The Museum was originally sited in 1969 on the grounds of Kirtland Air Force Base in an old 90 mm anti-aircraft gun repair facility, and named "Sandia Atomic Museum". It was the result of a six-year effort to establish a museum to tell the story of the base and the development of nuclear weapons, and was staffed by United States Air Force (USAF) personnel with help from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). In 1973, the Museum name changed to "National Atomic Museum", but it did not yet have a national charter.