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Public Programs

The National Constitution Center offers a wide variety of customized programs and supplementary activities for your students. Read about our outstanding packages, programs and daily activities below.

Themed Museum Packages

By choosing a museum package highlighting a specific theme, you can give your students a targeted experience of the U.S. Constitution and its history that includes many hands-on activities and special programs. Don’t just visit; take part in an energizing field-trip experience this school year. Our themed experiences are aligned with national and state standards and make use of the Center’s array of resources in innovative ways. A dynamic educator from our staff will accompany your group and facilitate students’ experiences of our original artifacts, interactive exhibits, and multimedia events. Our educators aim to accomplish two goals as they lead your group: to increase your students’ understanding of America’s past and to enhance their ability to help shape its future.

Each package includes the award-winning, live presentation of “Freedom Rising”; a guided exploration through the National Constitution Center’s main exhibition, The Story of We the People; and a themed, interactive, high-energy show; Your group will get all of this for the special package price of $14 per person.

Please select one of the themed packages offered by our talented educators:

We the Jury
Grades 3-12
ALL RISE! The honorable judge . . .YOU presiding! Throughout this engaging dayof activities designed to teach them about our judicial system, students will act as the judge and the jury. They will learn about courts and the rule of law with the help of one of our educators, who will take your group on a guided exploration of our main exhibit, and then will participate in trials as our staff dramatizes some landmark cases. Whether they find the accused innocent or guilty, they will definitely find the whole experience fun!

Pass the Citizenship Test
Grades 3- 12
Do your students know what it means to be American citizens? Do they have what it takes? Here is their chance to prove it! On this fun-filled day, students will learn about the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen, as well as about our country and its freedoms. They’ll take part in a guided exploration through our main exhibit hall facilitated by one of our educators and participate in an array of activities that will help each one of them comprehend America’s freedoms and our ongoing struggles to secure them. Their day will conclude with the Be a Citizen Game Show, through which they can put their knowledge to the test to find out if they really have what it takes to be informed and active citizens.

Headed to the White House
Grades 3- 12
Can your students solemnly swear that they will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and to the best of their ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States? At the Constitution Center, they won’t have to wait until they turn 35 to run for president; their time is now! During this action-packed day, students will learn all about the presidency, with a focus on presidential elections and the functions of the executive branch. While on their guided exploration of the main exhibit hall, they’ll learn about past presidents, historic elections, and presidential powers throughout history. Finally, students can elect their classmates to be the next president while learning what platforms are and watching some of the most famous ad campaigns of all time. So buckle up . . . because the road to the White House can be bumpy!

Free to Be You
Grades 3- 12
This fast-paced competition explores the First Amendment and the freedoms it protects. Students will learn all about Americans who stood up for their First Amendment rights and changed our country in the process. Students join in the hunt for freedom fighters of the past as one of our educators leads them on a guided exploration of the main exhibit hall. For the day’s grand finale, your students will perform a skit about a First Amendment freedom to gain points for their team. Through this interactive game, they will learn how much fun the Constitution can be!

Being an Active Citizen!
Grades K- 3
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss

Let your students’ voices be heard in this interactive program about ways that they can be active citizens at home, in school, at camp, and throughout their lives. While exploring the Center on a guided exploration led by one of our educators, they’ll hear stories about children just like them who have stood up for their freedom and changed our country. Empowerment and inspiration are what this day is all about.

Programs

Historic City Walking Tour
The guided tour begins in Signers’ Hall with a museum educator.  Then your group will take a walk around the Historic District and learn about the major moments that established our country.  The walking tour will include stories about Christ Church, Benjamin Franklin’s grave site and Independence Mall.  This tour lasts approximately one hour.
Additional charges apply

Group iPod Tours
By taking an iPod tour through our main exhibit hall, your group will be transported back in time to September 17, 1787, where they can relive the moment when the delegates signed the Constitution. Actors playing the men who helped write the framework of our government will tell your students the story of its creation. Everyone will learn about the delegates and about what life was like at that historical moment. This audio tour, which includes a special introduction by President George H.W. Bush, offers an exciting way to explore our past and to encounter the issues that still challenge us today.
Additional charge: $3 per person.

