The Los Alamos Museum is small but mighty, covering the old Boy's Ranch, the Manhattan Project, a separate exhibit covering military women during that time and the cold war. I worked on my Master's Thesis at the Lab, and I would drive up to see this Museum (and nearby Fuller Lodge and Bathtub Row) in a New York Minute. Gayle needed to be convinced, as all she saw was a bunch of school kids at the Fuller Lodge next door. The Museum is to the left if facing the Lodge and we both agreed afterwards that this historical place was well worth the trip. We also took a trip down "Bathtub Row" and believe that Oppenheimer's House was going through a renovation. The Fuller Lodge itself has historical significance, but we both agreed to skip that due to the summer camp crowds. read more

See all

A small museum with information about the community and the Project Manhattan. Given the town and its history, it's very minimal. I wouldn't drive up here just for this. Sorry read more

See all

I highly recommend signing up for a guided walking tour. $25/person. We called (505) 709-7794 in advance to reserve our spots. Their website says to either call or arrive to the tour 30 min prior. For Jan, the tours happen 11am Mon-Fri. We were the only 2 people taking the tour on a Thursday in January. Bill and Kendra led us on a 2 hr walk through several buildings and discussed how they were used, etc. We both really enjoyed the backstory of how Oppenheimer chose this place for the Manhattan project. read more

See all

Brief survey of the history of Los Alamos. We visited the Los Alamos History Museum on a Saturday afternoon, and we encountered about 20 people during our 35-minute visit. The museum provides a survey with artifacts of some of the native people, the Ranch School, and Manhattan Project. The museum is small, so there isn't a ton of information, but I think it is good value for $5. The museum also provides some good context if you peruse the outbuildings after visiting the museum. Overall, I would recommend visiting the Los Alamos History Museum if you are looking for museums to visit in the area. read more

Several buildings on the campus. Docents eager to teach with details. Pretty park and walkways. Enjoyed it.

Really great museum in Los Alamos! They have an extensive gift shop along with exhibits that provide considerable information about the history of the area. You can walk outside without going on the walking tour. If you have a membership to your local museum, check to see if it provides reciprocal benefits as you may be able to get in for free. read more

Park by the gray concrete sign for the Fuller Lodge. The historic museum is just left of the lodge. Museum focuses on the Manhattan atomic bomb, the pueblos and Valles Caldera. $5/pp for the museum entry. $20 for the walking tour/pp. The small historical museum is behind and beyond the fuller lodge on the campus. Gives you history of the Pueblo village, homestead, Manhattan bomb, the Cold War and etc. Would be something to receive an official letter of eviction for a government project and how nice to be given one semester to finish out the school term. The Ranch school looks like a preparatory school for the Boy Scouts with their uniform and activities. read more

See all

Quick stop to stretch our legs on the way to Bandelier National Monument. Although the museum is closed, nice to visit Los Alamos to learn about the Pueblos, the Los Alamos Ranch School for boys, Valles Caldera and the Manhattan Project. Helpful tips: Park near the Fuller Lodge Art Center. Check out the Pioneering Women in Los Alamos exhibit online. Part of the NARM association. Reciprocal benefits honored. read more

See all

This museum was actually very cool and interesting. Over 30 years ago I wrote a report and created a diorama about the first atomic bombs and Hiroshima. I'd forgotten the details but they came back to me as I wandered around this little museum and got some additional facts about other scientists and situations surrounding the Manhattan Project. For me, it would take 45 mins tops to thoroughly absorb all the information available at this museum but the $5 cover is a good deal for that time. Didn't take pics as to not disturb the other patrons. read more

This museum and surrounding buildings are very interesting and well supported by the local community and national resources. The docents were very knowledgeable and friendly. read more

Small but well designed and well-told fascinating look into the birthplace of the atomic bomb -- and the people involved. Learned new things and appreciated the architecture and history. No other place on earth offers this first hand look into a turning point of history. read more

See all

Small but really impressive. A great starting point for the day. The staff was friendly.

