DOE Oak Ridge public tour hosts 1,600 visitors

during 2012 summer season

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facilities summer public bus tour concluded August 31, attracting approximately 1,600 guests to the Oak Ridge Reservation.

This year’s tour, offered from June until August, attracted visitors from 40 states. Since its inception in 1996, the DOE public tour program has taken more than 27,600 visitors through the Oak Ridge Reservation.

“Getting a look behind the fence is a special treat that individuals can only experience through this public tour,” said Katy Brown, President of the Oak Ridge Visitor and Convention Bureau. “The growing numbers are evident that this tour is an extremely important asset to our tourism product.”

The three-hour bus tour, which includes off-the-bus stops, allows participants the opportunity to interact at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and the East Tennessee Technology Park. Guests receive guided commentary providing historical facts and updates about the world-class missions underway in Oak Ridge.

“The Oak Ridge story of the Secret City truly comes alive when bus tour participants can view these historic sites and walk in the footsteps of our 1940's American citizen soldiers,” said Lissa Clarke, public information officer for the American Museum of Science and Energy. “Visitors are in awe of how 75,000 people would keep a secret, and they are inspired by the enormous American patriotism, personal sacrifice, and resolve to end World War II provided by Oak Ridgers.”

The DOE Oak Ridge Office and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 Site Office sponsor the tour program each year. Tour partners include UT-Battelle, LLC, which operates the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, LLC, and management and operating contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex; URS| CH2M, Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR), Oak Ridge’s environmental management contractor; The Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and, the American Museum of Science and Energy. 

More information about the DOE Oak Ridge Office can be found at www.oakridge.doe.gov. For those interested in learning more about the American Museum of Science and Energy’s current attractions, visit www.amse.org.

-DOE-

R-12-31