Oak Ridge National Laboratory hosts thousands of visitors every year. The information below may help make your visit more productive and enjoyable. If you have any questions about visits to the laboratory, please contact ORNL Visitor Services at x10visit@ornl.gov or 865.574.7199.

• Before Arriving
• Entering ORNL
• Deliveries to ORNL
• Building Access
• Wireless Networking
• Public Tours
• Other Tours
• Research Visits
• Getting to ORNL
• Airport Information
• A Word About Radiation

Before Arriving

	ORNL Visitor Center

Bethel Valley Road, which is the main access route to Oak Ridge National Laboratory from both directions, is now closed to the public. If you are planning a visit to ORNL, your host will arrange for you to proceed past entrance stations on Bethel Valley Road leading to the Laboratory's Visitor Center. It is very important, if you are not a DOE or DOE contractor employee, to arrange your visit to ORNL ahead of time.

If you're not sure how to arrange your visit, contact ORNL Visitor Services (x10visit@ornl.gov, 865.574.7199).

Entering ORNL

The Visitor Services Office prepares a daily list of visitors for the Protective Force personnel, which is finalized by 4:30 p.m. EST on the preceding day. Your host or sponsor will submit your name to that list. Upon your arrival at one of the Bethel Valley Road entrance stations, have some form of picture identification ready for the Protective Force officers so that they can quickly confirm you with the list.

Once verified, you will be issued a Temporary Entry Pass, which authorizes you to travel from the entrance to the ORNL Visitor Center.

Follow the signs directly to the ORNL Visitor Center to receive an ORNL proximity card and a visitor ID, or to the ORNL badge office for badging, as appropriate. If you arrive and are not on the list of registered visitors, your ORNL host or sponsor will then have to verify your visit with ORNL Security. So it's very important that arrangements are made before your visit.

ORNL Visitor Services can provide you with access to specific Laboratory areas based upon your needed access requirement for as long as your stay requires.

Deliveries to ORNL

Non-DOE badged vendors and delivery personnel delivering goods to ORNL must have in their possession either a bill of lading, purchase order, or shipping order showing the need for access to ORNL and the name and phone number of a point of contact at ORNL who knows about the delivery. Persons in this category who do not have one of the above items in their possession will not be allowed site access. If a bonafide delivery is involved, the delivery vehicle driver will be afforded an opportunity to contact Visitor Services by telephone for needed assistance.

Building Access

Access to many buildings at ORNL is now controlled with a "proximity card reader" system. The ORNL proximity card you receive at the Visitor Services Office should provide entrance into your building simply by placing the card in front of the proximity reader, located beside the doorway. When the light turns green and the door lock clicks, you may enter the building. If your proximity card does not give you access to a desired building, report to the Visitor Services Office.

Wireless Networking

As a visitor to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), access to the ORNL visitor wireless computer network is available to you in many of our buildings. To gain access, you must have a badge issued through our Personnel Access System (PAS), and your PC must have a wireless Ethernet card. If you do not have a wireless Ethernet card, a limited number of wired-to-wireless Ethernet bridges may be available from your host organization.

If you are a DOE-badged visitor from another site and you use your DOE badge to gain entry to ORNL, you must also have an active PAS record in order to use the visitor wireless network. Contact your ORNL host to insure your visit has been documented in PAS.

Public Tours

The 2007 DOE Oak Ridge Facilities Public Tour season concluded on September 7. Information on the 2008 public tour will be posted at a later date. More than 20,000 people from 50 states have taken the public tour since its inception. The program is offered primarily for visitors who have a nontechnical interest in the DOE facilities. For more information, see AMSE's Website or contact Fred Strohl (strohlhf@ornl.gov, 865.574.4165).

Other Tours

Special-guided, general orientation, and other "customized" tours also are offered primarily for educational groups, which are interested in learning more about the history, current missions, and research and development at ORNL. Advance registration is required, and participation is limited to U.S. citizens. Other restrictions apply as well. For more information about the tour programs, contact Fred Strohl (strohlhf@ornl.gov, 865.574.4165).

The American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 South Tulane Avenue, in downtown Oak Ridge chronicles the World War II Manhattan Project that created the secret city of Oak Ridge, provides interactive exhibits on fossil fuel and alternative energy sources and live demonstrations that demonstrate basic science principles for all ages. There is a nominal admission charge. Allow two hours for the self-guided tour for the two levels of exhibits. The AMSE, a Smithsonian Affiliate Program Participant, is open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Visit the museum website for updated information on museum programs, events, exhibits and membership. To schedule a group visit contact AMSE (info@amse.org or schedule@amse.org, 865.576.3200).

Research Visits

ORNL's Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development serves as the access office for all ORNL user facilities and industrial partners. Contact Bill Painter (painterwp@ornl.gov, 865.574.5471 ) for assistance.

Researchers needing assistance in beginning new collaborations with ORNL can contact the Office of University Relations (thackerjk@ornl.gov, 865.574.4321).

Prospective guest researchers at ORNL's user facilities are invited to submit research proposals directly to the facility in which they are interested. The facility will arrange to have the appropriate agreement in place before your visit.

Getting to ORNL

ORNL is located in Roane County, Tennessee, about 7 miles from the center of the city of Oak Ridge and about 25 miles from the McGhee Tyson Airport near Knoxville.

• Driving directions
• Maps of ORNL and its vicinity
• Information about the Oak Ridge region.

Speed limits: Speeds limit signs are posted along the Bethel Valley Road entrance to ORNL. Once you have arrived at ORNL, the campus speed limit is 25 mph, unless otherwise posted. These limits are strictly enforced for the safety of staff members and visitors. Please observe the speed limits as you drive at ORNL.

A Word About Radiation

The ORNL campus, owing to its role in the Manhattan Project and other pioneering activities of the atomic age, is posted as a "Controlled Area" and includes several radiological areas. These radiological areas pose little, if any, risk to the staff and visiting public when properly observed. To find out more, see the information about radiation.