National Constitution Center

A National Center for constitutional educationthe National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to teaching about the Constitution. Its serves as america's leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter "to disseminate information about the u.s. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis in order to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the american people." (continued on schedule o) located on philadelphia's historic independence mall, just steps from where the Constitution was drafted and signed, the Center brings the Constitution to life for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year through interactive exhibits, rare documents and artifacts, moving theater programs, and educational activities. As we near our nation's 250th birthday celebration, the National Constitution Center is poised to play a key role because of both its proximity and relevancy to the anniversary of america's founding.the Center's online interactive Constitution, the centerpiece of its educational efforts, unites scholars from across the legal and philosophical spectrum to explore areas of agreement and disagreement on the history, text, and meaning of nearly every provision of the Constitution. With professional development opportunities, educational videos, constitutional lesson plans, a full semester-long nonpartisan course and standards-aligned curriculum, and live online classes featuring special guest scholars from diverse perspectives, the Center has become america's leading nonpartisan platform for constitutional education and civil dialogue. The interactive Constitution and Constitution 101 course have transformed the way teachers bring the Constitution into their classrooms-and allow classrooms from across the country to connect for real-time civil dialogue. With an increasing reliance among learners on free online tools, the interactive Constitution has made the National Constitution Center's website consistently among the most visited individual museum websites in the country.as a forum for balanced debate, the Center brings together a diverse array of renowned historians, leading scholars, public officials, and journalists to discuss the Constitution on all media platforms, hosting in-person and virtual events, live online classes, and weekly podcasts.the National Constitution Center is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, private organization under the dynamic leadership of esteemed constitutional scholar jeffrey rosen. Support from generous individuals, corporations, and foundations make possible the Center's efforts to increase civic education and elevate civil dialogue.museum of 'we the people'through interactive exhibits, rare documents, priceless artifacts, and moving theatrical performances, learners from around the world visit the National Constitution Center to immerse themselves in the extraordinary story of "we the people," be inspired by the development of our founding documents, and explore the history woven into our namesake document. The story of we the people, the Center's main exhibit, is an immersive educational experience, filled with hands-on, multimedia exhibits and activities. Historical documents, photos, and film help visitors build an understanding of america's past and see how the Constitution shapes the present. In the iconic signers' hall, visitors step into the final day of the constitutional convention-september 17, 1787-and sign the u.s. Constitution alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the founding fathers. In rare document galleries, which opened in 2014 and 2017, visitors explore up close the rarest and most inspiring documents from our nation's founding.live theatrical productions provide visitors with a greater connection to the content. Freedom rising, a 17-minute state-of-the-art multimedia live theatrical performance, immerses visitors in the powerful story of the Constitution and the american quest for freedom, while other programs bring to life the constitutional issues in the headlines as well as first-person narratives from figures throughout history.in 2019, the Center opened the permanent exhibit civil war and reconstruction: the battle for freedom and equality, which explores how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the civil war and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war to more fully embrace the declaration of independence's promise of liberty and equality. In 2020, to commemorate the centennial anniversary of voting rights for women, and as part of its women and the Constitution initiative, the Center opened the 19th amendment: how women won the vote.in january 2022, the National Constitution Center completed installation of a 50-ton marble tablet, engraved with the 45 words of the first amendment to the u.s. Constitution. The first amendment tablet spans a 100-foot-wide wall on the Center's grand hall overlook, the second-floor atrium overlooking historic independence mall. The iconic tablet was previously displayed on the four-story-high, 74-foot-tall Pennsylvania avenue faade of the newseum in Washington, d.c.in 2023, the Center opened its newest gallery, the first amendment. The 1,500-square-foot exhibit features more than 20 artifacts highlighting all five freedoms, including a draft opinion with handwritten edits from u.s. supreme court justice louis brandeis; an anti-vietnam war armband worn by the tinker family and associated with the landmark student speech case, tinker v. des moines; the new york times' 1971 publication of the classified "pentagon papers; and a pennant from the 1963 march on Washington for jobs and freedom.in addition to this growing set of core visitor experiences, the Center has presented original feature exhibits, collaborative installations, and traveling projects from other institutions, attracting visitors from around the world. Large-scale original and collaborative exhibits have included headed to the white house (2008, 2016), speaking out for equality: the Constitution, gay rights, and the supreme court (2015), and american spirits: the rise and fall of prohibition (2012, 2017). Recent smaller exhibits have included hamilton: the constitutional clashes that shaped a nation (2018-2019), and john marshall: patriot, statesman, chief justice (2017). Over the years, the Center has also hosted rental exhibits produced by world-class institutions.the Center also offers additional ways to engage with its exhibits from home: live tours of its core exhibits featuring museum educators, special programming on civic holidays, as well as self-exploration virtual tours available through its website and google arts and culture.

