided tours offered by the Department of Energy.