History

In 2009, the Smithsonian affiliated National Museum of Nuclear Science & History consulted with its nuclear industry partners, discussing the need for generating communication and public awareness centered on the achievements of nuclear science. Through these discussions, the idea of hosting a week that celebrated the field of nuclear science materialized.

Through the support of staff members from the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History and industry partners such as Entergy, the American Nuclear Society, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization and others, a National Nuclear Science Week steering committee was formed to promote community engagement and education regarding the contributions of the nuclear science industry and those who work in it every day.

The first Nuclear Science Week (NSW) celebrations, 2010-2012, were held in late January. The national steering committee decided it was time to change in 2013, as the January timeframe proved too cold for some parts of the country to easily mount programming efforts. To ensure participation with all members of the national steering committee and industry partners – including all areas of power generation, nuclear medicine, national defense and teaching communities – Nuclear Science Week was officially moved to the third week of October.

A number of local events take place all over the nation during Nuclear Science Week. It is celebrated in cities big and small, and any community is invited to get involved and host a Nuclear Science Week celebration. Each year a different city is chosen to host a the national events, and smaller celebrations take place throughout the country.

The first NSW was hosted in Albuquerque, NM, at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History. The second year, in 2011, the national celebration took place on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. In 2012, the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago hosted the main event, and in 2013 it was hosted in Aiken, SC. In 2014, the national event took place at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, WA. In 2015, the national event took place in Knoxville, TN, and in 2016, the national celebration took place in Wilmington, North Carolina. The 2017 national celebration took place in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The 2018 national celebration came back to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the ninth celebration!

Starting in 2018, Palo Verde Generating Station entered into a multi-year partnership agreement with the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History to serve as the U.S. sponsor for the week and its national celebration. Palo Verde invested in advertising, earned media opportunities, ties to elected officials and paid sponsorships ahead of the week(s) and the ancillary events connected to it. The host city in 2018 was Albuquerque, NM, where the Nuclear Museum is located. The host for 2019 and 2021 was Washington D.C., and 2020 was a virtual science week. This partnership offered the industry a chance to make a national splash about nuclear science and technology and a great opportunity to communicate the immense value of nuclear energy.

In 2022, the Nuclear Science Week National Event took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the University of Michigan Department of Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Science (NERS).

In 2023, under the direction of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, Nuclear Science Week was held at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, California. Over 1,000 students from the area learned from hands-on experiments and demonstrations from nuclear industry experts.

As each event passes on to the next, Nuclear Science Week continues to grow and continues to tell the story of the nuclear sciences to members of the public and key stakeholders by promoting understanding and connection to the profession.