Project Highlight: Digital Asset Management and Community Engagement to Enhance Understanding of Park Resources

By Kylie Baker

Enhancing Access and Understanding: Building a Digital Foundation for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park (MAPR), spanning Hanford, WA; Los Alamos, NM; and Oak Ridge, TN, shares the history and legacies of one of the most transformative events of the 20th century: the development of the world’s first atomic bombs. Preserving and sharing the rich, complex history of this era requires innovative approaches, especially for a park co-managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Department of Energy (DOE), where many sites have limited public access.

**Historical photo of Hanford Atomic Bomb Plant.** *Credit: Hanford History Project*.

To meet this challenge, the park launched a Pacific Northwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (PNW CESU) project¹ in collaboration with Washington State University (WSU) and the NPS. This effort centers on developing a robust Digital Asset Management Plan to enhance interpretation, improve access, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the park’s growing body of digital content.

Collaboration Across Institutions

Led by NPS Hanford Unit Site Manager Rebecca Burghart and WSU Assistant Professor of History and Hanford History Project Archivist Robert Franklin, the project brings together multiple partners, including DOE and Northwest Public Broadcasting (NWPB), the region’s NPR affiliate. Together, they’re working to better organize digital materials, survey archives and literature, conduct oral histories, and produce historical scholarship that builds a more complete understanding of the Manhattan Project’s complex legacy.

NWPB’s involvement builds on over a decade of experience with the Hanford Oral History Project. Their current focus includes creating short-form videos to bring park stories to life across digital platforms. These efforts have greatly expanded the park’s reach, connecting beyond its 80,000 annual in-person visitors to over one million website users and 200,000 app users, underscoring the power of digital media.

Streamlining and Strengthening Digital Infrastructure

At the heart of the initiative is the creation of a comprehensive digital asset management system to help NPS staff and volunteers effectively organize and maintain diverse digital materials—from historic photos and documents to virtual programming and social media content.

This task is especially critical given the park’s structure. MAPR does not collect or manage archival and artifact materials directly; instead, resources are housed with partners like WSU, which holds the extensive Hanford Collection, including legacy DOE materials and collections from a now-closed local museum. Adding complexity, each of the park’s three units operates and collaborates with different DOE agencies, staffing, community partners, and file management practices.

The digital asset plan aims to unify this decentralized system, letting different people at different sites play in the same sandbox. It provides a scalable model for organizing digital content across agencies and locations, laying the groundwork for long-term sustainability.

Making Hidden Histories Visible through Digital Storytelling

A major focus of the project is expanding interpretive offerings, particularly for areas that are physically restricted or closed to the public. For instance, virtual tours developed through collaborations with WSU and the B Reactor Museum Association (BRMA) now allow online visitors to explore spaces such as the T Plant or the B Reactor, the latter of which will close temporarily for historic preservation. One of these tours attracted over 1,000 users in its first six months—an impressive number, given that the corresponding in-person site receives about 12,000 visitors per season.

**Hanford B Reactor.** *Credit: NPS/Burghart.*

To further enrich these offerings, WSU’s Franklin co-taught a graduate-level course in Spring 2024 with Professor Phil Gruen: Architecture 542: Issues in Architecture. The course explored intersections between history, design, and community, and brought students into direct collaboration with the park. Students created drafts of walking tours, essays, and digital story maps—work informed by a field visit to the Tri-Cities, where they sketched, photographed, and learned from local community members. These student-created materials are now undergoing NPS review for public release.

Broad Impact: From Public Engagement to Workforce Development

The project’s impact extends far beyond improved infrastructure. It is actively shaping how the park tells its story, emphasizing lesser-known narratives, including those of African American workers whose roles in the Manhattan Project have often been overlooked. Digital tools provide new ways to elevate these voices and engage a broader public.

**Hanford Construction Workers**. *Credit: U.S. Department of Energy*.

It’s also an investment in the next generation of heritage professionals. By employing undergraduate and graduate students in research, content development, and archiving, the project supports workforce development in public history, design, and cultural resource management—an outcome deeply valued by all partners involved.

Looking Ahead: Documenting Undertold Narratives

Building on the success of the digital asset project, NPS and WSU are continuing their collaboration with a new CESU-supported initiative: Documenting Undertold Narratives of the Manhattan Project at Hanford. This effort will deepen community engagement, expand historical interpretation, and further develop digital infrastructure. NWPB remains a key partner, creating interstitial video content and integrating oral histories into the park’s educational materials.

For Franklin, the project marks a full-circle moment. His own career began in 2011 through a CESU position at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. “It created my career,” he says. “I don’t think I’d be where I am today, or have the fire and interest in archives, had I not had that CESU experience.” Now, over a decade later, he’s helping mentor the next generation of scholars and storytellers.

A Milestone on the Horizon

In November 2025, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park will celebrate its 10-year anniversary. This milestone represents more than longevity—it marks the park’s evolution into a mature institution with innovative, collaborative approaches to interpretation and public engagement.

Thanks to CESU support, thoughtful digital infrastructure, and strong academic partnerships, the park is ensuring the legacy of the Manhattan Project—and its many lessons—remain accessible to all, both today and for generations to come.

¹This initiative has been supported as a PNW CESU project under several project IDs. These include: P17AC01288, P23AC01206, and P24AC01008.