Sport & Outdoor
IconicCades Cove
FreeAn 11-mile loop through Great Smoky Mountains National Park's most famous wildlife valley.
Photo: Ɱ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
MuseumsHistory BuffRainy-Day PickFamily Favorite
American Museum of Science and Energy
American Museum of Science and Energy is a museum in Oak Ridge, TN, part of the Gatlinburg & the Smokies guide. Cost: under $25.
115 E Main St · Oak Ridge, TN
Why you should go…
The American Museum of Science and Energy opened in 1949 as the American Museum of Atomic Energy and tells the story of science in Oak Ridge, a Manhattan Project city. You can explore exhibits on energy and nuclear technology, a large Van de Graaff generator, and displays on Oak Ridge's part in the Manhattan Project. The museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, now sits in an 18,000-square-foot space on Main Street.
- #science museum
- #manhattan project
- #atomic history
- #smithsonian affiliate
What's around here?
The closest stops to American Museum of Science and Energy, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
39 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor
- Theatre & EventsFamily Favorite
Dolly Parton's Stampede
$50+A dinner-and-horse-show spectacle with a four-course meal eaten entirely by hand.
41 mi awaySwitch it up: Theatre & Events
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The Old Mill
Under $25A working 1830s grist mill turned restaurant district on the banks of the Little Pigeon River.
42 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink
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Titanic Museum Attraction
$25–$50A half-scale ship replica houses hundreds of recovered artifacts and passenger stories.
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Apple Barn Cider Mill & General Store
Under $25Fresh-pressed cider, apple fritters, and homemade preserves in a working orchard barn.
42 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink
- MuseumsQuirky Fun
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium
Under $25Ten rooms of oddities, shrunken heads, and optical illusions on the Gatlinburg strip.
46 mi awayMore like this