The National Constitution Center's teacher advisory board is responsible for supporting the Center's education team in development and evaluation of the materials including Constitution 101, as well as presenting content created to support students' use of our resources. With approximately 250 years of combined teaching experience, the board includes educators from traditional-public, charter, parochial, and independent high schools and middle schools across the united states; one-third work in title i schools, and over half teach advanced placement classes. (continued on schedule o)the National Constitution Center's teacher advisory council supports the Center by sharing best practices for teaching constitutional and civic topics-looking at the intersection of u.s. history and current events-and advises the Center on programs and resources that would best support classroom instruction on constitutional fundamentals. Teachers on the advisory council are active and engaged educational professionals who advocate on behalf of the National Constitution Center with outreach for programs.the Center's new cohort of constitutional fellows were selected to pilot the Center's Constitution 101 course in their classrooms for the 2022-23 school year and provide feedback and commentary.the National Constitution Center provides additional support for educators nationwide by traveling to state and regional conferences throughout the school year. The education team has traveled across the country, attending conferences such as the National council for the social studies (ncss), the association of middle level education (amle), and association for supervision and curriculum development (ascd), as well as regional council for the social studies programs, such as the Texas council for the social studies (txcss), the Florida council for the social studies (fcss), and more. Sessions at these events have focused on topics such as civil dialogue, storytelling, the 14th amendment, and the Constitution 101 curriculum. In the communityin 2006, the National Constitution Center partnered with the school district of philadelphia and the annenberg foundation to undertake a bold educational experiment: the opening of Constitution high school (chs), a public school with a focus on u.s. history and democracy. Since that time, the Center has worked closely with the students and teachers of chs to provide curricular materials, instruction, and programming for the school. Among its many initiatives with chs, the Center runs a four-phase workshop series to help students participating in National history day to develop critical questions about their topics, and to hone their strategies for researching and executing their projects. Most recently, chs students participated in the development and execution of our policing in a more perfect union program-an interactive new training module designed for police officers which emphasizes the bill of rights, police legitimacy and community engagement. The National Constitution Center hosts the annual citywide National history day competition for philadelphia. Each year, thousands of middle and high school students and teachers across the united states participate in National history day, a yearlong educational program that culminates in a National contest every june. Students compete in a local contest, the winners move on to a state competition, and those winners move on to the National competition in Washington, d.c. Along the way, every participant gains first-hand experience conducting historical research and producing a documentary, exhibit, essay, performance, or website. Policing in a more perfect union was created in 2015 in partnership with philadelphia police commissioner charles ramsey and the philadelphia police department. The program is designed to give police recruits and officers a historical understanding of the rights and restrictions that are defined in the u.s. Constitution. The program also examines the history of policing in a democratic society, and provides a forum for officers and recruits to discuss the importance of their role in protecting the rights of all citizens with local high school students. The students from Constitution high school have been critical to the success of the program.conveningsat a time when america is increasingly polarized, the Center provides a crucial and unique role in bringing thought leaders, students, and citizens of different perspectives together to learn about and debate the meaning of the u.s. Constitution. Under the leadership of president and ceo jeffrey rosen, the Center has become the leading forum for vigorous civil dialogue at our live america's town hall programs and debates in philadelphia and across america. Through live events, video, blog posts, and our we the people with jeffrey rosen and live at the National Constitution Center podcasts-which have been downloaded more than 2 million times in the past two years-the Center provides balanced debate on timely constitutional issues.the Center has welcomed numerous notable guests to talk about issues at the heart of american life. In the past year, america's town hall hosted in-person and virtual events with a diverse set of speakers including best-selling authors, public officials, journalists, historians, and other thought leaders. Topics have included elections, speech, and political disinformation; how america's early justices shaped the supreme court; and equality in america.the Center regularly engages experts for more in-depth exploration of constitutional issues. Recent examples include the guardrails of democracy project, which commissioned three teams of leading constitutional