The National Constitution Center offers fun, engaging, one-of-a-kind experiences for students of all ages. There is something to do every day at the Center that will enhance your visit with customized programs and supplementary activities for your students. Packages are offered with support from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation.
Give your students a customized experience of the U.S. Constitution and its history that includes hands-on activities and special programs. Don’t just visit; take part in an energizing field-trip experience this school year. Our themed museum packages are aligned with national and state standards and make use of the Center’s resources. A National Constitution Center Public Programs demonstrator will accompany your group and facilitate their experience of our original artifacts, interactive exhibits, and multimedia events. Our staff aims 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 presentation, “Freedom Rising”; an interactive, high-energy show; and an educational adventure through the Center’s main exhibition, The Story of We the People. Most packages take approximately 2 ½ to 3 hours and include free daily demonstrations. Your group will get all of this for the special package price of $14 per person.
Please select one of the themed packages:
NEW! BREAKING BARRIERS
Grades 3-5, 6-8
The Breaking Barriers Show will examine the lives of Thurgood Marshall, Bessie Coleman, Jackie Robinson, and other extraordinary African Americans throughout history. The show will give visitors insight into the issues they faced and the rights they secured for all Americans. Students will then be sent on a storytelling adventure as they relive the experiences of African Americans in the 1700s, 1800s and 1900s. These inspiring stories teach students how one’s civic actions can affect a nation.
NEW! DESTINATION WHITE HOUSE: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Grades 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
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 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 learn about the presidency, with a focus on presidential elections and the functions of the executive branch. While on their educational adventure through the main exhibit hall, students learn about past presidents, historic elections, and presidential powers throughout history. Finally, students can elect a classmate to be the next president while learning what platforms are and watching some of the most famous campaign ads of all time. So buckle up… because the road to the White House can be bumpy!
WE, THE JURY
NEW! Grades 4-8 - Grand Larceny
Grades 9-12 - Double Homicide
ALL RISE! The honorable judge . . .YOU presiding! Throughout this engaging day of activities about our judicial system, students act as the judge and the jury. Our knowledgeable staff takes your students on an educational adventure through the main exhibit as they learn about courts and the rule of law. Students then 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 3-5, 6-8, 9-12
Do your students know what it means to be an American citizen? 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 our country and its freedoms. They’ll take part in an educational adventure through our main exhibit hall, facilitated by one of our demonstrators, and participate in an array of activities that will help your class comprehend America’s freedoms and our ongoing struggles to secure them. The day concludes with the Be a Citizen Game Show, which puts their knowledge to the test to find out if they really have what it takes to be informed and active citizens.
FREE TO BE YOU
Grades 4-8, 9-12
This fast-paced competition explores the First Amendment and the freedoms it protects. Students will learn 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 with a National Constitution Center demonstrator, they’ll hear stories about children just like them who stood up for their freedom and changed our country. Empowerment and inspiration are what this day is all about.
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)
Book your group today!