American Sign Language Video Translations

Declaration 101

The first film in the exhibition provides an overview of and context for the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration Theater

The film shown in the Declaration Theater in the exhibition explores the influence of the Declaration both in America and abroad.

American Sign Language interpretation provided in partnership with Hands Up Productions and Deaf actor Malik Paris.

Composing Stick

A panel with text and a raised stick with letters

This tactile label encourages guests to explore the process of print in the 19th century.

In the 1800s, printers used long, adjustable “composing sticks” to arrange moveable type (letters) before setting them into a printing press. They had to reverse the entire document, creating a mirror image that would print correctly.
 
Composing the text for an entire newspaper could take hours.

Feel the letters on the composing stick on the label, which match the title of the Aurora de Chile newspaper on display nearby.

Hands-On Discovery Cart

Learn more about objects and stories on display in the special exhibition by touching replica handling objects like an inkball, and type for a press with an educator inside the space.

To provide feedback on accessibility in the exhibition, please contact [email protected].