Living News
October 15 – December 14, 2007
March 10 – June 13, 2008
Grades 7- 12

Living News 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 are 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; 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; and a sequence in which legal and illegal immigrants offer competing perspectives about access to 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.
Additional charge: $14 per person

Traveling History and Civic Program
We’re taking our shows on the road and visiting your school! Experience the National Constitution Center’s innovative style of interactivity and civic engagement in your own classroom. Using historic artifacts, costumes, and engaging activities, our experienced and knowledgeable educators will bring history and civics to life at your school. The Traveling History and Civic Program teaches students about our nation’s past and gives them the opportunity to stand up and take action to protect and enhance their future.
Additional charges apply 

Daily Activities

The National Constitution Center offers a wealth of experiences aimed at deepening your students’ understanding of life throughout our nation’s history. Included in the price of museum admission, these hands-on, interactive programs happen everyday, throughout the Center.

Paper Mill
Do your students know how paper was made in the 1700’s? 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 1700’s, 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.

Signers’ Hall Guess Who Game
Can you guess who the oldest member of the Constitution Convention?  Well come join in the fun in this competition to guess who the secret signer is at the Convention.  Use your detective skills and solve the mystery before your friends find some of these hidden treasures in history.

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 and poke fun at our nation’s leaders. This free activity takes place in the main exhibit hall.

Immigration Wheel 
Learn more about the history of immigration to America with this new, interactive game wheel!  During this program, students can spin the wheel and find out how immigration laws and rights have changed over time.  Test your skills by answering history questions to gain citizenship.

Growing Up American Style Programming
The Growing Up, American Style Show to find out what it was like to grow up in different eras of American history.  Show highlights include a costume runway show featuring traditional-style dress from historical periods.  Visitors will also learn how often kids bathed, what they did during the day, and what rights they had.   Growing Up, American Style Guided Tours will take visitors on a 30 minute tour of the National Constitution Center’s permanent exhibition, The Story of We the People, to learn what it was like to be a child during each historical era.  The tour features a personal guide who will direct visitors throughout the exhibit and explain the background and history of different time periods in U.S. history. 

Independence Day Show
The Fourth of July has always been celebrated with a bang!  From protests to canons, flag waving to parades, and complete with explosive words and fiery demonstrations, the Independence Day Show takes an in depth look at this exciting celebration by exploring it over time from the very first words of independence to present day.

Three Branches Program
Learn more about the three branches of government as you explore the giant life size models.  Museum educators will lead you through an entertaining look at the jobs, the buildings and the mission of our government and Washington.

Scout Days
Enjoy fun-filled day learning about our country while you meet requirements or work toward badges! The National Constitution Center will feature activity tables, workshops, and shows just for Scouts! You can also explore the entire museum as you earn a commemorative National Constitution Center Fun Badge. Scout leaders and parents will receive a scout packet and agenda to lead them throughout the day’s activities and events.

Birthday Parties
Make your child’s birthday party an historic event like no other when you celebrate it with a bang at the National Constitution Center!  Children 6-13 will love to explore their counties past while they celebrate the future in these fun and interactive parties that are themed to the special interest of each child.  Explore the artifacts as well as the exhibits in this day devoted just to your child and friends.  Choose from a list of themes that let your child express their individual freedoms: Colonial Party, First Ladies Tea, The Patriot Party, Pirates of the Constitution, and Artifact Hunter.  Each party includes party room, guide throughout the party, Freedom Rising performance, main exhibit experience, workshop activity with make and take, free parking for party family with discounted parking for guests and a gift for the birthday child.  Learn more...

Camp
Adventure is right around the corner at the National Constitution Center’s summer camp!  Explore the history of our country in exciting new ways while spending your summer in the most historic city in the United States.  Campers will spend their days actively discovering history in interactive, hands-on activities and fun- filled adventures in the historic district of Philadelphia.  Interact with George Washington and Ben Franklin as you unfold the mysteries and hidden treasures of our city and country.  From art to archaeology, you will explore the ideals of our past that shape the dreams of our future.