Japan's Nuclear Woes Draw Visitors to New Mexico Science Museum

Worries about nuclear safety following the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan have prompted an increase in visitors to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque, N.M.

According to museum officials, the fear of a meltdown at the Japanese nuclear reactor may have led to more than three times the amount of people they see on an average weekend, reports the Associated Press.

"I've talked to one or two people today and that was certainly a factor for them deciding today was the day for their visit," the museum's president Dick Peebles tells KRQE television.

The museum, created in 1969, aims to tell the story of the Atomic Age, from the early research of nuclear development through today's uses of the technology. Permanent and changing exhibits showcase the applications of nuclear energy, along with the stories of the field's pioneers.

"This really is the museum in the United States where people should come to understand a little more about nuclear topics," says Peebles.