Ancient Rome & America

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Special Programs and Events

Visit Ancient Rome & America and enjoy a wide variety of ongoing programs and one-of-a-kind special events for all levels of interest.

Special Events and Programs

A Night in History: Rome

Friday, March 26, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 a.m. (Saturday, March 27)
$55 per person
The Center introduces an unforgettable overnight program for families, youth groups, scout troops, schools, and community organizations. Spend the night at the National Constitution Center and see how history comes alive as the rest of the city sleeps. Your night is full of fun and educational activities including scavenger hunts, a hands-on history detective workshop, access to our exhibits and engage in our many interactive programs that continue all night long. End your night by falling asleep in the darkened halls of the Center as history surrounds you.

Educator Workshops

April 17, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Price: $40 (includes lunch)
This full-day workshop will provide teachers with complete access to the National Constitution Center’s permanent exhibit as well as the new exhibition Ancient Rome & America. During the workshop teachers will be provided with the opportunity to examine and learn about the many new educational projects at the National Constitution Center, including: iPod tours, new theater productions, national student programs, and they will receive plenty of classroom-ready resources.

The National Constitution Center’s professional education staff will present sessions designed to be grade level appropriate and will demonstrate how to apply the National Constitution Center’s Civic Education framework in their classroom. Lunch in our Delegates Restaurant is included.

Continuing Education Credits available for Pennsylvania teachers.

Roman Holiday Spring Break Adventure Camp

March 29 – April 2
Campers will explore ancient Rome and experience the life of a Roman citizen. They will create the latest toga fashions, go through a gladiator challenge, and discover how the architecture of the time influenced many of our great buildings and monuments of today. Campers will hear stories of legendary gods and goddesses, mold and sculpt statues and pottery, and create mosaic masterpieces.

America and the Legacy of Rome

Wednesday, April 28
In partnership with the Center for Ancient Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, the National Constitution Center hosts a unique afternoon and evening event in support of the exhibition, Ancient Rome and America. At 3:00 p.m. four experts will deliver 20 minute talks on subjects ranging from “Norton, the First Emperor of America” to “Classical Influences in America Colonial Art.” From 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. two keynote addresses will be given, each followed by a question and answer session with the audience. Guests will then be invited to enjoy wine and cheese, speak with experts, and go through the exhibition with experts stationed at particular artifacts. Confirmed scholars include Campbell Grey, Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Caroline Winterer, Associate Professor of History at Stanford University, Alison Futrell, associate professor of history at the University of Arizona, and Lothar Haselberger, Professor in Roman Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rome Reborn on Western Shores

Tuesday, July 13
Historian Eran Shalev, author of the forthcoming book Rome Reborn on Western Shores, discusses the literature of the Revolutionary era to explore the ways in which American patriots employed the classics and to assess antiquity's importance to the early political culture of the United States. His analysis shows how the classics provided a critical perspective on the management of the British Empire, a common fund of legitimizing images and organizing assumptions during the revolutionary conflict, a medium for political discourse in the process of state construction between 1776 and 1787, and a usable past once the Revolution was over. Rome Reborn examines the extent to which classical antiquity, especially Rome, molded understandings of history, politics, and time, even as the experience of the Revolution reshaped patriots' understanding of the classics.

Empire!

June 2010
Timothy Parsons is Professor, African and Afro-American Studies Program, Washington University. Enduring Empires offers that evidence, providing fascinating historical context to the debate about limits of empire, whether that debate takes place around a water cooler on in think tanks. Parsons encapsulates seven imperial moments, including Roman Britain, Muslim Spain, the British East India Company, and Nazi Germany. In each case, Parsons examines legitimizing ideologies, imperial administration, the local experience of empire and the reasons for the inevitable decline: as Parsons points out, the lifespan of empires has only gotten shorter over time. He concludes by applying these lessons to the current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the ongoing war on terror. In addition to Parson, we are reaching out to well-known and highly respected scholars like Naomi Klein and Niall Ferguson.

American Adventure Summer Camp – “Do As the Romans Do!”

June 28 – July 9
Travel back to the times of chariot races, togas and gladiators! From the construction of the aqueducts, to creating mosaic masterpieces, campers will learn about Ancient Rome and its influences on American democracy, architecture and culture.