This month’s Daytrippin’ is about 90 minutes away in Aiken, SC. The Savannah River Site Museum is on Laurens Street SW. The SRS Museum tells the history with technological, and scientific history, scientific achievements, social and ecological accomplishment of the Savannah Rivers Site, know to the longtime local as the “Bomb Plant.”
In addition to displays on Atomic Energy and Nuclear Research, the museum explains the significance the facility during the Cold War and the Space Race. The museum also has displays of the impact the construction of the expansive site had on the local community, including the moving of the entire town of Ellington, SC to the current location of New Ellington, SC.
We were met with a very information and well-versed staff person. The museum is small but packed with timelines, items from the sites and the community. Examples of radiation effects, fallout shelters and historical pictures. This is well worth the time and if you have ever been curious about the site, it answers numerous questions about the mysterious site. The entire building is chock-full of items from the 1950’s and 1960’s concerning the nuclear science occurring and the advertising and products that arose from it.
The museum is open Wednesdays – Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is free. Parking is easy and free on the street. We parked in from of the museum with no problem at all. The entrance is free but they have a donation box if you would like to contribute.
The museum is located in Downtown Aiken and within walking distance of numerous bars, restaurants, antique stores, and specialty shops. There is also a very nice visitors center and train museum that is a hit with children. A short drive from downtown are a number of horse farms, which makes a beautiful dive along dirt roads. The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame & Museum is also another great stop on you Daytrip to Aiken. As you drive to and from Aiken, you can take the Atomic Highway US 125, this road drives through the site. There is not much to see, but it will give you an idea of the security and secrecy of the site. Remnants of former gates and closed roads dot the route as you drive through the Savanah River Site.
