Los Alamos History Museum

Los Alamos History Museum The Los Alamos Historical Society and Museum preserve, protect, and communicate the remarkable history and inspiring stories of Los Alamos.
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One museum in multiple buildings, the museum tells history of the people of Los Alamos, including information on the Ancestral Pueblo people, Homesteading history, the Los Alamos Ranch School, the Manhattan Project, and the Post-World War II community. Visit www.losalamoshistory.org for the most up-to-date information on hours, events, and other news.

The 2026–2027 Lecture Series opens with Roslyn Franken’s powerful presentation Meant to Be: A POW’s Survival of Nagasak...
09/01/2026

The 2026–2027 Lecture Series opens with Roslyn Franken’s powerful presentation Meant to Be: A POW’s Survival of Nagasaki and the Strength of the Human Spirit. Franken will share the extraordinary true story of her father, John Franken, a Dutch Naval Air Force recruit who survived years as a prisoner of war in Japan before witnessing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. She will also present select clips from the CBC documentary Tea at the Embassy, which chronicles his postwar effort to seek a formal apology from the Japanese government. The lecture also tells the story of Franken’s mother, Sonja, a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz and other N**i concentration camps. Roslyn weaves together her parents’ remarkable journeys, showing how two survivors from opposite sides of World War II found each other and built a life grounded in resilience, hope, and love. Their story offers enduring lessons about courage, humanity, and moral responsibility that continue to resonate today.

Due to copyright restrictions, the September 8, 2026, lecture by Roslyn Franken will not be available on our YouTube channel. Please join us in person at Fuller Lodge to hear the extraordinary story of Franken’s parents, John and Sonja Franken.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 8 at 7 pm.
Thank you Enterprise Bank and Trust for supporting this season’s lecture series.

Do you have a yearbook?As part of our mission to preserve and protect Los Alamos History, our Archives and Collections h...
08/31/2026

Do you have a yearbook?

As part of our mission to preserve and protect Los Alamos History, our Archives and Collections has a yearbook collection from Los Alamos Schools. We would love to add some missing years to the collection. If you have a Los Alamos yearbook you no longer want, consider donating it to the Los Alamos Historical Society Archives and Collections. Specifically lacking in our collection are Los Alamos elementary school yearbooks. We also want to expand our collection of Pueblo Junior High, Cumbres Junior High, and Los Alamos Middle School yearbooks. Our Los Alamos High School yearbook collection is much stronger, though we haven’t added any yearbooks since 2017. If you are interested in donating, you can email [email protected] for information and to discover if you have a yearbook from a year missing from our collection.

We are also looking for copies of the High School Literary Magazine, Pegasus. Our current collection includes magazines from 1965-2012. We would love to add more recent publications!

Pictures show our current Yearbook collection and some of the Pegasus Magazines.

On this day, August 29, 1946, the WAC Farewell Dinner was held. As the Manhattan Project concluded, many soldiers heade...
08/29/2026

On this day, August 29, 1946, the WAC Farewell Dinner was held. As the Manhattan Project concluded, many soldiers headed home. The WAC’s celebrated with a final dinner before many of them left the Hill.
Mary Jeanne Gray wrote the following in her poem “A Farewell From the WAC’s” featured in the Farewell Dinner Program.

There were times when we’ve griped
and complained quite a bit
But, now, when we know we’re to go,
It’s going to be hard to leave the old place,
And all of the people we know.

We wish we were clever and could think of a way
To gracefully say fond adieu,
But our feeble attempts would fall short of our aim
And, no doubt, on the drippy side, too.

So — so long to the Company — we’ll miss it we know
And the friends who have helped us each way.
We’re sorry that we’re leaving, but sincerely hope
That we’ll all meet again some day.

Learn more about the Enlisted Women of Project Y in our special exhibit located in the Guest Cottage at the Los Alamos History Museum.

Photos courtesy of the Edith Barwick Haag Collection in the Los Alamos Historical Society Archives.

