Traveling Loan Exhibits
Life Atomic! Growing Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb
We are pleased to announce that in 2009 we will be debuting
a brand new traveling exhibition, "The Life Atomic: Growing
Up in the Shadow of the A-Bomb." Funded by a Museums for
America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, this exciting new exhibit will consist of panels
with images and text, plans for construction of a
re-creation of a portion of a family fallout shelter, and
props and teaching collection objects to be used in the
shelter and/or in exhibit cases.
| In the schools, duck and cover
drills trained students to react to an atomic attack
by crawling under their desks and covering their
heads with their arms. Courtesy of The Detroit News.
The Life Atomic is intended as a vehicle for
intergenerational discussion about the threats faced by
Americans in the early atomic age and the threats that face
our nation today. But the exhibit will include a more
light-hearted aspect of the topic, the impact of the bomb on
the popular culture of the 1950s and 1960s.
Museums are encouraged to supplement Life Atomic with local materials.
An educational packet is also included with the exhibit
which will challenge students to think critically about life
during the Cold War. Many of the exercises focus on group
activities and will make students more aware of the impact
of the Cold War on society, government, and popular culture
of the 1950s and 1960s.
| About 1960 Louis Severance built
this fallout shelter adjacent to his home near
Akron, Michigan. The shelter included a special
ventilation and escape hatch, running water,
sanitary facilities, a small kitchen, and sleeping
and living space for a family of four. It had
concrete walls and a 10-inch reinforced concrete
ceiling with a thick cover of dirt. Courtesy of the
National Archives and Records Administration,
Records of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency
The exhibit consists of 22 metal-framed exhibit panels of
various sizes and requires approximately 75-80 running feet.
Panels consist of: text, photographs, and two-dimensional
printed objects. Each panel is printed on Masonite and
several of the panels containing objects are covered in
Panel dimensions are as follows:
- Ten panels are 30 high by 40 wide.
- Two panels are 27 high by 40 wide.
- One panel is 40 high by 27 wide.
- One panel is 18 wide by 24 high.
- One panel is 15 wide by 18 high.
- Two panels are 11 wide by 14 high.
- One panel is 40 wide by 20 high.
- Four panels are 16 wide by 20 high.
|Ignorance of the long-term
effects of fallout led to years of above-ground
testing. Structures, equipment, and vehicles
were tested for survivability, while soldiers
were marched across ground-zero soon after a
blast. To these two Marines clowning for the
camera after a 1952 atomic blast, the cloud
formed by the detonation seemed close enough to
touch. Courtesy of the National Archives and
Records Administration, Records of the U.S.
Marine Corps (127-N-A325429).
Moderate security is required.
requirements: common carrier such as Roadway or R&L;
each exhibitor pays shipping to the next booking site.
Weight: three crates, total weight to be determined
Six-week booking periods, some double bookings available
200 brochures and 25 posters for each six-week booking
Rental fee for each six-week booking period: $800.
Contact for Availability
For further information or to arrange a booking,
Rogers Historical Museum
322 S. Second Street
Rogers, AR 72756-4546