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B REACTOR TOURS

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is now offering free public tours of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park facilities at the Hanford Site. Tours will run from April to November, with six days a week available during the summer and holiday weekends.

Hanford was one of the primary Manhattan Project locations during World War II, where over 50,000 people constructed a massive industrial complex to produce plutonium in nuclear reactors.

The park offers two tours: the first visits the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, where visitors can view the world’s first full-scale nuclear production reactor; the second explores the history of the area before the Manhattan Project. Both tours are free, open to all ages, and require registration.

Visitors who would like help scheduling a tour, or have special requests including wheel chair transportation or American Sign Language interpretation, are invited to call (509) 376-1647 , or stop by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park visitor center, at 2000 Logston Boulevard in Richland, Washington.

For more information on the planned tour dates for 2023 and to register, please click HERE .

Additional Resources:

• Virtual Tour of the B Reactor
• B Reactor Museum Association
• Ranger in your pocket

Tours of the EM Hanford Site’s B Reactor National Historic Landmark are resuming this month for a limited time. B Reactor is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and is operated by the Department of Energy.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Public tours are set to resume this month for a limited time at the Hanford Site ’s B Reactor National Historical Park , part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which also includes facilities in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Last August, EM announced that planned historic preservation work at B Reactor would require closure of the facility for at least two tour seasons after the 2023 season ended in November. Hanford contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company is set to carry out the preservation work. As the company’s plans and schedules came together, DOE identified an opportunity to allow additional public access before the preservation work begins.

“Last summer’s announcement, combined with the popularity of the movie ‘Oppenheimer,’ led to all seats for the remainder of the 2023 tour season being booked within two days as people rushed to reserve the remaining seats through mid-November,” said Colleen French, DOE’s national park program manager. “I’m so happy we’re able to give people another chance to get out there and see this amazing piece of history for themselves before the work gets going.”

Tour seats are available March 29 through the end of June, and then will be opened on a month-by-month basis from July to September, depending on the contractor’s construction schedule. Visitors of all ages and nationalities are welcome. To register for a tour or for more information, visit the tour website .

Since B Reactor tours began in 2009, visitors have come from all 50 states and more than 90 countries around the world. The tours also have a positive economic effect on the surrounding communities, bringing several million dollars each year in hotel bookings, restaurant visits and purchases.

The free tours last about four hours and offer a guided experience and time for visitors to walk around on their own to ask questions and reflect on the complicated legacy of the Manhattan Project and its continued impact worldwide.

Can’t make it in person? The Manhattan Project National Historical Park has virtual tours for B Reactor, Hanford’s T Plant and Oak Ridge’s X-10 Graphite Reactor and Y-12 Pilot Plant.

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Manhattan Project B Reactor Tours

Review Highlights

“ Definitely worth a visit, though most of the buildings that once were on the site at the height of Hanford 's operations are no longer there. ” in 6 reviews

“ The tour did not go into it but it's hard to tour the B Reactor where plutonium for A bomb was created and not wonder about it. ” in 4 reviews

“ When this happens neutrons move into Uranium 238 and creates Uranium 239. ” in 2 reviews

Location & Hours

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2000 Logston Blvd

Richland, WA 99354

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Man, what a little slice of fried gold. They had a movie, a bunch of historical photos, and even a fucking Geiger counter that I could wave around to test the radioactivity of things! Turns out, they had some radioactive shit Imin there! Not scary at all! The highlight was definitely the family restroom, though. Clean, smelled faintly of Lysol, great place to take a shit. 5/5 would dump here again.

Gieger counter.

Definitely worth a visit, though most of the buildings that once were on the site at the height of Hanford's operations are no longer there. Everything went on schedule as described. The bus is a comfy coach and the 45 minute ride to the actual Reactor B is enlivened by the tour guide's info about the history and geology of the area, as well as providing background on the construction and challenges of putting together the entire site so quickly. Free bottled water is provided at the site, and there's a good mix of short talks by guides (about 15 minutes or so each) and time to walk around, read info on exhibits, and take photos. Visitor Center is clean, with chairs inside for waiting as well as benches outside. Because we'd driven almost 3 hours to the site, we took advantage of a shady bench to have our lunch. The timing of the 11:45am tour means you'll want to get something to eat before setting off, because you won't return to the Visitor Center for about 4 hours (and there is no food to purchase at the Center, and no food allowed inside the Reactor B building). There is, however, a place to eat next door to the Visitor Center (The Dive) where I can at least confirm that the beer and onion rings are excellent. We got lucky and had a relatively cool (80 degrees) day. Bathrooms at the actual park site (the reactor) are limited to portable toilets, but again, all the info presented from registration to the actual tour were clear, informative, and well done.

