Ellis Island, The Future
Since it opened in 1990, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum has been one of the nation's most popular museum destinations, welcoming more than 35 million visitors through its doors. Now, Ellis Island is scheduled for a major expansion to welcome and educate even more Americans about this country's dynamic history and what the future holds. This expansion, to be called "The Peopling of America™ Center," is an ambitious, $20 million effort to make Ellis Island even more compelling and relevant for the coming decades. We will keep the magic of old Ellis Island alive, while making it even more accessible and exciting for future generations of Americans. Your participation in the American Flag of Faces Project will be crucial in making the Center's promise come true!
The Peopling of America® Center will expand upon the Ellis Island years of immigration to include the entire panorama of the American experience. How we became Americans, how we made and are still making the journey here, how we created and continue to influence our communities, and how this nation looks forward to building for the future.
The Center will fill an enormous gap in our understanding of the Peopling of America in our past, present and future. The Center will be the only place in this country dedicated to telling all of our stories, about being and becoming Americans, which is so central to the national experience.
Whether your family came to America in the 18th or 19th century or before, or arrived just a few years ago, you will learn more about that experience, and can bequeath it to your family’s future generations, in the Peopling of America® Center. Its state-of-the-art design will be greeted enthusiastically by the millions of Americans who do not share the Ellis Island experience, and whose stories are told nowhere else in this country.
Today you are invited to participate in this great venture. Below, you will find artist’s renderings of the exciting exhibitry your contributions will help build. You can help make Ellis Island and the Peopling of America a future legacy for your children and the generations that will follow them.
A large, radiant globe sets the story of immigration to America within a wider, global context. Glowing strands of light pulse across the globe, illuminating the flow of migration across the continents throughout the course of human history.
In the Threads of Migration exhibit visitors connect the story of their family's journey to the larger story of migration to America. When they enter their names, residence, family's countries of origin they see lighted thread's representing their family's migration added to a large, dynamic map. Over time, the many threads added to the map will create a rich, beautiful American tapestry.
The Citizenship Gallery looks at how to become and what it means to be an American citizen. The Gallery is comprised of videos, interpretive graphics, and interactive programs that explore different facets of citizenship