What makes it so, in Torsella’s view, is its cohesiveness. The building itself, rather than echoing the surrounding historic structures, is intentionally contemporary, reflecting the fact that “the Constitution is not a historic artifact but a document vital to our lives today,” Torsella says. It is made of limestone, giving it “the texture of American civic institutions such as post offices, schools, banks, libraries,” and features large windows designed to make it appear transparent, displaying “activity and movement—the very civic life enabled by the Constitution,” he adds. “The words of the Preamble are writ large on the façade of the building.” From the moment visitors enter the Center and are issued “Delegate’s Passes” (with instructions to think of themselves as “Founders”), they become part of the ongoing conversation about the nature of the American experiment in self-government. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” says Torsella. “The story is actually about you.”

The first part of the dialogue takes place in the 350-seat, steeply sloped Kimmel Theater, site of a dramatic and effective 17-minute multi-media orientation presentation, Freedom Rising. An actor strides to the middle of the auditorium and asks, “What makes us Americans?” The story of the Constitution, foibles and all, is projected alternately on the floor, on the 360-degree screen around the perimeter, on a scrim that fills the center of the space, and, at key points, on the audience themselves. The presentation ends as it begins, with a question: “What will we do with freedom?”

From there, the visitor exits to the second-floor gallery space. While the displays include artifacts in glass cases (notably the inkwell Abraham Lincoln used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s leg braces, a signed copy of the sheet music for Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” and the tool bag used by the Watergate burglars), this is a museum about ideas, not artifacts. Ralph Appelbaum has created interactive multimedia exhibits such as the American National Tree, from which visitors choose to hear and see the stories of 100 significant Americans, from Mickey Mouse to Muhammad Ali. They can also enter such “immersive environments” as a recreation of a 1940s living room with one of Roosevelt’s fireside chats playing on the radio, take the presidential oath of office on the steps of the Capitol (and purchase a photo of the historic event from the gift shop), try on a robe and sit on a replica of the Supreme Court Bench, and vote for their favorite president of all time. Rybczynski calls the information “deeply layered, designed to engage teenagers and children as well as adults,” and while the sheer volume of material can be overwhelming, it is never intimidating. “The idea is that if you come here with a kid who’s not interested at all and a wife who’s a Constitutional lawyer, there’s something for both of them,” he says.

From the gallery, visitors enter Signers Hall, a stylized evocation of the Assembly Room in Independence Hall where the Constitution was drafted, complete with 42 bronze life-size statues of the 39 men who signed the document and the three who refused. Visitors are asked to make the same choices the Framers faced: sign or abstain. Those who sign actively affirm the principles of citizenship; those who dissent are asked to state their reasons. Plans are to store the custom-made volumes of signatures, in perpetuity, on shelves around the room.

Leaving Signer’s hall, one enters the Citizens CafÈ, which offers a breathtaking view of Independence Hall. “It is hard not to be moved by this evocative view of its graceful Colonial spire against the crowded backdrop of downtown office buildings,” comments Rybczynski.

One million visitors are projected to tour the Center annually; according to Torsella, they are averaging about 80,000 per month. More than sheer numbers, the greater goal is that the visitor experience will, in time, change the civic behavior of those who made the trip. Torsella acknowledges that this is a “high standard by which to judge the ultimate success of a museum,” but, he feels, an appropriate one. “Constitutional scholar Garrett Epps said, ‘No legal document is self-validating,’” he quotes. “Every morning we wake up and decide we want to live in a constitutional republic.”

In September, Torsella announced that he would leave the Constitution Center at the end of the year in order to run for office himself. This April, he will compete in the Democratic primary for U.S. Representative for the 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County. It is perhaps only natural that after seven years of steeping himself in Constitutional doctrine and “talking the talk,” Torsella would decide to “walk the walk” and enter the political arena. But leaving the NCC is bittersweet, he says. ”This has been a very difficult decision because this place will always feel like home, and the people I have worked with will always feel like family,” he says. “I am prouder than I could ever say to have been part of creating this remarkable place.”

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Kathryn Levy Feldman is a freelance writer and Penn parent. Her most recent article for the Gazette was on the Senior Associates program, for retirees who wish to audit classes at Penn, published in the January/February issue.