See all photos from Miranda B. for Manhattan Project B Reactor Tours

A significant piece of American and regional history. Getting the tour and listening to the story is a great way to gain an appreciation for what was accomplished in such a short period of time.

It starts with self guided tour as everyone checks in. There is a video that is about 15 minutes. Then the docent goes over the geography of the plants, logistics of planning, and the logistics of the tour. I see a few problems with the video. 1. The video states, in 1943 settlers and natives were removed from Hanford. There were NO settlers in the USA in 1943. By using the word settlers versus residents, it makes it sound like people who were living there were there illegally based on US laws. Also, where were indigenous people forcibly moved to? According to the video, there was a 30 day move notice. That's horrendous. 2. There's also a sexist joke about termination winds: there is so much wind that blows sand around and wives get upset about the dust clean up that they tell their husbands working in the project that they are done. This is a remnant of patriarchy, true or not true. Those two points are problematic. A bit of the science: Uranium 238 is not radioactive. It is 99% of Uranium 235 is radio active, with a Geiger counter. Has neurons that come out and move at the speed of light. Somehow these are slowed down and cut. When this happens neutrons move into Uranium 238 and creates Uranium 239. Whoa. Then it can't stay in the nucleus and it is called Neptunium. Transmutated into Plutonium. What's interesting historically is that 1) we CREATED Uranium 239, Neptunium and Plutonium, 2) the new elements are named after the newly discovered planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Pluto, now we know, is not a planet). The process of creating these was called metallurgy. Bring critical mass together quickly then it creates fission at the speed of light. That's what makes it explosive. The core of engineers were from Manhattan. At one point there were 45,000 employees. Historically and scientifically, it's an interesting trip, if not a little outdated material in the educational materials.

The tour was very impresive. I'm not a nuclear power proponent and would have never make it there if not our son who was interested. But I'm glad I went, I learned a lot. Tour is long (4 hrs) and it hold more interest for those who interested in engineering, physics and WWII history. If you are one of them, it is a really incredible testament to ingenuity of engineering, creating first in the world nuclear power in an incredibly short amount of time, coordinating millions of factors on brand new not tested technology. All of that without the use of electronics and computers. The fact that it was pulled off, it was an incredible technical feat. It was also good to confront for a pacifist like me, the dilemmas that war presents. Especially when each choice includes destruction and killing or allowing that by not taking action. The tour did not go into it but it's hard to tour the B Reactor where plutonium for A bomb was created and not wonder about it. At the same time, hear the perspective of those who build it and didn't even know what they were building. I am definitely glad that this reactor was preserved, it's an incredibly important part of teaching history. BTW, since tour is 10:30pm till 2 pm, bring some sandwiches or smg to eat as the is nothing absolve at the site.

This was an incredible 4-hour tour. The tour guides are so knowledgeable and going in B Reactor is impressive. The tour does a great job of combining videos, tour guide talks, and free time to explore.

Getting on the list for this tour is exclusive. I thought a shmuck like me would never have a chance, but cancellations, oh you lovely cancellations, made me feel like a high roller. So yeah, whenever a tour opens up for a tour of the Manhattan Project's B-Reactor the limited seats sell out faster than a Stone Roses concert in 1989. But just like a Roses concert, I was able to finagle a seat. The tour starts off at the B-Reactor outreach center just off the SR240 as you're heading out of Richland to Vantage. This center alone serves as a wealth of information about the Hanford site and the B-Reactor. Ooops, there. I said it: Hanford. Yes, the B-Reactor at its root is an example of what dedicated and true science can accomplish when focus and freedom from government regulation are the engine of the project. The philosophical debate about the pluses & minuses of using "the bomb" in WWII is for historians. The conundrum about how to handle the nuclear waste generated on the Hanford site from this dastardly & polluting process has yet to be dealt with. I just want to talk about the tour. This tour is awesome. You step back to a different time when you enter the outreach center. There are photos of the citizens of the now long gone townsite of Hanford. There are also images of the Native Americans who lived & fished in the area. I can get lost in black & white photographs. It's amazing to think about how people lived here only ~70years ago. Show up early for your tour. You get a number as you arrive. The lower numbers get dibs on the better seats on the bus. Now if you're on the bus, I'd say do your best to sit on the right side of the bus--on this side you get the better views during the drive around the site. During the drive, we had an excellent tour guides (Jerry & Dimple) who have and are working on the Hanford site. As we drove through the different areas of Hanford, they gave information and answered questions (to the best of their ability) about the different sites. Now, they couldn't answer all questions, and the security reasons for this are apparent. As we entered Hanford proper, we passed through a gate manned by armed guards & menacing dogs. We were also not allowed to bring phones or cameras. Hanford is still a facility which requires heavy security. So yes, no questions about specifics regarding generating nuclear fuel generation. I've lived & worked near the Hanford site for many years, but its always seemed like a mystical and mysterious place. With names like the B-Reactor, 100 Area, ERDF, & Fast Flux Test Facility, Hanford always seemed like another world---a world I was ignorant of. This tour helped to remedy my ignorance. The drive alone was worth the price of admission (which was FREE!). But as we drove along the Hanford Reach and marveled at a place where time seems to have froze, it all worked its way up to the star of the tour: B-Reactor. This scruffy looking structure just off of the Columbia River was amazing. It was constructed in a flash. The physics and engineering behind it are caveman-esque by today's standards, but in the 1940s it was a marvel of science. The teams of scientists, engineers, machinists, operators, and construction workers made a facility which was the ultimate "science project". This was by far the best part of the entire tour. Well, I should mention the bathroom. Yes, here you will find one of the finest porta-potties you'll ever see. They're air-conditioned. They have art on the wall. There is even a pot of flowers (albeit fake). Do make a pitstop at the portapotty. After the B-Reactor the tour makes stops at a few of the other projects going on at Hanford---these projects are all related to how we deal with the deadly waste generated by the Hanford site. Waste generations will have to deal with....in other words, this portion of the tour isn't as interesting. So yeah, my only gripe about the tour is that you can't take photographs or document anything---something I like to do when I go on tours, hikes, nights out on the town, etc. But that's ok, they do have good reasons. If you are lucky enough to be one of the few to get in on the tour, do so. You won't regret it.

