National Constitution Center
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Constitution Center is a history museum on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just two blocks from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The museum teaches visitors the history and relevance of the United States Constitution through theatre, interactive exhibits, and hundreds of historic artifacts. The museum opened on July 4, 2004, and was designed by American architect Henry N. Cobb and museum design firm Ralph Appelbaum Associates.
The National Constitution Center is located within Independence National Historical Park.
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[edit] Mission
The mission of the Constitution Center, as established in the Constitution Heritage Act of 1988 (16 U.S.C. 407aa et seq.)[1], is to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a non-partisan basis in order to increase the awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
[edit] Features
A visit to the National Constitution Center begins with a live, multimedia, theatre presentation called Freedom Rising. The presentation features a live actor and multimedia elements explaining the history of the Constitution, and how the definition of "we the people" has expanded over time.
The main exhibit hall is circular and presents three concentric rings of exhibts: the outermost a chronology of Constitutional history featuring artifacts and original documents, the second ring of interactive exhibits based on the preamble to the Constitution, and the inner ring featuring "talk backs" and ways to participate in the Constitutional dialogue.
Visitors can take the presidential oath of office, decide a supreme court case, vote for their favorite president, and view biographies of important figures in our history.
One interactive exhibit asks the visitor simple questions in order to determine if he or she would have had the right to vote during a particular historical period. Another set of stations presents divisive issues such as intelligent design or the death penalty and asks visitors to write short opinions on Post-It notes which are stuck on the wall.
A visit ends with Signers' Hall, a room featuring life-sized, cast bronze sculptures of the 39 signers of the Constitution and the three dissenters. Visitors can wander among the statues, taking photographs with famous signers like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and others. It is the only area in the museum that allows photography.
[edit] Programs and events
The museum also offers a wide range of national and local speakers, seminars, advanced screenings, and discussions with authors, all on historic and current constitutional topics. An extensive archive of these programs is available via podcast on their website.
Additionally, the Center hosts a yearly conference, the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution, which brings famous national journalists together with rising student journalists to discuss, debate, and deliberate on the role of the free press.
[edit] Recent news
On January 11, 2007 the National Constitution Center and CEO Joseph M. Torsella announced that former President George H.W. Bush was elected Chairman of the Center’s Board of Trustees for the year 2007.[2] The Center is the only organization for which Bush serves as Chairman.
On March 18, 2008, United States presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered a speech called "A More Perfect Union" at the Center. The speech addressed race issues.
[edit] See also
- Philadelphia Liberty Medal - An annual award administered by the Center
- Constitution Day (United States)
[edit] External links
- National Constitution Center official site
- Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution
- Podcast interview with Eli Lesser - Director of Education for the National Constitution Center from the Speaking of History podcast, July 2007
