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Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity

The ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity chronicles the scientific and commercial history of radioactivity and radiation. It has been deemed the official repository for historical radiological instruments by the Health Physics Society, and the Society has been generous in its financial support for the purchase of items.

The collection is the property of the not-for-profit ORAU Foundation. It is located at our facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Unless noted otherwise, the website only features items actually in the collection.

Tour the virtual museum

Impact Areas

The making of ORAU’s Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity

For the first time in its existence, the ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity is open to the public. See a behind-the-scenes video of the project bringing the collection to life!

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Read more blog posts about items in the collection

The making of ORAU’s Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity

The history of fallout shelters in the United States

In our museum’s collection, you will see a lot of different items that relate to fallout shelters because there was a period of time when the U.S. government grappled with the consequences of nuclear weapons and how citizens could respond if our enemies used the technology against us.

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The history of fallout shelters in the United States

Fiestaware: A colorful tale with an atomic twist

Fiestaware’s striking colors, particularly the iconic Fiesta red, were originally achieved with uranium oxide, making pieces radiantly unique. The use of uranium for this purpose, a practice halted and then altered due to World War II demands for atomic bomb production, underscores the blend of art and atomic science in these everyday items. 

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Two pieces of Fiestaware: A fiesta red saucer and an ivory bowl.

Pop Culture in the Atomic Age

Join Paul Frame, Ph.D., a health physicist and trainer at ORAU, as he shares a sampling of pop culture items and their backgrounds. Frame started the collection in the 1980s when he discovered X-ray tubes and other items in a cabinet. Over time, the collection has grown to include hundreds of items, many of them donated or purchased by either the Health Physics Society or the non-profit ORAU Foundation.

Pop culture in the atomic age video intro

Contact us

To find out more about ORAU's Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity, or if you are interested in making a donation, please contact Paul Frame.