Rocky Flats
Cold War Museum

ARVADA, COLORADO

Rocky Flats Cold War Museum

In the early 1950s, as part of a top-secret project, Rocky Flats was selected as a highly classified U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) facility. It was tasked with producing the cores, or “triggers,” for nuclear weapons during the Cold War—utilizing plutonium, highly enriched uranium, beryllium, and other materials. The plant was operational in these efforts from 1952 to 1993.

In the years after its closure, Rocky Flats was signed into law as a National Wildlife Refuge in 2001. The Museum was incorporated in July 2001, with a mission to document the historical, social, environmental, and scientific features of Rocky Flats, educate the public, and preserve the contributions and legacies of those who supported the plant during the Cold War.