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Key Initiatives for 2026 & Beyond

Through special exhibits, digital initiatives, and educational programs, we aim to accelerate our momentum and expand our national reach and impact through the 250th commemoration and position the Museum as a national leader in history education and civic engagement in time for our 10th anniversary in 2027. Our location in the heart of historic Philadelphia provides a unique opportunity to leverage this power of place on a national stage as part of this anniversary.

A visitor views the photographs on the Revolutionary Generation wall in the core exhibition.
 
Groundbreaking Exhibits

Award-Winning Core Galleries

In our first six years, we welcomed more than a million visitors to experience our award-winning, object-rich, and immersive core galleries which explore the diverse people and complex events that sparked the ongoing American experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. The exhibits explore the origins, experiences, and ongoing legacy of the American Revolution through hundreds of authentic Revolutionary-era artifacts, engaging films, touchscreen interactives, hands-on elements, and more.

Museum Exhibits
This image features the words The Declaration's Journey large in white in the center of a blue background under a gold semicircle of arrows from the compass rose.
 
Special Exhibition

The Declaration’s Journey

October 18, 2025 - January 3, 2027

The Declaration has always meant far more than independence, and its influence has grown as generations of Americans, and people from many other nations, have considered the meaning of its promise of equality and its assertions about the purposes of government. Opening in October 2025, this groundbreaking special exhibition will engage new and existing audiences in an ongoing conversation that can inspire new understandings of the Declaration as a vital point of reference and aspiration for America and its citizenry.

Exhibit Details
A student uses the Posters of Protest touchscreen interactive in the Museum's core exhibition.
 

Digital Initiatives

From launching innovative online resources to hosting virtual conversations that speak to the challenges of today through the lens of the past, we continue to expand and enhance our digital programming and capabilities, extending our reach around the world. Some of our recently launched digital initiatives include our popular multimedia Timeline of the American Revolution, our award-winning Finding Freedom digital interactive, and a variety of virtual exhibits. Looking ahead, digital projects for 2026 and beyond include:

• A 360-degree virtual tour of The Declaration’s Journey special exhibition
• A digital humanities project utilizing our Patriots of Color Archive to launch in 2025
• A virtual version of our Posters of Protest touchscreen interactive from our core galleries

Digital Resources
Image 2923 Patriots Of Color Archive
 

Collection

Object-based learning is a core tenet of the Museum experience. It is a powerful tool for teaching and engaging our various onsite and online audiences, and new acquisitions and curatorial scholarship play an important role in raising the Museum’s national profile, reach and impact. Our existing collection of roughly 5,000 items has been constantly expanding in recent years through donations and strategic acquisitions.

To meet rising demand for access to the collection, to support expanded exhibitions and digital programs, and to ensure the highest level of stewardship of this nationally significant collection, the Museum will invest in staffing, new collections management and digital asset management systems, and other related equipment and systems as we look ahead to 2026.

Collection Highlights
Dr. R Scott Stephenson moderates a conversation with James Forten descendant Kip Forten Jacobs and Dr. Julie Winch.
 

Programs & Events

From thought-provoking programs with leading historians and scholars to musical collaborations and family programming, we deliver a rich and engaging variety of mission-driven programs that serve many audiences, both onsite and online. As we approach 2026, we will enhance and expand our slate of programs and events and will explore the continued impact of the American Revolution and its relevance to our lives today. Our popular programs include:

Read the Revolution Speaker Series
The Carl M. Buchholz Memorial Lecture
The Lenfest Spirit of the American Revolution Award
First Oval Office Project and other living history initiatives
• AmRev Presents lectures, panel discussions, and musical events

Three students from the Museum's Living History Youth Summer Institute pose for a photo in from the Museum's recreated George Washington's tent in Clark Park.
 

Community Engagement

We are committed to reaching diverse communities through initiatives like our:

Citizenship Initiative and naturalization ceremonies
• African American Interpretive Program, including our Living History Youth Summer Institute and Meet the Revolution series of living history interpretation
• Family programs including Revolution at the Library and History Explorers
Accessibility initiatives

We plan to expand and deepen these initiatives and others in the years to come as we work to engage all people in America’s founding story in 2026 and beyond. 

Join Us!

As the Museum embarks on this critically important work, we seek investments to help support our planning efforts that are currently underway.

A Museum educator dressed in 18th century clothing shows visitors the Museum's handsewn silk replica of Washington's Standard flag.
A Museum educator talks to two guests about the Shot Heard Round the World at the Battles of Lexington and Concord that started the Revolutionary War.

Support Us in 2026 & Beyond

Your support will help us build upon our initial success by enhancing our programming and digital resources to extend our reach and impact. Together, we can work to ensure that the promise of the American Revolution endures.

Support


Major support for The Declaration’s Journey exhibition has been provided by Philip Syng Reese and Family & The Society of Lees of Virginia and The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional gifts from David and Kim Adler, Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom, Nancy and Morris W. Offit, and The Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

Other support provided by Bank of America, Dick and Sally Brickman, Daniel DiLella and Monica Duvall DiLella, and John and Ellen Jumper.


This image shows the logo for the National Endowment for the Humanities with the sans serif font in navy blue with golden sun looking rays atop the text.