More than a Museum
The National Constitution Center offers a wealth of experiences aimed at deepening an understanding of our nation’s history. Our Public Programs staff are ready to add excitement and fun to your visit to the Center - with hands-on, interactive programs take place throughout the Center.
Most programs are included in the price of museum admission, however, some special programming and events require an additional fee. Take a look at the unique and engaging programming we have to offer!
FREE Daily Programs
Programs are subject to change. Please check our daily program sheet upon arrival for the most current information on the day’s events.
NEW! A RUN FOR THE OVAL OFFICE
Explore the steps of a presidential campaign in this fun and interactive program designed to take your students from a candidate’s official announcement to being sworn in as president. Explore up-to-date information from the web and other media sources, helping them gain critical thinking skills while they gather information.
NEW! SIGNERS’ HALL GUESS WHO GAME
Can you guess the oldest member of the Constitutional Convention? Join in this fun competition to guess the secret signer at the Convention. Use your detective skills, find hidden treasures in history and solve the mystery before your friends do.
NEW! DECODING THE DOCUMENT: EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
Students have the chance to take a closer look at the Center’s rare printing of the Emancipation Proclamation to learn more about its history, the history of the Civil War, and the background of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments.
NEW! CAPTURE THE FLAG
Jump right into state history and learn about state flags in this exciting and active relay race about state flags and their symbols.
BALANCE OF POWERS
Learn more about the three branches of government as you explore giant models of the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court. Public Program demonstrators lead you through an entertaining look at the buildings, the people who work in them, and the checks and balances of our government.
MEMORIALS: HOW A NATION REMEMBERS
This special program teaches students about the history of our nation’s most interesting memorials and how they contribute to popular memory.
PAPER MILL
Do your students know how paper was made in the 1700s? At our paper mill, they can go through all the steps to make their very own pieces of paper. This activity is so hands-on that they’ll even get their hands wet!
PRINT SHOP
In our old-fashioned print shop, complete with a printing press from the 1700s, your students can print the same way Ben Franklin did! Can they become masters at the printing press? Here’s a hint: Everything is sdrawkcab!
GIANT BOARD GAME
Our giant board game, set up in the Grand Hall Lobby, allows students to test their knowledge about the Constitution and American history while competing to see who can make it to the finish first. What makes this game unforgettable is that your students are the game pieces! Together they’ll roll the giant dice, answer questions, and work their way across the board to the finish.
POLITICAL CARTOONS 101
Welcome to Political Cartoons 101, where the day’s challenge will be to crack the code of political cartoons. Your students will laugh and learn with a museum educator as they examine some of history’s most popular cartoons.
IMMIGRATION WHEEL
Learn more about the history of immigration to America with this interactive game wheel! During this program, students spin the wheel and find out how immigration laws have changed over time. Test your skills by answering history questions to gain citizenship.
Activities are presented with support from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation.
Programs
Please call the Group Sales Department to book your group for these special programs - additional fees apply
NEW! HISTORY DETECTIVES WORKSHOP: ARTIFACTS FROM THE PAST
Grades K-3, 4-8, 9-12
Explore amazing objects of the past and learn more about what life was like in America during the 1800s and 1900s. Students use objects and documents as primary sources to explore the past and become history detectives. Workshops are custom tailored to meet your students’ needs and interests and to teach across the curriculum.
$14 per person (includes “Freedom Rising” and the main exhibition)
LIVING NEWS
October 13 - December 12, 2008
March 9 - June 12, 2009
Grades 7-12
Energize your students with real-life current events that evoke passion and dialogue in their experience at the Center. Living News, located in the Bank of America Family Theater, is an interactive performance by three live actors that dramatizes current constitutional issues. The audience becomes a part of the action as the characters struggle with how each issue affects their everyday lives. Included in the performance is a debate between two students that erupts during a school assembly over whether saying the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance violates First Amendment rights. Another scene dramatizes a struggle among young people and adults over questions of privacy and the rules of search and seizure in the context of our post-Columbine and post-9/11 world. In yet another sequence, legal and illegal immigrants offer competing perspectives about access to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Incorporating video, contemporary music, and current news broadcasts, this fast-paced performance involves the audience throughout and culminates by asking them to share their points of view on several timely issues. The program is followed by a group conversation about issues raised by the play, led by a National Constitution Center educator. Pre- and post-visit materials accompany this program.
$14 per person (includes “Freedom Rising” and the main exhibition)
Scout Days at the Center
Learn more about our Scout program - click here