The engrossed original Declaration of Independence parchment

National Archives MuseumPenn Quarter / National Mall

Free and Independent: A Celebration of the Declaration

Orain ikusgai2026(e)ko apirilaren 25(a) – 2027(e)ko uztailaren 5(a)Doan

America250 show marking the Declaration's 250th anniversary, in three parts: the Revolution, the preservation of the original parchment, and how Americans have celebrated independence since 1776.

Erakusketaren webgunea

Gehiago: Washington

Orain ikusgai Egitaraua: 2026(e)ko urria

On the night of 4 July 1776, John Dunlap printed the Declaration in his Philadelphia shop, and by morning copies were going out to the colonies. One of those first printings is here, in the same building as the parchment it was set from.

The 40 objects run across three galleries. The first covers British America and the Lee Resolution that proposed independence. The second follows the parchment's preservation, around a 600-pound working model of the 1952 vault. Then you walk under flags hung from the ceiling into cases of Fourth of July memorabilia: a beer-can hat, a dress a third-grade class covered in magic marker, and a bottle of air sealed in 1976, which came with directions for use.

It's free, in the Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery, until 5 July 2027, and you can submit a photo of your own Independence Day tradition for display. Free or $1 timed tickets booked ahead cut the wait, which the museum says can exceed an hour at peak times.

Ez galdu

The Dunlap Broadside
One of the first printed copies of the Declaration, run off in Philadelphia on the night of 4 July 1776 and handed out the next morning.
The Mosler vault model
A 600-pound working model from 1952 that shows how the Charters of Freedom rose for display by day and sank into the vault at night.
The Lee Resolution
Richard Henry Lee's motion of 7 June 1776 that the colonies "are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States".
The Bicentennial Bottle of Air
A glass bottle labelled "bottled and sealed in 1976", with an eagle and stars on the front and directions for use on the back.
The Bicentennial beer can hat
A tall-crowned hat of red, white and blue yarn and aluminum cans, each panel printed with a flag and the Liberty Bell.