History Center announces second annual "Civic Season"
The Senator John Heinz History Center – the Smithsonian’s home in Pittsburgh – is joining fellow leading civic and history organizations across the United States this month to launch the second annual Civic Season, in partnership with the Made By Us coalition.
As part of Civic Season, the History Center and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will welcome new U.S. citizens during a special Naturalization Ceremony in the museum’s Campbell Gallery on Tuesday, June 21 at 2 p.m.
Beginning on Juneteenth and running through Independence Day – two dates that highlight the gap between our nation's promises and practices – Civic Season is a new tradition co-designed with Gen Z that welcomes the future inheritors of the U.S. to learn about our nation's history, so they can inform and inspire civic participation for generations to come.
Kicking off with nationwide celebrations on June 12, Civic Season is a time to explore what you stand for with more than 500 events in person and online. Programs and resources can be accessed through TheCivicSeason.com.
The tradition will build and grow in years to come, reaching 100 million young adults by the nation's 250th anniversary in 2026, empowering them with resonant opportunities to contribute to the American story.
Civic Season is developed by Made By Us, a partnership of the nation’s most iconic history museums led by the Heinz History Center, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, National Archives Foundation, First Americans Museum, Atlanta History Center, HistoryMiami Museum, New-York Historical Society, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and Missouri Historical Society.
Civic Season in Pittsburgh
The History Center will offer a series of civic-minded programs and guided tours during Civic Season:
Guided Tour: "African American Impact: Western Pennsylvania and Beyond"
Saturday, June 18 · Tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Heinz History Center
Discover the achievements of African Americans in medicine, journalism, the arts, activism, and during World War II in the Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation exhibition. The tour will also wind through the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum to explore the city’s unmatched Negro League baseball legacy and the careers of groundbreaking Black athletes from our region. Visitors must sign up for Guided Tours at the admissions desk prior to each tour. To book groups in advance or for questions, please contact Robert Stakeley at rostakeley@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6359.
USCIS Adult Citizenship Education Seminar
Tuesday, June 21 · 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Heinz History Center
The History Center is partnering with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to host a day-long seminar for adult educators. The seminar is designed to enhance the skills needed to teach U.S. history, civics, and the naturalization process to green card holders. These skills will help educators, volunteers, and organizations offer a comprehensive adult citizenship program. Teachers can register here.
USCIS Naturalization Ceremony
Tuesday, June 21 · 2 p.m.
Heinz History Center
The History Center and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will welcome new U.S. citizens during a special Naturalization Ceremony in the museum’s Campbell Gallery. Families and guests will watch as young immigrants become American citizens as part of this pivotal milestone in the naturalization process. Following the ceremony, the new U.S. citizens will take photos near the History Center’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood exhibit.
Guided Tours: “Many Faces, One City”
Wednesday, June 22 and Friday, June 24 · Tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Heinz History Center
Learn about fascinating stories of Pittsburgh history and enhance their museum experience on a Guided Tour at the History Center. The museum’s docents will lead special hour-long tours of exhibitions, which explore important themes in Western Pennsylvania history. Visitors must sign up for Guided Tours at the admissions desk prior to each tour. To book groups in advance or for questions, please contact Robert Stakeley at rostakeley@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6359.
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: African Americans at the Ballot
Tuesday, June 28 · 6-8 p.m.
Heinz History Center
The History Center will host a panel discussion that will explore the history of voting rights in conjunction with the Civic Season theme of “Rewind, Reflect, and Reimagine.” Keynote speaker and civil rights activist Annie Pearl Avery will reflect on her time as the project director of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Hale County, Texas, as well as her experience marching on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965. Panelist Dr. Ray Block of Penn State University will discuss voting history in Pennsylvania, from state jurisdictions under the Constitution, to the 15th Amendment, through today. Miracle Jones of 1Hood Media will serve as moderator and will join the panelists in reimagining the history of voter rights connected to current voting issues. The program will be offered both in-person and virtually. Admission is free, but pre-registration is required.
Guided Tour: George Washington in Western Pennsylvania
Saturday, July 2 · Tours at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Heinz History Center
Museum docents will lead a special tour of the Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation and Clash of Empiresexhibitions to discuss George Washington’s Pittsburgh and Western Pa. connections. Visitors must sign up for Guided Tours at the admissions desk prior to each tour. To book groups in advance or for questions, please contact Robert Stakeley at rostakeley@heinzhistorycenter.org or 412-454-6359.
Independence Day Celebration
Sunday, July 3 · 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village
The National Historic Landmark, located in Avella, Washington County, Pa., will celebrate the spirit of America with historical demonstrations and period games at the 18th-century frontier area and 19th-century rural village.
Fourth at the Fort
Monday, July 4 · 1-4 p.m.
Fort Pitt Museum
The museum will host its annual Fourth at the Fort event in Point State Park. At 1 p.m., Fort Pitt Museum staff, scouts, and local veterans will help kick off the Fourth of July holiday by raising a 36-foot American flag. The ceremony will commence in the Fort Pitt Block House yard thanks to an ongoing partnership with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, owners of the Fort Pitt Block House – the oldest building in the region. Following the patriotic flag raising ceremony, visitors can enjoy a family-friendly afternoon of living history demonstrations.
For more information about Civic Season events at the History Center, visit heinzhistorycenter.org/america-101/civic-season.
America 101
The History Center’s involvement in Civic Season and the Made By Us national coalition is an extension of its ongoing civics initiative, America 101, which engages the public to learn American history through public programs, special exhibitions, digital learning tools, and educational curriculum. Through the America 101 initiative, the History Center has hosted the award-winning “Be the Change: 9th Grade Civics Summit” program, U.S. naturalization ceremonies, American flag folding events, and other forums to discuss issues such as civics, government, immigration, and history.
America 101 is supported by Nimick Forbesway Foundation, Grable Foundation, Jack Buncher Foundation, Charity Randall Foundation, and UPMC.
Civic Season is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Coca-Cola Company, AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate, and Airbnb.
Made By Us is an unparalleled collaboration of more than 130 of the nation's history museums to better engage Millennials and Gen-Z with American history to inspire, inform and empower civic participation. Led collectively by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Senator John Heinz History Center, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, the National Archives Foundation, the First Americans Museum, Atlanta History Center, HistoryMiami Museum, New-York Historical Society, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and Missouri Historical Society, Made By Us creates programs and digital platforms to connect young people in every corner of the nation with our shared past, present and future. For more information, visit historymadebyus.com or follow @historymadebyus on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.