The extraordinary politics, science and secrecy of the former Rocky Flats nuclear bomb factory are now part of an Internet multimedia "virtual museum exhibit" developed by University of Colorado at Boulder Associate Professor Len Ackland and a team of researchers.
The "Rocky Flats Virtual Exhibit" is an experimental project that uses audio, video, photographs and text to describe a potentially catastrophic 1969 fire at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant eight miles south of Boulder. The exhibit is sponsored by the Center for Environmental Journalism at CU-Boulder.
In one of the exhibit's most chilling audio clips, a worker describes a blue flash of light seen as a crew battled the fire amid more than 7,000 pounds of radioactive plutonium. A small but lethal nuclear chain reaction, called a criticality, creates a blue flash.
"They saw a blue flash and thought they were about to die from radiation exposure," Ackland said.
Ackland believes the virtual exhibit's most unique feature is its integration of different media. "You can listen to excerpts of interviews with Rocky Flats workers. You can watch video of atomic bomb tests. You can view photographs from the plant as well as the panoramic view of one of the production rooms. Text descriptions help viewers understand the significance," he said.
Though the virtual museum concept is not new, this is the first exhibit of its kind related to Rocky Flats, according to Ackland. His book, "Making a Real Killing: Rocky Flats and the Nuclear West," first published in 1999 by the University of New Mexico Press, served as the starting point for the virtual exhibit. The exhibit was created over the last several years by a staff of volunteers including CU-Boulder students.
The exhibit's lead designer, Arlene Treat, was a senior at the time working with journalism Associate Professor David Slayden. Four other journalism, history and architecture students participated in the project at various times.
"We wanted to see what we could do by taking one dramatic event and giving people an opportunity to see that event through different media -- video, audio, photos and text," Ackland said.
The virtual exhibit is more relevant now that the plant's buildings have been demolished as part of the imminent closure of Rocky Flats, according to Ackland. "For example, building 707 no longer exists, but the virtual exhibit has a panoramic 360-degree view of a production room interior and its glove boxes, where workers manufactured parts for plutonium bombs."
In addition to the Rocky Flats exhibit, the Center for Environmental Journalism maintains "Nuclear Issues Online," a resource Web page aimed primarily at journalists and other researchers who need to understand and produce written or electronic material about nuclear issues.
"While a considerable amount of nuclear information is available on the Web, little is organized in a way that is useful for journalists new to the subject as well as for those who already possess some expertise," he said.
Ackland began his career in 1968 as a freelance journalist in Vietnam after graduating from CU-Boulder with a degree in history. He has a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and has been a reporter at newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and Des Moines Register.
Before coming to CU-Boulder in 1991, he was editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Under his leadership, the publication was honored with the National Magazine Award in 1987 for a special issue on the Russian Chernobyl nuclear accident.
At CU-Boulder, Ackland is founding director of the CU-Boulder Center for Environmental Journalism. He and the team of virtual exhibit developers hope the project will interest viewers and perhaps inspire other virtual exhibits about Rocky Flats and other topics.
"We would have liked to have made this exhibit part of a full virtual museum on a lot of subjects at Rocky Flats, but weren't able to find funding for all of it," Ackland said. "As a stand-alone exhibit, though, it's pretty forceful in and of itself."
Visit the Rocky Flats Virtual Exhibit online at . The Nuclear Issues Online journalist resource page can be found by clicking on the "Internet Resources" link on the home page for the Center for Environmental Journalism, .