Ralph Applebaum Associates

The National Constitution Center is the country’s first and only institution dedicated to the United States Constitution and its core premise: that a nation’s power should derive from its people. Situated on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, the center presents the Constitution’s history and its relevance to daily life—inspiring visitors to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

The permanent exhibition chronicles the Constitution’s shaping of American life. Its award-winning, three hundred and sixty-degree live actor and film production, Freedom Rising, recounts the document’s history. Visitors explore America’s constitutional history through interactives, films, photographs, rare artifacts, and role-play. At talkback stations, visitors can contribute their comments. In Signers’ Hall, visitors walk among life-size bronze statues of America’s Founding Fathers—thirty-nine signed the Constitution, three dissented—and may themselves sign or dissent in books provided.

The National Constitution Center is America’s forum for constitutional dialogue and education. It offers a program of public discussions and debates as well as cutting-edge civic learning resources, both on-site and online. Each year, the center awards the Philadelphia Liberty Medal to men and women who have worked to secure liberty for people the world over.

The center has had a significant impact on the civic life of Philadelphia, consistently attracting around three quarters of a million visitors per year and elevating the importance of the Constitution in America’s public discourse—for students and the general public alike.