Atomic Bomb Museum

Opened in 1996, the Atomic Bomb Museum is dedicated to the events on August 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m. Three days after the first bomb attack on Hiroshima, the second atomic bomb was dropped over the Urakami district of Nagasaki. Approximately 70,000 people were killed as a result of the bombing and a further 70,000 later died of subsequent radioactivity-related illnesses.The Atomic Bomb Museum covers the history of this event in the accessible form of a story. It begins with the disastrous scene of the attack and includes the events leading up to the dropping of the atomic bomb, the reconstruction of Nagasaki up to the present day, the history of nuclear weapons development, and the hope for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.To be more specific, the museum consists of four main sections. The first section introduces the city and culture of Nagasaki just before the bomb struck, the second section concentrates on the damage caused by the bombing, the third section depicts the issues of war and atomic weapons and the last section is a video room showing documentary movies related to the atomic bombing.There are also lecture halls where survivors of the attack give presentations of their experiences and conferences are held. Photographs, documents and original objects showing the damage are displayed and can be very upsetting, especially for young children. The graphic images show the damage caused by the heat and the subsequent fires after the explosion in Nagasaki. Urakami Cathedral, Nagasaki Prison and the Iwakawa-machi area are all shown in ruins. Among the many original objects on display, melted coins, twisted school staircases, scorched stones and burnt clothing all testify to the havoc caused by the tremendous heat and the massive explosion.