IDAHO FALLS — Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, located 50 miles west of Idaho Falls on U.S. Highway 20, will open for the 2025 season starting Friday, May 23, and running through Labor Day. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
The reactor was completed in 1951, and on Dec. 20 of that year, it became the world’s first nuclear reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station, now known as the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). EBR-I operated until late 1963 and was decommissioned in 1964. President Lyndon Johnson and Glenn Seaborg, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission at the time, dedicated it as a Registered National Historic Landmark on Aug. 25, 1966.
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“I’m always surprised when I find out local people have never been to EBR-I. I used to take my kids every summer,” said Liza Raley, INL ambassador. “We’d drive out, spend a couple hours pushing buttons at the museum, get some lunch in Arco, and then explore Craters of the Moon and Hell’s Half Acre. It’s such a fun way to learn about INL and fill a summer day.”
New features and resources
New to the museum this year is a penny press, so visitors are encouraged to gather loose pennies and bring them.
This year will also feature three “Ask an Architectural Historian” days. On June 6, July 3 and Aug. 8, guests can help INL architectural historian Libby Cook document changes to the building. At 1 p.m. on all three days, Cook will lead a guided tour on understanding EBR-I’s evolution and the decisions of the people who built it.
Visitors can enrich their EBR-I trip by watching the “I Explored the World’s First Nuclear Power Plant (and How It Works)” episode on the Smarter Every Day YouTube channel.
Visitors can download the free TravelStorys app and listen to an on-demand tour of INL on their drive across the desert.
National Parks Passport holders can also bring their booklet to the museum to collect a stamp.
No reservations are necessary. Guided and self-guided tours are available. Send questions to tours@inl.gov or call (208) 526-0050.
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