The Museum’s permanent exhibition would tell the story of the making of the American People from the first humans in the Western Hemisphere up to the present. This exhibition and this story would be at the core of the Museum.
Encompassing a timeline of more than 15 millennia, the story of the American People could be presented in a dramatic, interactive documentary format like the presentation of the permanent exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Following the example of that museum, a premier museum exhibition designer could be teamed with a visionary documentary film maker to create a permanent exhibition that is accessible, attractive, exciting and engaging at many levels.
The story could be told in four chapters and would be developed and vetted by teams of scholars, including historians, anthropologists, archeologists, ethnologists, human geographers, sociologists, demographers, geneticists, linguists, and others.
The story would follow a consensus of their views, and significant mainstream historic and scientific dissenting views could also be included. As scientific and historic consensus changes, appropriate changes could be made in the Museum. The Museum would tell the story ensuring the highest standards of scholarship. With force and clarity, it would examine unpleasant truths and avoid mythology.
The Museum would present the story in the exhibition using a variety of media, especially artifacts, and including film, visuals, dioramas, graphics, text, computer technology and models, in a framework that would encourage reflection as visitors absorbed the story. With advice from educators, text and visuals in the exhibition would be geared for school children as well as adults. Once the Museum is established, a significant national effort would be made to develop the Museum’s final story line. The Museum’s board would approve the final story line and exhibition. The Commission could also explore development of a major multi-part documentary film based on the Museum’s story line. The film could be broadcast by a national network and could be made available for classroom showings throughout the nation.
The Museum’s permanent exhibition could leave an indelible impression of knowledge and understanding on visitors as they engage and come to know the full story of the making of the American People.