Atomic Heritage Foundation

The Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF), founded by Cynthia Kelly in 2002, is a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Manhattan Project and the Atomic Age and its legacy. AHF's goal is to provide the public not only a better understanding of the past but also a basis for addressing scientific, technical, political, social and ethical issues of the 21st century.

Specifically, AHF works with Congress, the Department of Energy, National Park Service, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations and the former Manhattan Project communities to preserve historic resources and other aspects of the history. Our preservation efforts have included collecting oral histories of Manhattan Project veterans, symposia, books, museum exhibits, and teachers' workshops and educational resources.

For over a decade, AHF worked to establish a Manhattan Project National Historical Park. In December 2014, Congress passed legislation to create the park at Los Alamos, NM, Hanford, WA, and Oak Ridge, TN. AHF is working in partnership with the National Park Service, the Manhattan Project communities, and other organizations to interpret this history for the new park.

AHF has developed a number of online resources, including the "Voices of the Manhattan Project" website with over 300 oral histories and the "Ranger in Your Pocket" series with vignettes on Manhattan Project sites and themes.

AHF has hosted several major symposia with leading historians, veterans and political leaders. The latest, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Manhattan Project, was held on June 2-3, 2015, in Washington, DC, and was broadcast by C-SPAN. AHF is also producing educational resources for middle and high school teachers and students on the Manhattan Project and its legacy.

Building upon its past museum exhibitions in Hanford, WA, and Idaho Falls, ID, the Atomic Heritage Foundation is working on a national traveling exhibition on the Manhattan Project that addresses the present challenges of containing the threat of nuclear weapons.

AHF has also developed five documentary films and several publications including an anthology, The Manhattan Project (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007), and guidebooks on the Manhattan Project sites.