Funding programs that enhance education, culture, and recreation in the Pacific Northwest, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has made grants to 6,700 organizations since 1975. On rare occasions, the Murdock Trust gives money to programs outside of the Pacific Northwest, such as its grant to the Atomic Heritage Foundation (AHF) to preserve the history of the Manhattan Project.

The Manhattan Project was the name of the secret US effort to develop a functional atomic weapon during World War II. A massive undertaking, nearly 125,000 people in a variety of fields worked on the project, although many of them were unaware of the goal. 

Multiple Murdock Trust grants have enabled AHF to record oral histories from those who worked on the Manhattan Project and develop educational materials for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Los Alamos, New Mexico. AHF makes the materials available to the public on educational websites, such as Voices of the Manhattan Project, found at ManhattanProjectVoices.org. This website contains more than 470 interviews and other archival records. 

Another website, Ranger in Your Pocket, offers guided virtual tours of more than a dozen sites involved in the Manhattan Project. Find the virtual tours at www.AtomicHeritage.org.