Bear Fest is this Saturday! We hope to see you there!
08/28/2026

Bear Fest is this Saturday! We hope to see you there!

Save the date and join us Tuesday, September 8, as we kick off our lecture series season welcoming Roslyn Franken to Los...
08/26/2026

Save the date and join us Tuesday, September 8, as we kick off our lecture series season welcoming Roslyn Franken to Los Alamos. Due to copyright restrictions this lecture will not be posted to YouTube. We hope to see you in person to hear this amazing story of hope and survival.

In cooperation with Live in Los Alamos, we were pleased to welcome Max Gomez back to our Museum Campus. Sunday evening,...
08/25/2026

In cooperation with Live in Los Alamos, we were pleased to welcome Max Gomez back to our Museum Campus. Sunday evening, Max and the Desert Companion Tour, took the stage on the Bethe House Lawn for an enjoyable evening of music. Thank you to everyone who came out for the concert, we look forward to hosting more events in the future!

Check out the updated exhibits in the Hans Bethe House at the Los Alamos History Museum! Come learn about life in Los A...
08/19/2026

Check out the updated exhibits in the Hans Bethe House at the Los Alamos History Museum! Come learn about life in Los Alamos in the mid twentieth century. Our new exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, and information about housing developments, schools, and community life.
Museum entrance is $5 or free for Los Alamos County residents and veterans.

On this day, August 17, 1896, General Leslie Groves was born. After successfully overseeing the construction of the Pen...
08/17/2026

On this day, August 17, 1896, General Leslie Groves was born. After successfully overseeing the construction of the Pentagon, Groves was selected in September of 1942 to run the Manhattan Engineering District. By October of 1942 he had chosen J. Robert Oppenheimer to lead Project Y at Los Alamos.
To learn more about their relationship check out the book, General and the Genuis by James Kunetka or read about Groves’ experience in his own words in his memoir Now it Can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project. Both books are available online and in the Los Alamos History Museum Shop.

📸: Painting of General Groves inside the Los Alamos History Museum
📸: General Groves and Robert Oppenheimer
📸: Bust of General Groves inside the Los Alamos History Museum

The Los Alamos Historical Society Announces its Fall Lecture SeriesThe Los Alamos Historical Society is pleased to annou...
08/17/2026

The Los Alamos Historical Society Announces its Fall Lecture Series

The Los Alamos Historical Society is pleased to announce the continuation of its free Lecture Series for the 2026-2027 season. Lectures are held on the second Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Pajarito Room of historic Fuller Lodge.

The September 8 lecture will feature acclaimed author and speaker Roslyn Franken. Her lecture Meant to Be: A POW’s Survival of Nagasaki and the Strength of the Human Spirit shares the extraordinary true story of her father, John Franken, a Dutch Naval Air Force recruit who survived years as a prisoner of war in Japan before witnessing the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Franken’s mother, Sonja, a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz and other N**i concentration camps.

The October 13 lecture will feature international speaker and author Gary Powers Jr., the son of Cold War U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. His lecture Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy discusses the Cold War, the U-2 Incident, and Powers’ role as a consultant for Bridge of Spies.

Our Fall lineup concludes on November 11 with Dr. Edward Kaplan, author and Dean of the Army War College. Dr. Kaplan’s lecture,”Square Pegs into Round Holes: The Air Force and Nuclear Weapons in Limited War, 1950–1960,” explores how the U.S. Air Force attempted during the 1950s to adapt its nuclear arsenal to a series of smaller international crises and limited conflicts. The effort revealed a recurring challenge faced by large organizations: the tendency to fit new realities into existing categories.

Due to copyright restrictions, the September 8 lecture by Roslyn Franken and the October 13 lecture by Gary Powers Jr. will not be available on our YouTube channel.

Please save the dates and join us at Fuller Lodge for each of these lectures.

The Los Alamos Historical Society thanks Enterprise Bank and Trust for their generous sponsorship of our 2026-2027 Lecture Series.

Address

1050 Bathtub Row
Los Alamos, NM
87544

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

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