Photograph of gate at Nevada Test SiteThe Department of Energy (DOE), and its predecessor agencies the Energy Research and Development Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission, conducted nuclear tests and other experiments at the Nevada Test Site, which helped maintain world peace, and the national security of the United States.

Since the establishment of the Nevada Test Site in 1951, thousands of people from around the world -- senior citizens to college students -- have visited this vast outdoor laboratory that is larger than the state of Rhode Island, to see firsthand, artifacts and archaeological sites from the early settlers, to the many relics remaining from nuclear weapons tests, nuclear rocket experiments, and a variety of other defense, environmental, and energy-related programs.