Peek into a 320-foot blast crater in the Nevada desert or descend a Titan II missile silo in Arizona for a look at two of many "atomic tourism" sites around the world that offer history and sometimes lessons from the deadly aftermath of the nuclear age。
The crisis in Japan has boosted interest in nuclear-related museums and plants, once-secret Manhattan Project complexes and areas laid waste by disaster。
"Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a great interest in things nuclear in general, and specifically about the Japanese situation," said Allan Palmer, executive director of the Atomic Testing Museum and Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation in Las Vegas。
Attendance was up 12 percent on a recent weekend at the museum。
At the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, N.M., attendance jumped about 20 percent on a recent weekend as work continued at the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors after the earthquake and tsunami wiped out power to northern Japan。
"Folks definitely want information about nuclear reactors and nuclear radiation," said Jeanette Miller, a spokeswoman for Albuquerque museum。
One of the museum's docents, retired physicist Duane Hughes, said inquiring visitors aren't jittery but seem confused about reports of the dangers in Japan. The museum hosted a specialist to brief docents on what's going on。
"We try to give people a balanced, factual, truthful response," Hughes said. "I didn't see anyone who is showing any emotional situations like, 'Oh my God, the sky is falling.'"
Miller and other museum officials said spring break, along with special events like the NCAA basketball tournament in Tucson, Ariz., are contributing to increased foot traffic。
Other locations that played important roles in the development of nuclear technology stay busy for tours much of the year。
內(nèi)華達(dá)沙漠320英尺寬的彈坑和亞利桑那州的泰坦二型導(dǎo)彈地下發(fā)射井都是世界上的“核旅游業(yè)”景點(diǎn)。去那里看看可以了解歷史,或從核時(shí)代遺留的致命后患中吸取教訓(xùn)。
日本的核危機(jī)使人們對(duì)核相關(guān)的博物館和工業(yè)產(chǎn)生了興趣,對(duì)一度機(jī)密的曼哈頓計(jì)劃核設(shè)施和核災(zāi)難留下的荒地也興趣大增。
拉斯維加斯原子彈試爆博物館和內(nèi)華達(dá)測(cè)試基地歷史基金會(huì)的執(zhí)行總監(jiān)阿蘭•帕莫說(shuō):“有傳聞表明人們對(duì)與核相關(guān)、特別是與日本現(xiàn)狀相關(guān)的事物興趣大增!
最近一個(gè)周末參觀該博物館的游客人數(shù)增加了12%。
在地震和海嘯過(guò)后,日本北部已經(jīng)停水?dāng)嚯姡u第一核電站的搶修工作還在繼續(xù)。與此同時(shí),位于新墨西哥州阿爾布開(kāi)克市的國(guó)家核科學(xué)與歷史博物館的參觀人數(shù)在最近一個(gè)周末一下子增加了20%。
阿爾布開(kāi)克博物館的女發(fā)言人珍妮特•米勒說(shuō):“顯然人們是想獲取有關(guān)核反應(yīng)堆和核輻射的信息!
博物館的講解員之一、退休物理學(xué)家杜安•休斯說(shuō),前來(lái)問(wèn)詢的游客并不焦慮,但似乎對(duì)于有關(guān)日本危險(xiǎn)的報(bào)道感到迷惑。博物館請(qǐng)來(lái)了一位專家對(duì)于目前發(fā)生的情況向講解員進(jìn)行簡(jiǎn)要介紹。
休斯說(shuō):“我們盡量讓人們對(duì)事故作出適度、真實(shí)、坦誠(chéng)的反應(yīng)。我沒(méi)有看到任何人表現(xiàn)出‘天哪,天要塌了’的情緒狀態(tài)!
米勒和其他博物館館員說(shuō),現(xiàn)在正值春假,又碰上在亞利桑那州土桑市舉行的美國(guó)大學(xué)生籃球聯(lián)賽和其他特別活動(dòng),這些因素也導(dǎo)致了客流量的增加。
其他在核技術(shù)發(fā)展中扮演重要角色的場(chǎng)所在一年中大多數(shù)時(shí)候都有很多人到訪
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