scholars-conservative, libertarian, and progressive-to write three sets of reports identifying potential reforms that could preserve the institutional guardrails on which democracy depends. These were presented at a public event in july 2022, following a year-long series of public panel debates and seminars, during which leading thinkers from diverse perspectives, identified potential structural, constitutional, and educational reforms. Similarly, the Constitution drafting project brought together three teams of leading constitutional scholars to draft and present their ideal constitutions, followed by a virtual constitutional convention resulting in five proposed amendments to the constitution.through its two podcasts, we the people, a weekly show of constitutional debate, and live at the National Constitution Center, audio from our live programs at the Center and around the country, the Center's podcasts engage listeners in balanced, timely debate about the Constitution, and feature some of the best legal minds discussing nuanced constitutional issues throughout history and in today's headlines. Constitution daily, the Center's blog, covers news stories and reflects on important dates in history. Its stories are often picked up by major National outlets, and are an essential resource for the general public, journalists, and educators in breaking down the constitutional news of the day.the Center also reaches millions around the world with its active social media channels, sharing original multimedia content, engaging programming, and news from the institution.in 2022, the National Constitution Center implemented a total redesign of its website to highlight these valuable programs and information. With all of these resources tagged according to relevant constitutional text, users are able to browse all of the Center's content easily, making accessible the best voices on all sides of current and historical constitutional questions and giving learners of all ages the ability to connect relevant constitutional issues with the history, text, and meaning of every provision of the constitution.liberty medalthe National Constitution Center's annual liberty medal honors men and women of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe. Established in 1988 to commemorate the bicentennial of the u.s. Constitution and first administered by the National Constitution Center in 2006, the liberty medal's roster of recipients includes many of the men, women, and organizations that have shaped and guided the world through the past three decades, including nelson mandela, sandra day o'connor, kofi annan, malala yousafzai, and colin powell. The 2023 liberty medal recipients were acclaimed journalist judy woodruff and patriotic philanthropist and business leader david rubenstein. Capturing the attention of millions every year, the liberty medal is a tribute to citizenship and america's constitutional ideals.

Education - to engage learners of all ages, in classrooms and homes across the nation, the National Constitution Center has developed a robust set of programs and resources to deliver constitutional content. Based on the acclaimed interactive Constitution, the Center produces a variety of standards-based teaching materials for use in the classroom and at the museum, and hosts educator workshops, trainings, and other professional development offerings to promote constitutional literacy skills through civil dialogue.. (continued on schedule o)the Center produces a variety of engaging, interactive programs and demonstrations that best take advantage of the exhibits to create a museum-wide experience. The Center's rotating daily programming offers a wide range of activities to engage students such as the constitutional game board, presidential trivia, a civil war artifact cart, and special town hall-style programs, including judge chats with judges from the u.s. court of appeals for the third circuit. The Center also offers special themed tours for student and adult groups, as well as designated scout days, where scouts from boy scouts bsa and girl scouts work toward earning american history of government-themed merit badges. The Center honors National civic holidays with special programs and activities to draw attention to the history and significance of these dates, such as martin luther king jr. day, presidents day, veterans day, independence day, juneteenth, and Constitution day. Several of these family-friendly civic holidays are presented with free or discounted admission through the generosity of sponsors. Beginning in 2019, the Center began offering the constitutional ambassadors program that brings students from around the country to the Center for an immersive experience in constitutional education. The constitutional ambassadors experience begins in the classroom before the students arrive; continues with an educational experience at the Center, including live theater and a live scholar chat; and follows students back to their classrooms, where they can connect with other classrooms across america for crucial conversations on current constitutional issues.the young citizens scholarship program provides eligible student/youth groups with free or reduced admission and transportation to the National Constitution Center. The program is made possible by the generous support of individual, foundation, and corporate donors to promote civic education.outside of museum-specific offerings, the Center reaches millions of learners online, expanding reach and impact to students nationwide through its digital resources centered on the interactive Constitution. The interactive constitutionin september 2015, the National Constitution Center launched the online