Open June 11 – January 3, 2027
Celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary with a special exhibition exploring how generations of Americans have given meaning to the ideals set out in the Declaration of Independence.
Moments That Made Us looks back across centuries and highlights both challenging and celebratory times from the colonial era to more recent generations. The exhibition explores five themes drawn directly from the Declaration of Independence: Created Equal; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; Free and Independent States; Consent of the Governed; and We Mutually Pledge. The featured moments from American history inspire curiosity about the events that shaped the nation. They remind us that our story was never inevitable, we shaped it at every turn.
The exhibition was developed through a multi-state collaboration to ensure that Americans throughout the nation would have the opportunity to meaningfully engage in the nation’s 250th anniversary. It adapts the acclaimed Moments That Made US exhibition created by History Colorado.
“As we mark 250 years of American independence, Moments That Made US will remind
visitors that every generation in all parts of the nation faced consequential moments,” said
Jason Hanson, History Colorado’s Chief Creative Officer and a member of the America 250 –
Colorado 150 Commission, who helped develop the exhibition. “I hope it will inspire us to see
that, like those who came before us, we are empowered to chart our own course toward a
more perfect union, guided by empathy for our fellow Americans as we work together to
realize the ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence: equality, security, freedom,
and happiness.”