I happened to be in Richland, Washington, on business - a week long class for my Army job on radiochemistry (yes, I know that sounds very exciting for all of you readers...). What better way to spend half a day of our class than to visit the B Reactor at the Hanford Site. For those of you who do not know, the B Reactor is the first full scale nuclear reactor in the world. It was fueled with uranium (made out at Oak Ridge National Labs) to make plutonium - the very plutonium that was used in Little Boy. The tours are fairly new, and only offered at certain times of the year. I am not sure if that will change in the future. Though they are free, you do need to register in advance, and when I checked today, they were already booked for the rest of the year (50 dates total in 2010). They don't maintain a waiting list (which I think is a mistake) but you can check back for cancellations. Since the guy teaching our class knows the Hanford folks, he got the eight army folks in my class in on the tour today. How cool. It's about a 45 minute drive from Richland, WA to the reactor. Transportation is provided in a very comfy coach bus. The tour lasts about 2 - 2.5 hours on site, with some guided tour parts and some time to explore. It's a fairly new museum, so they are still developing the exhibits (aside from the massive reactor and stuff!). Am sure it will improve over time. Still, I think it was a worthwhile trip. Stay inside the marked areas, as there are still some contaminated areas on site (but they are very safe - don't worry!). Have fun. Check out the Trinity Site ( http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=351&ResourceType=District) next on your tour of Atomic History.

This was an excellent adventure back in time. The magnitude of what was accomplished in the time it took is mind blowing! The docents are great with the more or less scripted descriptions, you can take pictures, walk through each of the various areas, they have video displays at various points, equipment, logs, and tools on display, but the best part for me was to get the docents going on a side topic (ask about the pears at the emigres farm, or the visitors taking micrometer measurements of the open valve covers). Tour was four hours from the visitor center and back, the bus was a about 45 min or so each way. Highly recommended if you can take two hours in an industrial factory. Best of all it was free.

A very informative tour. I learned a lot about the early tri-cities years on the tour. The tour guide, who I can't remember his name was a very nice gentlemen. The HANFORD workers are doing a very important job in the cleanup project.

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Tours of Hanford reactor in high demand

Repair work will close historic site to visitors this year.

KENNEWICK — The public will get a chance to tour B Reactor, the main attraction of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park’s Hanford site, before it is shut down for repairs later this year.

The Department of Energy announced last year that 2023 would be the last opportunity to tour the reactor for at least two years as planned work is carried out, including replacing the roof.

That August announcement, combined with the popularity of the movie “Oppenheimer,” led to all seats for the remainder of the 2023 tour season being booked within two days as people rushed to reserve the remaining seats through mid-November, said Colleen French, DOE program manager.

The visitor center in Richland was swamped with phone calls asking about walk-on spots if there were no-shows for the tours or asking to be placed on standby lists.

It was the first time since the national park opened and began a regular tour schedule in 2016 that people who wanted to see B Reactor could not get a seat on a tour, French said.

