Atomic Testing Museum, Nevada

The Atomic Testing Museum showcases merchandise and toys highlighting interest in the Nevada tests 

The Atomic Testing Museum is part of the Smithsonian Institute. A sober-looking brick building with discreet lettering announcing its role, the unprepossessing museum contrasts vastly with its location: it's just a few blocks away from the Las Vegas Strip. 
I heard about The Atomic Testing Museum when I first visited Sin City for CES three years ago. Free time was in short supply and when we did escape the city, it was on a mini road trip to the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and up into Utah. 
I was lucky enough to be asked back to Vegas to cover the launch of HP's Z1 all-in-one workstation PC this month. They were good enough to ensure the four UK journalists got to arrive in good time and have a few hours jetlag-recovery. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. 
My dad worked as a nuclear inspector until his retirement last year, so there was an element of curiosity about his work, as well as the mythical status of nearby Area 51, as an attraction. I didn't know before I visited that the museum was a Smithsonian Institute affiliate, so my preconceptions were of alien conspiracy theories focused around Area 51, rather than the nitty gritty of what was tested and how results were measured. There is a nod to these conspiracies in the foyer - a purple blow-up lifesize alien - but I didn't spot any further references in the museum itself. 

Mostly, the museum charts the history of the Nevada Test Site - the US' principal domestic atomic testing location from 1951 until 1992. The site has since been mothballed, but remains in a state of readiness for future testing and analysis. 
Photos of testing equipment and several artefacts from the test sites feature along with audio recordings from scientists, video footage of tests at Bikini Atoll and other overseas sites, and a timeline of developments. As a non-US citizen, it was fascinating to see what did and didn't make it on to the global timeline (but also good to get a non-British perspective).
The visit starts off with some background on nuclear fission, the implications of splitting the atom and copies of Albert Einstein's letters to the US president explaining the possibilities of nuclear. 
Of almost as much interest were the items of merchandise that took atomic testing and mushroom clouds as their theme. Toys, playing cards, DIY nuclear fallout kits and kids' science labs were on display. Las Vegas' population exploded in the space of a decade, with interest in the atomic tests cited as one of the reasons. Atomic cocktails, bars and foodstuffs all traded on the unique selling point, while tourists came specifically to witness the pre-dawn atomic clouds that appeared. 
The Atomic Testing Museum has few fripperies and there's little in the way of interactivity, but it's a fascinating place to visit and a welcome diversion from Vegas' more prurient distractions.