Trinity Site, VLA open to the public this Saturday

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Trinity Site and the Very Large Array will be open to the public for free this Saturday.

For the first time since 2019, the Very Large Array, near Socorro, will host an open house event.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can tour the facility, hear expert talks and patronize local food trucks. Admission and parking are free but you must get a ticket in advance. Click here to learn more.

The Trinity Site will also be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The site is only open twice a year and will also be open on October 21.

Visitors can enter through the Stallion Gate and tour where, on July 16, 1945, a nuclear weapon detonated for the first time in the world.

The Tularosa Basin Downwinders will peacefully demonstrate from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the gate.

In 2005, the group formed to push for people affected by the blast to receive damages and health care coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Currently, RECA only applies to Nevada Test Site downwinders.

Interested participants can meet, with posters and supplies, at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Tularosa High School.

The Trinity Site is located around 51 miles south of Socorro. For directions and more info, click here.