In September of 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. Every year, the National Constitution Center hosts the best Constitution Day celebration in the country. We are the place to turn to help you commemorate this historic day while meeting your federal education requirements, at the Center and online!
This year we will be hosting a two-day celebration on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17, with FREE museum admission on both days!
Check out our full list of onsite and online programs for both days, as well as special events in the week leading up to Constitution Day celebrations.
Click here for great resources for learning more about the Constitutional Convention!
Preamble Reading
Friday, September 16 at 8:30 a.m. ET and encore at 2:30 p.m. ET
First Amendment Tablet Stage and Livestreamed
Happy Constitution Day! Let’s read the Preamble to the Constitution together as We the People in front of the new inspiring First Amendment tablet overlooking Independence Mall
Constitution Day Naturalization Ceremony
Friday, September 16 at 9:30 a.m. ET
F.M. Kirby Auditorium and Livestreamed
On September 16 we not only celebrate Constitution Day, but also Citizenship Day, a holiday meant to honor and celebrate the privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship for both native-born and naturalized citizens. In recognition of this special observance the National Constitution Center hosts an annual Naturalization Ceremony as part of our Constitution Day celebrations, during which 50 immigrants from across the globe will take the Oath of Allegiance to officially become citizens of the United States. The Honorable John R. Padova, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, will preside over the ceremony. All of the new citizens will be given lifetime memberships to the National Constitution Center.
Judges on Judging Event
Friday, September 16 at 11 a.m. ET
F.M. Kirby Auditorium and Livestreamed
Judge Marjorie Rendell, Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, and Judge Stephanos Bibas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit join us to discuss how they approached some of the most significant appellate cases on last term’s docket. The judges will also explain how the federal courts of appeal work and their role in the federal courts system.
The Constitution’s Birthday Celebration—With Preamble Reading and Cake Cutting
Friday, September 16 at 12 p.m. ET, First Amendment Tablet Stage
Join the National Constitution Center to wish the Constitution a happy 235th birthday LIVE in front of the recently installed First Amendment Tablet! After a lively reading of the Preamble to the Constitution, the Center will highlight some of our newest resources, including Constitution 101, our 15-week course on the Constitution. The celebration will conclude with birthday cake cutting and fanfare.
Scholar Exchange: The Constitutional Convention
Friday, September 16 at 1p.m. ET
Online Program
Historians and legal experts join National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion on the issues and events in early America that led to the Constitutional Convention. We will also explore the major debates at the Convention, and how those discussions shaped the future of the United States. Panelists will also discuss their careers, as well as answer questions from participants.
Common Ground and Compromise: A Congressional Conversation
Friday, September 16 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Online Program
Join the National Constitution Center for an engaging and informative session with former U.S. Representatives to learn about what it's like to serve in the Legislative Branch. Our speakers will reveal what it's like to run for office and share their experiences from the campaign trail, as well as what a day in the life of a member of Congress looks like. They will also discuss the importance of bipartisanship and working across the aisle.
Judge Chats: First Amendment
Friday, September 16, Throughout the Day
Bank of America Family Theater
In this program, students will examine the history of the First Amendment—focusing especially on the factors motivating America’s founding generation. In a conversation with a federal judge, students will learn how the courts have interpreted freedom of speech over time and that in the United States, speech can only be limited when it is intended to and likely to cause imminent violence. Contact the Group Sales Department at groupsales@constitutioncenter.org if you would like to reserve space for your group at the museum for this event.
To book your Constitution Day reservations for a group of 15 or more, contact Group Sales at 215.409.6800 or email groupsales@constitutioncenter.org, or click here to make individual reservations.
KidsTown Hall with Karen Korematsu
Saturday, September 17 at 12 p.m.
F.M. Kirby Auditorium and Streamed Online
Join us for a special town hall program featuring Karen Korematsu, founder and executive director of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute and the daughter of the late civil rights icon, Fred Korematsu. Korematsu will discuss the impact of her father’s landmark Supreme Court case in which he took a stand against the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. She will also highlight her father’s lifetime of fighting for social justice, as told in the book Fred Korematsu Speaks Up. Korematsu will also discuss her own work as an educator and advocate. Free copies of Fred Korematsu Speaks Up will be available to in-person, youth attendees of the program while supplies last.
Virtual Walking Tour of Historic Philadelphia
Saturday, September 17 at 2:00 p.m. ET, Online Program
Join members of the National Constitution Center's Education Team on a virtual walking tour of the historic sights and scenes of Old City Philadelphia. Located just steps from Independence Hall, where the Constitution was drafted and signed, the National Constitution Center sits within what has been called the nation's "most historic square mile." We'll visit some of the area's most significant sites including Arch Street Meeting House, the First and Second Banks of the United States, the President’s House, and others to see how these sites connect to both the nation's founding story and its ongoing constitutional conversation.
Battles of the Branches Show
Throughout the Day, First Amendment Tablet Stage
Experience a crash course on our government! Visitors will learn the importance of checks and balances and the responsibilities of each branch of government. They can then assume the powers of the presidency, Congress, and the judiciary, and work together to pass a law!
The Four Harriets of History Show
Throughout the Day, First Amendment Tablet Stage
Visitors can explore the lives of four American women—Harriet Robinson Scott, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Jacobs, and Harriet Beecher Stowe—who confronted slavery through literature, lawsuits, and direct action in their efforts to free themselves and others from bondage.
