New civics education center kicks off work for 2026 opening on July Fourth

A Virginia museum is beginning a three-year initiative on July Fourth to lead the nation in marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond will soon be home to the John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & Civics. The expansion will create a new civics education center to bring history and civics together in one location to educate and inspire future generations.

Through the joining of these two private non-profit organizations, the VMHC will bring important educational programming to an increasing number of students and adult learners across Virginia and beyond.

This development becomes reality after many years of collaboration and more recent consideration of how the two organizations might be stronger together.

By becoming a signature study center within Virginia’s history museum, the JMC gains tremendous new scope and scale at a particularly opportune time. The VMHC is empowered to do something truly impactful and lasting for America’s 250th – to be a new hub for history and civics taught in unison and provided for the benefit of all people, launched at a time when far too few Americans know the basics of history and civics.

The VMHC will launch a series of special programs and initiatives in the lead-up to July 4, 2026. The plan includes a multi-year portfolio of offerings, including two major exhibitions in 2025 and in 2026, with traveling versions moving around the state, a variety of public programs and lectures and a series of new scholarly works focused on early American history.