Developing a New National Archives Experience

John W. Carlin

I want to take this opportunity to update you on one of our most exciting initiatives here at the National Archives and Records Administration—The National Archives Experience.

As you may know, we are in the midst of a major renovation at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., and the Charters of Freedom are undergoing some necessary conservation work. When this work is done, visitors to the National Archives will not only be able to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in new, more accessible encasements, but they will also discover for themselves the role that records play in the history of our country and the lives of Americans. I also hope that visitors will come to realize that the records we safeguard are theirs to use and contain valuable information about their families, communities, and government. It is this experience—this discovery that records matter both to individuals and to the society in which they live—that will be the core of the National Archives Experience which debuts on 4 July 2004.

The National Archives Experience is, in essence, both a journey through time and a journey through American struggles and triumphs. It will have several components, beginning with a visit to the Charters of Freedom in the Rotunda, where visitors will feel the presence of the people who successfully conducted the American experiment in democracy that became our nation. For the first time, beginning in September 2003, millions of people will be able to view all four pages of the Constitution simultaneously. New cases will make the Charters more accessible for younger visitors and those using wheelchairs. The fading murals of the signers of the Charters will be restored to their original glory, and a new multi-language audio tool will especially allow international visitors and children to have a more meaningful experience.

The National Archives Experience will continue in the Public Vaults—exhibition spaces that will convey the feeling of going beyond the wall of the Rotunda into the stacks and vaults of the National Archives. Located in the central corridor of the Public Vaults will be the Record of America, a journey through time and technology that will explore the transformation of records, from our earliest Native American treaties all the way to Presidential emails. The Record of America will immerse visitors in the world of not only ink and paper evidence, but also photos, films, sound recordings, and databases. Four vaults—built around the themes of Families, Democracy, Exploration, and Military—will bring the documents to life through interactive experiences and connections to popular culture. Visitors might help an elderly widow establish her identity as an American citizen, listen to the Oval Office conversations of five presidents, follow the trail of Zebulon Pike using a touch-screen map, or become a filmmaker using records to create a moment of film on D-Day.

Another major component of the National Archives Experience is a new 275-seat theater. By day, it will show a dramatic film illustrating the relationship of records and democracy through the lives of real people. By night, the theater will feature a documentary film, and also serve as a forum for lectures, seminars, and debates.

The National Archives Experience also will include a Special Exhibition Gallery devoted to document-based exhibits on newsworthy and timely topics, or visiting exhibitions from Presidential Libraries and other sources. NARA has won critical acclaim for exhibits such as “American Originals,” “Picturing the Century,” and “Designs for Democracy.” These exhibitions move audiences with their content as well as their form.

The last physical component of the National Archives Experience is a Learning Center designed to reach America’s youth and the professionals and parents who teach them, and to incorporate our current education programs with new and exciting educational opportunities both on-site and through distance learning. The Learning Center, which has four major components—the Learning Lab, the Resource Room, the Digital Classroom II, and the National Teacher’s Program—will leverage the documentary resources of the National Archives to engage and inspire children to connect to the past.

Finally, the Internet will play an integral part in the National Archives Experience, both for those who cannot visit us in person and those who wish to learn more about the Archives and our records on their own. It will be a gateway to everything I have talked about—the Charters, the Public Vaults and Exhibits, the Theater and Learning Center, and even the Archives Store—while also providing access to the records themselves.

It is our intent that visitors leave the National Archives Experience with a new appreciation for the role that records play in our society. They will see how records can help us to accurately understand our past, and how records enable us, as citizens, to hold our government accountable for its actions and claim the rights, entitlements and liberties of a democratic society. Through the National Archives Experience, visitors will examine the past and envision their own future and the future of our country. And, I believe the public will come to see what we already know: that records matter—for us, for our future, and for the future of our democracy.