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Mission and History

Mission Statement
The National Constitution Center is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the Constitution, its history, and its contemporary relevance, through an interactive, interpretive facility within Independence National Historical Park and a program of national outreach, so that We the People may better secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

A History of the National Constitution Center

The National Constitution Center was created by the Constitution Heritage Act in 1988.  The Center is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness about the Constitution and its relevance in Americans’ daily lives. 

On September 17, 2000, the Center broke ground at 525 Arch St. in Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park – America’s most historic square mile – 213 years to the day the U.S. Constitution was signed. The Center is the first-ever museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.

The National Constitution Center is both a museum that attracted one million visitors in its first 15 months of operation and an engine of civic and constitutional education for children and adults.

About the Museum:

The architectural firm of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners designed the National Constitution Center.  The firm is responsible for the expansion of the Louvre and the East Building of the National Gallery of Art.  Ralph Appelbaum Associates designed the Center’s visitor experiences and exhibition hall.  Appelbaum also created the visitor experiences and exhibition halls at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Newseum and the Rose Planetarium.

The project cost of the National Constitution Center was $185 million, which includes construction, exhibit design and fabrication as well as a $40 million endowment.

The total square footage of public space is 160,000 square feet including galleries.

The Center contains 75,785 square feet of exhibit space that includes:

• The Story of We the People – the permanent exhibit in DeVos Hall which includes:               

  o       The Kimmel Theater, a 350-seat star-shaped theater featuring “Freedom Rising,” a multimedia production combining film, a live actor and video projection on a 360° screen.
  

  • The American Experience, which includes a history of the Constitution as well as more than 100 interactive and multimedia exhibits for all ages.
    
  • Signers’ Hall, containing 42 life-size bronze statues of the 39 men who signed the Constitution as well as the three who dissented.
  • The Freedom Exhibit Gallery, which opened in June 2005, featuring changing exhibits including the Center’s own Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War; the Ben Franklin 300th anniversary exhibit, Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World; Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers from the Smithsonian Institution; 9/11: A Nation Remembers; Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives; and First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image.  

  Admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors ages 65 and up, and $8 for children ages 4-12.  Active military personnel and children ages 3 and under are free.  Group rates are also available.

  Parking is available at the Center.  Parking rates for Constitution Center visitors are $7 for up to 1 hour, $9 for up to 3 hours, and a maximum of $17 for the day.  The garage entrance is located on 6th Street.  There is also a surface drop-off area for the loading and unloading of school and tour buses.

  Visitor amenities include The Delegates’ Restaurant, a 225-seat, glass-enclosed restaurant overlooking Independence Mall, as well as a Museum Store, operated by Aramark, offering a wide range of gifts, books, apparel, jewelry, and toys.  The Center also holds a second kids’ store for school groups.

  The National Constitution Center offers a variety of spaces for Facility Rentals, including the Grand Hall Overlook, which can accommodate 600 people for a sit down dinner and features an incredible view of Independence Hall.  The exclusive caterer is Max & Me Catering.

  The Center is made of the following American products including:

  • 85,000 square feet of Indiana limestone
  • 2.6 million pounds of steel
    
  • A half-million cubic feet of concrete

  About Our Civic and Constitutional Education:

  Through the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, the Constitution Center offers educational programming, a study center that develops and distributes teaching tools such as lesson plans and lectures, a Visiting Scholars program, as well as resources through the Center’s website – www.constitutioncenter.org.

  Thanks to a generous grant from The Annenberg Foundation, the Center is becoming the key national resource for Constitution Day activities through its website, www.constitutionday.us.  The Center also hosts the new Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution, and an annual Constitutional Convention for young Americans each September.

  In September 2006, the Center helped launch Constitution High School, a history and civics themed Philadelphia School District magnet school created in partnership with the National Constitution Center and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

  In 2006, the Center became the home of the Liberty Medal, an annual award established in 1988 to recognize those who have devoted their lives to pursuing liberty and promoting freedom throughout the world.  In 2006, the Medal was presented to Presidents George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton for their historic partnership to raise awareness and funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Southeast Asia.  The 2007, Liberty Medal was awarded to Bono, U2 lead singer and activist, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), the advocacy organization he co-founded to combat poverty and disease in Africa.