The purpose of the program is to honor and explain the U.S. Constitution and to explore its history and relevance to people’s daily lives today. The theme is “Enter as a visitor, leave as a citizen.” The intended users are scholars, the general public, and schoolchildren. The design problems were: to present the abstract ideas of the Constitution clearly; enliven the space and give it dimensionality, despite the absence of large-scale artifacts; and give voice to the individual signers, explaining and giving context to the times they lived in.

The broad strokes of the exhibition are its skeleton, and are expected to be permanent. But almost every component has been developed to allow for change to address interpretive and visitor needs. The large “story panels” are movable and individually replaceable. All interactive and audiovisual elements are essentially media delivery systems: change is simply a matter of software. Most artifacts are lent from collecting institutions; displays will be rotated periodically. The materials in the final section of the Chronology and the commentaries in “Perspectives” can be replaced in 24 hours. NCC visitors will be able to customize and enrich their experience by interacting with interpreters throughout the galleries.

In the Orientation Gallery, “Philadelphia 1787,” visitors enter a space re-creating the sights and sounds of Philadelphia at the time of the Constitutional Convention. Cases containing artifacts recovered from the archeological excavations at the NCC site, such as lockets and toys, give texture to the time period.

In the democratic setting of the Kimmel Theater (in the round), visitors look at one another instead of a stage. A narrator, like the stage manager in the play Our Town, guides visitors through the story of the Constitutional Convention, and how it includes us, ”We the People.” Film elements are projected onto the floor, then onto a 360-degree screen around the perimeter, and then on a scrim that fills the center of the space. While media is often used to support theater, and live talent is often used to support media presentations, “Freedom Rising” merges a dramatic performance with fully developed film elements in a time-locked framework. The production uses 16 video sources including both standard and high-definition projection, a 25-speaker audio system, a theatrical moving light system, and programmed scenic elements in a surround 360-degree environment. After hours, the space can be used for live broadcasts.

The circular gallery of The American Experience on the second floor is wrapped by an illuminated glass wall etched with the amended text of the Constitution and contains three concentric rings. This area highlights people and ideas. The innermost ring considers the broad questions the founders considered, such as “What makes us Americans?” It contains five “talk-back” stations with photo essays, where visitors may write their comments on Post-it notes and affix them to images, and also contains five Interactive Constitution stations. The central ring is organized thematically by the most powerful words and most crucial topics of the Constitution: the Preamble itself. This area is iconic and interactive and emphasizes the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The ideas are “we the people, perfect union, justice, domestic tranquility, common defense, general welfare, liberty, and posterity.“ The American Family Tree (“We the People”) represents citizenship as a political, not an ethnic, construct. Voting booths symbolize the idea “Of the United States.” The balance of power is represented by large-scale models of the three houses of government (“A More Perfect Union”). Visitors can watch themselves being sworn in as president, or may don a Supreme Court justice’s robe. They may experience serving on a jury (“Establish Justice”). A video of a marching soldier who morphs through history honors those who have defended the country and its Constitution (“Common Defense”).

The outermost ring contains thirteen sections and tells the chronological story from 1765 until today. Human stories are the entry points and told using a reporter’s voice, datelined and in the present tense, such as the story of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, and the history of voting enfranchisement. The angled glass of the Constitution above becomes the facing of the exhibit cases below, connecting the current Constitution to the stories of the people whose actions produced it. The text ends with seven blank panels, symbolizing future change and interpretation of the document. The main gallery experience ends as the three paths converge under the penultimate phrase of the Preamble, “For Ourselves and Our Posterity.” In a contemplative passageway, visitors hear voices spanning more than 200 years of commentary on the Constitution, pro and con.

Finally, visitors enter the Signers Hall, a stylized evocation of the Assembly Room where the 39 signers and the three who dissented met. Visitors may walk among life-size bronze figures and may themselves “sign” or “dissent” in special signing books. The journey has moved through progressively larger and brighter spaces, echoing the journey of America toward its own ideals.

The wide-ranging press coverage for the NCC opening has brought new visitors to Philadelphia and a focus on the NCC experience. The NCC has inspired an interest in invigorating many historic sites in the City and plans are underway to do so. The total exhibition cost was $20,638,112; the return on investment is not known. The exhibition uses nontoxic finishes and materials.

"Felt rich with content; makes me want to know more about the Constitution.” Ann Harakawa

Liked the periodic use of iconic symbols that can also serve as a wayfinding system. Nice balance between grand gestures and intricate detail. You really want to experience it and go there. Looks like there are large amounts of stories and experiences.