The number of people stopping by the visitor center had been 1,974 in the last year before the COVID pandemic. That jumped to 3,900 in 2023, including almost 700 visits in July, the month that “Oppenheimer” was released.

The movie, which led Oscar nominations for 2024, tells the story of the father of the atomic bomb, including his test of an atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert fueled by plutonium from Hanford’s B Reactor.

Plans to close the reactor to tours through at least 2025 have not changed.

Tours will be offered only until construction begins this year, possibly in July.

Decisions then will be made on a month-by-month basis about whether more tours may be offered, depending on the status of construction. Registration would reopen for a month at a time.

The initial registration opens Monday for tours from the weekend of March 29 through the end of June.

To register starting Monday, go to manhattanprojectbreactor.hanford.gov. Those without internet access may contact the tour center at 2000 Logston Blvd., Richland, by calling 509-376-1647.

Buses for the tours leave the Richland visitor center for a drive to the reactor near the Columbia River; visitors then spend about two hours within the reactor. Tours take about four hours total.

Tours typically are offered mornings and afternoons Mondays through Saturdays, with Sunday tours added on holiday weekends. Some Mondays and Tuesdays while school is in session are reserved for student tours.

Tours are open to all ages. They are free, and donations are not accepted.

The law that created the park in 2015 gave the Department of Energy the authority to accept donations — including money, in-kind goods or labor — but that authority has not yet been passed down from the energy secretary to DOE’s national park locations, including Hanford.

Historic B Reactor

B Reactor was built in less than a year as the World War II Allies raced to develop an atomic bomb before Nazi Germany.

The reactor produced the plutonium used to fuel the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, the Trinity Test in New Mexico, as moviegoers see re-enacted in “Oppenheimer.”

B Reactor also produced plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, just weeks after the Trinity Test. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II.

There was nothing like B Reactor before it was built and nothing has been the same since, DOE officials have said.

It launched the Atomic Age, including the atomic weapons build-up of the Cold War. It also signaled a new way to make clean energy and created the field of nuclear medicine and the nuclear technology industry.

Visitors to B Reactor now can walk through the reactor that looks much as it did during WWII.

They can gaze up at the towering face of the reactor where fuel was loaded for the first time in 1944, and they can sit at the controls that started up the reactor for the first time in 1945.

Those gathered in the control room back then were unsure if a reactor would produce plutonium or would create a runaway chain reaction that would blow the plant up.

Planned repair work

Supporters of B Reactor worked for more than a decade to get congressional appropriations to allow DOE to assess the condition of B Reactor and make repairs.

The Department of Energy co-manages the national park with the National Park Service and continues to own the reactor.

Planned projects for this year and 2025 include:

• The roof will be replaced after leaks were detected, including at the front face of the reactor and in the control room. The leaky roof is the issue that started concerns about the reactor building’s condition.
• Mortar will be replaced between the reactor’s exterior concrete masonry blocks.

In some places, as the building was expanded or repaired, grout rather than mortar was used. That grout will be drilled out and replaced with mortar that will seal out water and help with building stability.

• The WWII-era electrical system for operating the reactor will be replaced with a smaller, more energy-efficient and easier-to-maintain system appropriate for the facility.
• A semi-permanent restroom will be added outside the reactor.

While the reactor is closed to tours during repairs, an online, virtual tour of B Reactor is planned that will include updates on the repair work.

Pre-war history tours

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park also offers seasonal tours telling about life before the site’s early residents were forced to leave their farms, homes and businesses to make way for the top-secret production of plutonium.

The tour includes a look at the few buildings remaining from the farms and orchards along the Columbia River and the small towns of Hanford and White Bluffs.

Buildings include the stone Bruggemann Warehouse, the remains of the 1916 Hanford High School, the tiny First Bank of White Bluffs and the 1908 Hanford Irrigation District Pump House.

As B Reactor tours close for construction work, the pre-war Hanford tours are expected to add a stop outside B Reactor.

The pre-Manhattan Project tours, which take about four hours, include bus transportation and a short walking tour at each site.

Registration for those tours also starts Monday for tours scheduled from May 3 through October. Tours are held on Fridays and Saturdays and on summer holidays.

To register, go to tours.hanford.gov/HistoricTours or call the visitor center at 509-376-1647.

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Last updated: January 13, 2023

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park c/o NPS Intermountain Regional Office P.O. Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225-0287

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Ranger in your Pocket

Welcome to “Ranger in Your Pocket,” with virtual tours of Manhattan Project sites! Each tour features audio/visual vignettes drawn from interviews with Manhattan Project veterans and their families. Use your smartphone or tablet to take a self-guided tour while visiting Hanford’s B Reactor or Bathtub Row at Los Alamos, or take a tour from the comfort of your home.

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