interactive Constitution, which unites leading conservative, libertarian, and progressive constitutional scholars in america to write essays exploring areas of agreement and disagreement on every clause in the Constitution. Since its launch, the interactive Constitution has been visited by more than 75 million users, and it serves as america's leading platform for nonpartisan constitutional education.in september 2019, the Center launched the interactive Constitution: classroom edition. The classroom edition includes a robust media library with educational videos, constitutional lesson plans, civil dialogue toolkits, and other multimedia teaching resources including podcasts and blog posts.founders' librarythe founders' library includes 170+ primary texts that span american constitutional history-from the philosophical works that influenced the founding generation to the most important speeches, essays, books, pamphlets, petitions, letters, court cases, landmark statutes, and state constitutions that have shaped the american constitutional tradition. To ensure nonpartisan rigor and ideological diversity, we assembled a group of leading scholars from diverse perspectives to help choose the nearly 170 historical texts and 50 landmark supreme court cases in the document library. Launched in 2022, the document library also includes foundational sources curated by the National Constitution Center team.constitution 101in 2022, the National Constitution Center released Constitution 101, a free, nonpartisan online curriculum on the u.s. Constitution. Constitution 101 is a 15-week curriculum for high school students, as well as a standalone self-guided course for learners of all ages, that explores the basic principles of american freedom and the core constitutional texts of american history, from the founding to today. Constitution 101 is modeled on the National Constitution Center's proven framework for rigorous, nonpartisan constitutional education and the practice of civil dialogue. Grounded in the reading of primary sources, students use documents from the aforementioned founders' library. The 15-week curriculum includes interactive features, allowing students to take online assessments and allowing educators to integrate into their learning management systems.the National Constitution Center is now partnering with student-mastery leader khan academy to release a Constitution 101 course on the khan platform, expected to launch in september 2024. Live classesbeginning in march 2020, the Center expanded its offerings to offer live classes online. Through peer-to-peer exchanges on mondays, tuesdays, and thursdays, students in elementary school through college have the opportunity to discuss constitutional topics with a lawyer, judge, or constitutional scholar and their peers from around the country, gaining deeper constitutional understanding and engaging in enhanced civil discourse. Monthly and seasonal topics for these classes often reflect civic holidays, such as a civil rights discussion in january for martin luther king jr. day, or a discussion on the 19th amendment for women's history month in march. There is also a court case review session targeted toward students preparing for the advanced placement government exams. In 2022, the Center began offering monthly public live from the museum programming, targeted at intermediate learners, and featuring workshops and activities designed to bring the experience of a trip to the Center to students everywhere. In 2023, these offerings expanded to include civic stories, lessons geared toward elementary school aged learners. Professional developmentthe Center's professional development opportunities enable educators to deepen their understanding of u.s. history, the Constitution, and innovative strategies for classroom instruction. For full- or half-day workshops, the Center's education staff, often with guest scholars, present grade-level appropriate sessions about the Center's educational materials and programs. In addition, teachers receive classroom-ready resources and learn how to instill in their students the habits of healthy civil dialogue. Workshops are offered at the Center and in classrooms throughout the philadelphia region and beyond.the National Constitution Center offers a monthly professional learning series in partnership with the los angeles county office of education (lacoe). This series offers an introduction to the u.s. Constitution and explores methods for constitutional teaching and pedagogy from experienced practitioners. Each session features a practicum component led by the Center's education team that focuses on civil dialogue and the practice of historical thinking. Through this practicum component, participants examine the Constitution through a mix of civil dialogue, critical thinking, and active listening-with a particular emphasis on the Constitution's text and history, and how the Constitution affects students' lives. During our weeklong summer teacher institutes, educators from across the country join us to work with content experts to deepen their knowledge of the history and modern understandings of major constitutional topics and themes. With teacher leaders and the education teams from the Center and partner organizations, participants discover and develop innovative, nonpartisan ways to make the content relevant to their students. The institutes capitalize on the Center's wealth of historical, constitutional, and cultural resources to demonstrate the ways the Constitution has defined and continues to define america. Educators leave with new content knowledge, teaching tools, classroom-ready resources, and new skills for improving constitutional literacy.