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Celebrating Tomorrow Today

The Peaceful Atom on Display in the Soviet Union

Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, sschmid{at}stanford.edu

This paper introduces the history of a unique museum of nuclear energy, the Pavilion for Atomic Energy at the ‘Exhibition of the Achievements of the People’s Economy’ (VDNKh) in Moscow, from its inception in 1956 to its closing in 1989. The analytical goal is to unpack the kind of social order that was implicit in the way visitors to the pavilion were envisioned. The paper proposes that the pavilion’s exhibitions on nuclear energy, staged as pivotal to technical progress, not only reinforced a vision of the country’s scientific and technological potential, but also contributed significantly to the Soviet political vision. Based on archival documents and published material, the paper traces shifts in the pavilion’s tasks, and attempts to convey how these shifts mirror changing concepts of the intended visitors. Moreover, the paper explores how this historical case study speaks to contemporary museum theory, and how this may qualify our understanding of the role of the popularization of science and technology. It addresses differences and similarities between Soviet and Western approaches to public displays of science and technology. While clearly influenced by the tradition of world fairs, the Soviet model of ‘disciplining the visitor’s gaze’ seems to have curtailed the relevance of aspects, such as entertainment or consumption, that started to dominate Western discussions. The prevalent model of visitors was that of enthusiastic learners, and of active contributors to the larger project of constructing a communist society.

Key Words: museum theory • nuclear power • popularization • Soviet Union • the public • visitors

Social Studies of Science, Vol. 36, No. 3, 331-365 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312706055534


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