Art News

Japan Nuclear Woes Prompt Visitors to New Mexico Museum

ALBUQUERQUE (AP).- The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History is seeing more visitors since a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused fears for the safety of a nuclear plant. KRQE television reports workers at the southeast Albuquerque museum say three times more people visited over the weekend than during on average weekends since last summer. Museum officials believe fear of a meltdown at the Japanese nuclear reactor is prompting some visits. Museum president Dick Peebles says a couple of people told him that was a factor in coming in. The museum was created in 1969 to tell the story of Kirtland Air Force Base and the development of nuclear weapons. It became the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in 2009 when it moved to its current location.