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The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History has opened 鈥淎merican Nukes,鈥� a new exhibit featuring photos by Darin Boville.

鈥溾�楢merican Nukes鈥� is a survey of nuclear weapons on display in the United States,鈥� Boville said.

Boville traveled over 30,000 miles documenting decomissioned nuclear weapons across the country, from those at military bases to roadside rest stops to churches.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e everywhere and maybe right in front of you even, but you don鈥檛 even know they鈥檙e there,鈥� Boville said.

He said that they are, in some ways, invisible, since most of the time, people do not recognize what they are looking at as a nuclear weapon. Nuclear weapons, he said, are easily mistaken for a rocket. He said earlier iterations, like the 鈥淔at Man鈥� bomb, have a distinct look, but otherwise most look like jet fighters.

His photo exhibit ranges from older weapons to newer ones. He said depending on where he found the weapon, its upkeep would vary, with museums typically painting the weapons to look new and shiny.

鈥淭he weathered ones, the one in the woods, everyone loves that one because it鈥檚 just so unexpected to see a nuclear weapon just lying in the woods,鈥� Boville said.

Those found out in the wild are some of his favorites to photograph, and he finds them in some of the most obscure places. He once found one on someone鈥檚 acreage, and said he had to sign a waiver of liability to be allowed to enter the area to photograph.

He doesn鈥檛 disclose the location of that weapon because it鈥檚 on private property, but he has a detailed list of other locations he has photographed on his website, .

鈥淚 want people to go visit,鈥� Boville said.

Many of the locations he found through internet research, though some have come from word of mouth. He has a list of over 180 sites and has visited about a third of them, he said.

鈥淢y goal is to have one photograph of every weapon that I鈥檝e been to,鈥� Boville said.

The endeavor began in 2022 when he stopped at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History and photographed one of the nukes on display for a Christmas card.

鈥�(The card) was going to, say, 鈥榖oom,鈥� or something on the back, some stupid dark humor situation 鈥� And then what happened is I started showing people my demo and talking about it, and it turns out people really don鈥檛 want nuclear weapons under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning,鈥� Boville said.

While his Christmas card plan might not have panned out, it did spark a desire to photograph more nuclear displays and help educate the populace.

鈥淭he idea is that nuclear weapons have not gone away,鈥� Boville said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very much present and very much a present danger to us directly.鈥�

Boville does not want people to freak out over the weapons or be anti-nuke, but he wants them to recognize the importance nuclear weapons play in people鈥檚 lives. He said he wants them to be aware, and for governmental representatives to be aware, so everyone can have an educated opinion on the issues.

鈥淭he main goal for me, at least, is to get people more aware that they exist,鈥� Boville said.

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.