Decision to Drop

Decision to Drop

During WWII, the entire planet was locked into a struggle between powers.  Uncover the issues in Europe as well as in Japan that lead the United States into the war following Pearl Harbor.  This exhibit will lead the visitor through the Manhattan Project, Trinity and its legacy, and finally into the Cold War.

It is said that the dawn of the Atomic Age began with the testing of the world’s first atomic bomb.  This exhibit will show visitors just how much influence over the modern world this test created.  Trinity may be miles into the desert, but the world became a different place after July 16, 1945. Imagine the pressure and sense of import felt by the Project scientists as they prepared to test the “gadget” at the secret Trinity site in New Mexico. This exhibit features a re-creation of the Trinity Tower used in the test, the McDonald-Schmitt Ranch House and two unique automobiles that played a role in the actual test.

Guests will be transported back in time to the era when it all began.  Life was different in the 1940’s and life was very strange when you lived in a secret city with a secret identity.  The Manhattan exhibit will convey how people lived and worked within the closed cities.  Visitors will start to glimpse at the work being done to create the world’s first atomic bomb.  Then visitors will see actual casings of Fat Man and Little Boy, while reading about the Decision to Drop the only two atomic bombs used during a war.