Experiment
Telling our Nation's Story
Those in and beyond the history profession should use the semiquincentennial to experiment with innovative ways to engage the public in conversations on history. We should embrace new formats and approaches to involve participants of all ages, stages of life, cultural, racial, economic, and experiential backgrounds who want to share in and explore the complex American experience.
Key Features
Finding the right balance between honoring the country’s accomplishments while being clear-eyed about its problems during the 250th naturally requires experimentation. The following are themes that can help guide efforts to experiment with ways to engage new audiences.
- Building a broad base of partners: Finding new ways to get a broad swath of Americans involved in the 250th requires an all-hands-on-deck approach and seeking out places and sectors that are not typically involved in historical events and programs. This includes engaging with media sources, large corporations, major sports teams, and others who can provide different entryways into the 250th.
- Engaging young people: Youth voices are natural sources of innovation and experimentation. They should be more actively included in 250th planning and programming.
- Identifying metrics: It can be hard to gauge whether innovative methods are serving their intended purposes. Practitioners should make use of methods like focus groups and survey data to evaluate whether their efforts to get new audiences interested in the 250th are working.
Examples
Made by Us has created a “Youth250” initiative to engage young people in the planning efforts for the 250th and to make sure their voices are represented in 2026. This initiative includes intergenerational workshops across America that provide a space for co-generated design ideas related to the commemoration. Youth250 also has created a national youth bureau which operates similar to a hotline where Gen Z can provide their input and ideas about 2026. The country benefits from the creativity, passion, and imagination that is stronger at a younger age. These workshops and the youth bureau are pathways to ensure that this wisdom is included in the 250th. Learn more about Youth250.
America250 is a nonpartisan, national initiative seeking to engage Americans across the country in the semiquincentennial. America250’s programs include an essay contest that invites young Americans to share what America means to them, a project to tell the diverse stories of Americans across the country, and an effort to reinvigorate a culture of service throughout 2026 and beyond. They are also working with a variety of corporate partners like Walmart and Coca-Cola to broaden their reach. America250 continues to add innovative programs to engage Americans throughout the 250th. Learn more about their ongoing work here.
Learn more about our recommendations for telling our nation's story.