On September 17, 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention formally signed and adopted the United States Constitution. Nearly 250 years later, we celebrate this day as Constitution Day or Citizenship Day.

The American Independence Museum is thrilled to offer free admission to all on Saturday, September 17 through the Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Program. Smithsonian Museum Day is a program where hundreds of museums and cultural institutions across the country provide free admission to individuals who have registered through the Smithsonian’s website.

“We are thrilled to once again participate in the Museum Day Program. Free admission on Constitution Day provides all guests with the opportunity to not only celebrate this important day in our nation’s history, but see our working drafts of the Constitution with handwritten notes that show how much thought and effort went into our creating our founding documents,” said Jennifer Carr, Curator and Acting Executive Director at the American Independence Museum. The museum collection includes two early drafts of the US Constitution. Visitors are encouraged to compare these two versions, written one month apart, and note the seemingly small yet impactful differences in language, such as the change from listing the thirteen original states by name to “We the People of the United States.”

To further commemorate the day, the museum will be putting on the final part of their Five Freedoms Family Saturdays, a civic educational program that explores the five freedoms outlined in the First Amendment with family-friendly activities geared toward younger children.

Program Manager Sarah Jaworski notes that, “it’s important that all future citizens, no matter how small, understand the nation’s founding documents. Through this program we want to celebrate that the US Constitution is a document by and for the people.”

To register for Smithsonian Museum Day and plan your visit, go to www.independencemuseum.org.

About the American Independence Museum

Located in Exeter, NH, the American Independence Museum features a rare collection of historic artifacts that shed light on the Revolutionary War. Examples of popular items in our exhibits include a dragoon pistol, brown bess musket, and 18th century powder horn. Many of our programs offer insight into civic duties, civic engagement and civic responsibility, while we also feature a variety of things to do in NH, such as camps for kids, festivals, summer festival, reenactments, and homeschool programs. Perfect for a day trip or weekend trips, we believe in inclusivity and inclusive history and the spirit behind the phrase, ‘we the people’.