Los Alamos was a natural next visit after visiting the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque. It was my first visit to Los Alamos and I may have been expecting something different but it was very fascinating. Los Alamos is still an area with working laboratories. There is no admittance to that area but there are museums, walking tours and displays to document the history of the town. The museum was a very interesting way to understand the area of Los Alamos and the origins of the town. The museum mission is to "preserves, promotes, and communicates the remarkable history and inspiring stories of Los Alamos and its people for our community, for the global audience, and for future generations." I really expected to be able to walk through what would feel like the laboratory where the main work was done. If you come expecting a good museum, you will enjoy it. I still recommend visiting Los Alamos for its history. read more

Los Alamos History Museum - Museums Near Me - Los Alamos, New Mexico

See all

Very cool place to check out if you're in/around Los Alamos and have an interest in Oppenheimer, even if you currently can't go into the Oppenheimer House. I agree with another reviewer that the staff are passionate about what they do, particularly docent Jolene, who took the time to notice us and answer all of our questions - our conversation with her was the icing on the cake. Thank you Jolene! read more

Los Alamos played such a crucial part in the history of our country during the Second World War. This place is stepping back in time to an era when so much secret research was conducted in a closed community. This is a hidden hem that should not be overlooked. read more

Los Alamos History Museum - A special place that should not be overlooked. - Museums Near Me - Los Alamos, New Mexico

See all

Getting to Los Alamos History Museum from Bandelier National Monument was an experience. After stopping and answering a series of questions at a military guarded gate, we thought we made a wrong turn and was heading into a top-secret military installation. The Los Alamos History Museum was a series of buildings that are nestled next to a modern strip shopping center. It was interesting to learn about the Ranch School, but we were a little disappointed that there was not more about Oppenheimer's Deadly Toy. It seems like any knowledge and research is still top-secret and hush-hush. The Fuller Lodge was beautiful, but sadly empty. The Romeo House and Ancestral Pueblo sites were feet away from the strip shopping center parking lot, which took away from the historical ambience. The Hans Bethe House is surprising large for a house of it's day, but the guide lady kept everyone in the front room and kept taking, talking, talking to the point that we broke off to look at the house ourselves. We are glad we stopped and visited, but the visit left us with wanting to know more rather than answering all of our questions. read more

Los Alamos History Museum - Fuller Lodge - Museums Near Me - Los Alamos, New Mexico

See all

This museum is a little gem. The staff were responsive and helpful - and abundantly knowledgeable about the history of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project. The movie Oppenheimer was filmed, in part, on site. Staff were passionate about what they do, and provided so much great insight. This is a must-see. read more

Great little place to explore Los Alamos and get some knowledge about our history! It's fun for locals and visitors alike. It a must stop if you're visiting town. It's centrally located, which is nice. It's a short walk from Starbucks, a local bagel shop, and a brewery! read more

I love history, and the history of the Manhattan Project came to life when I visited this museum in Los Alamos. The staff were very knowledgeable and were eager to share their wealth of knowledge with us. Unfortunately the home that Oppenheimer occupied while he was here is privately owned but you can get a glimpse of it from the Bethe House. read more

See all

OUR FOURTH AMAZING STOP: Los Alamos is a smallish town that takes full advantage of it's nuclear notoriety. The 1950s sci-fy-esque nuclear symbol adorns everything from the optician to the realtor. But the biggest thing I discovered about Los Alamos during my time there is that I need to spend more time in Los Alamos. That's especially true of the Historical Museum and Bookstore. This historical society is part of a complex that still houses scientists and researchers doing whatever it is that they currently do. The buildings are all charming, oozing their pre-war character. Inside there is a bookstore (which hopefully now carries my brother's amazing book http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Tail-Americans-Culture-Politics/dp/1558497277/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302908876&sr=8-2) to the left and the museum to the right. The museum deals with much more than the obvious - it begins with a study of the area, original peoples, early settlers, etc. It takes a bit of exploration to get to the area of interest - the Manhattan Project. They give a good bit of space to various aspects of the war, including the holocaust. I would have loved to explore more, and to visit another museum devoted specifically to the Manhattan Project, but we had very little time. I enjoyed what I saw and hope I have the chance to return. read more

