Ideas for Celebrating Constitution Day

When asked about their plans for September 17, the average American citizen in the United States would more than likely respond that he or she had never heard of Constitution Day or the National Constitution Center. Established in 2004, the legal federal holiday which marks the anniversary of the historic signing of the constitution was previously known as Citizenship Day.

2009 year marked the two hundred and twenty-second anniversary of the signing of the constitution by the founding fathers. UnlikeLabor Day, Constitution Day doesn't guarantee a day off from work or school and there are no major nationally televised events. The banks and post offices are not closed for the day; it doesn't appear on commercial wall calendars and even if it did, with so many other declared holidays marking just about everything imaginable it would probably get lost in the shuffle or be deemed as not that important, or worse, just another commercial attempt to sell greeting cards and so-called patriotic fare.

The constitution is a significant part of early United States history and planning an activity or participating in community events on Constitution Day is an opportunity to perpetuate the ideals upon which the country was founded. Activities such as the reenactment of the signing of the constitution allow children to get an idea of what the experience may have been like for the thirty-nine men who originally placed their signatures on what at the time was a very controversial document.

For those individuals living in or near Pennsylvania, the National Constitution center in Philadelphia (http://www.constitutioncenter .org) offers a number of choices of activities for Constitution Day with a full schedule of events beginning at 8:30 in the morning that are free to the public with museum admission. The museum's website also offers a Constitution Day kit and a number of education resources for elementary, middle and high school.

Anyone not living in proximity to the National Constitution Center can visit the Web site http://www.constitutionfacts.c om/index.cfm, which offers a free pocket sized constitution booklet as well as a Constitution Day toolkit for teachers. The site is also home to an international Constitution Day poster contest for K - 12 students. The National Archives (http://www.archives.gov/educa tion/lessons/constitution-day/ ) has a list of education activities online as well in its Teaching With Documents lesson plans.

Because educational institutions receiving federal funds must mount programs for Constitution Day many colleges offer up to a week long of programs around the history of the drafting and signing of the constitution. Check local institutions in your area to see what is available.