Sign the Giant Constitution
10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Grand Hall Lobby
Guests can check out our giant version of the U.S. Constitution and sign their names alongside Washington, Franklin, and Madison.
What’s Your 28th Amendment?
10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Main Exhibit
It’s been 30 years since the last amendment to the Constitution was added—the 27th Amendment which limits when changes to congressional compensation can take effect. What do you think the 28th Amendment will be?
Find the First Amendment Scavenger Hunt
10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Museum Exhibits
Find the First Amendment! Pick up a First Amendment Scavenger Hunt and explore the Center’s exhibits to find your freedoms. Could you be thrown in jail for criticizing the government? Students, what happens to your freedom of expression when you pass the schoolhouse gate? The answers to your questions are here, it's your job to find them!
First Amendment Build a Button Station
10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Grand Hall Lobby
How do you show your support for a cause? Guests can visit our make-and-take craft tables to learn about symbolic speech and design their own buttons supporting a cause important to them.
To book your Constitution Day reservations for a group of 15 or more, contact Group Sales at 215.409.6800 or email groupsales@constitutioncenter.org, or click here to make individual reservations.
Virtual Signers’ Hall Tour
Monday, September 12 at 12 p.m. ET
Online Program
Virtual audiences can join a Center’s museum educator for a tour of Signers' Hall, the iconic exhibit featuring life-size statues of the 42 men who gathered in Philadelphia for the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. We’ll guide you through that historic year as we explore the events that led up to the Constitutional Convention, the debates between the delegates, and the compromises that led to the Constitution that was signed on September 17.
Virtual Story of We the People Tour
Tuesday, September 13 at 2 p.m. ET
Online Program
The National Constitution Center is taking its signature exhibit, The Story of We the People, virtual through this special LIVE guided tour. One of our museum educators will guide you through our 250-year constitutional timeline, as you journey from the period before the American Revolution right up to present day, highlighting historic elections, landmark Supreme Court cases, and momentous events like the Civil War and Prohibition. We’ll also take a look at how the government works, exploring exhibits about federalism, the three branches of government, the separation of powers, checks and balances, and more. And of course, we will spotlight how “We, the People” have influenced constitutional history.
Inside Independence Hall Virtual Tour
Tuesday, September 13 at 6 p.m. ET
Online Program
Let’s take a trip to the room where it happened, the signing of the Constitution, that is! The National Constitution Center and Independence National Historical Park are partnering to bring virtual audiences inside the Independence Hall, the building where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed. Virtual visitors will get a behind-the-scenes look as a park ranger takes us through the famous Independence Hall, revealing stories of conflict, collaboration, and the ongoing experiment in self-government.
Virtual Civil War and Reconstruction Tour
Wednesday, September 14 at 12 p.m. ET
Online Program
Explore the Center’s compelling exhibit, Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality, as one of our museum educators leads viewers through the exhibit. Learn how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution after the war during the Reconstruction period, taking a particularly close look at the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
Constitution 101 Launch
Wednesday, September 14 at 7 p.m. ET,
Online Program
National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner will unveil Constitution 101, the Center’s NEW 15-unit course that’s the perfect guide to understanding the U.S. Constitution, and is available in multiple versions—making it ideal for all audiences. A full curriculum is available for teachers to implement in their classrooms, and a lighter “crash course” offers lifelong learners a chance to brush up on their constitutional knowledge. Each unit contains videos, primary sources, reading activities, and more.
Virtual Signers’ Hall Tour
Thursday, September 15 at 12 p.m. ET
Online Program
Virtual audiences can join a Center’s museum educator for a tour of Signers' Hall, the iconic exhibit featuring life-size statues of the 42 men who gathered in Philadelphia for the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. We’ll guide you through that historic year as we explore the events that led up to the Constitutional Convention, the debates between the delegates, and the compromises that led to the Constitution that was signed on September 17.
Virtual 19th Amendment Tour
Thursday, September 15 at 2 p.m. ET
Online Program
The Center’s museum educator will lead virtual audiences on a LIVE guided tour of our newest exhibit that traces the triumphs and struggles that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The tour will help participants to better understand the long fight for women’s suffrage, and will also highlight some of the many women who transformed constitutional history—including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Ida B. Wells. Plus, viewers will get an up-close look at some of the one-of-a-kind artifacts on display, including a rare printing of the Declaration of Sentiments from the nation’s first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, a ballot box used to collect women’s votes in the late 1800s, Pennsylvania’s ratification copy of the 19th Amendment, as well as visually compelling “Votes for Women” ephemera.
Virtual Walking Tour of Historic Philadelphia
Thursday, September 15 at 7p.m. ET
Online Program
Join members of the National Constitution Center's Education Team on a virtual walking tour of the historic sights and scenes of Old City Philadelphia. Located just steps from Independence Hall, where the Constitution was drafted and signed, the National Constitution Center sits within what has been called the nation's "most historic square mile." We'll visit some of the area's most significant sites including Arch Street Meeting House, the First and Second Banks of the United States, the President’s House, and others to see how these sites connect to both the nation's founding story and its ongoing constitutional conversation.
Learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.