July 2012 This museum not only focuses on history but seems to be stuck in the 1970's itself. The exhibits trace history from the volcanic beginnings of Los alamos to atom bomb days and immediately after. There is an extensive exhibit on the boys school that was here before the military came. All the interpretive information seems to date from just after the cold war as well. Clearly the museum could use some funding. You can view the entire museum in less than an hour. If you ask, they will provide a brief historic introduction but this is only useful if you come here and haven't yet been to the Bradbury. They do have a very good bookstore, better than the Bradbury with lots of games and toys for kids. Many of the major critical books on the atom bomb are available. There is also a nice selection of southwest cookbooks. You can pick up the walking tour brochure here. The tour is informative and also shows an Anasazi pueblo. read more

I actually wasn't going to go to this museum. "Historical" always scares me off. But it was Sunday and the museum down the street didn't open until 1, whereas this one opened at 11. I walked inside and thought oh, this'll take me 15 minutes. It looked tiny. Thankfully looks can indeed be deceiving. Okay, the museum isn't huge, but it surprisingly winds it's way through several rooms. The first room is about the earlier native inhabitants, which I skimmed as I just came from Bandelier. Turned the corner and into a display about the Boy's Ranch that first occupied the area. Full disclosure- I had no idea what a boy's ranch was and after reading about it, I was a bit saddened to hear it was sold. True, only the rich could afford the boys ranch, but it turned frail and sickly boys into men, and who can ever really complain about that? Sleeping in outdoor screened porches year round, taking responsibility for a horse, doing daily calisthenics, being required to write home...all that sounds good to me. But the ranch was bought and so we move on...... Turn another corner, through the original guard gate, and into the room about the "secret town." Although a town built on science, the museum display was built on the people behind the science....the wives, the mothers, the scientists, the kids, the babies.....all of who had to leave their life behind and live behind this shroud of secrecy....and even come to enjoy it. I would say this museum is more about the people behind the science.....it smartly leaves the science to the museum down the street (the bradbury). read more

See all

Made a special trip over to Los Alamos while staying nearby on business. Been a science nerd/fan my whole life so in the interest of full disclosure, my review is definitely biased. :) I was very happy to be able to visit this town and this museum. read more

Engaging history of Los Alamos from the 1860 homestead grants through the Manhattan Project period. More science at the Bradbury museum.

This museum is down the block from the Bradbury museum and while that museum is more sterile with straight scientific facts, this one is more intimate and historical. There are re-created rooms and displays with the actual furniture, uniforms, books and food stock items from the Manhattan Project years. A display of old IDs gives an idea of the people who were at the lodge. It's free like the other museum and I found it to be a good counterpoint. read more

A small and quiet museum that presents the three different lives of Los Alamos: the ranch school days, the WWII days and the Cold War days. The museum is a nice balance between historical and technological facts and the morality questions arising from the development of the atom bomb. read more

I had very low expectations when I first entered this museum. These expectations were exceeded after I had looked through the exhibits. There were many interesting exhibits and facts, but this place might not be worth the trip from Santa Fe. However, it's great for a place to stop if you have some extra time. read more

This was a surprise gem of our trip to New Mexico. My 10 year old loved the challenge they gave him to solve and it was great talking to the docent in one of the houses that was a scientist at the lab. Good times! read more

The primary attraction of this very nicely organized museum are exhibits about the history of the Manhattan Project, the activities in Los Alamos during WW II which resulted in the invention of nuclear weapons and the fabrication of the 2 atomic fission bombs dropped on Japanese cities There is very interesting information about what life was like in the closed, then secret town of Los Alamos during the course of the incredibly intense wartime research, development, and engineering effort that was the Manhattan Project.. In addition , this museum has some quite interesting exhibits about the distinctive local geology and volcanic history, wildlife and plant life native to the area, archaeological exhibits about the inhabitants of the Pajarito Plateau prior to arrival of the Spanish in the part of New Mexico, and the more modern history of what is now Los Alamos between the arrival of the Spanish and the early 1940s when the government seized the land to make what is now Los Alamos National Lab. read more

This was a fun historical stop for my family vacation. The historical / informational museum was the best stop besides Robert Oppenheimer's former house. I'd recommend it. read more