National Archives
Design Studio: C&G Partners
The American Story introduces a new way to explore the nation's history through the extraordinary holdings of the National Archives. The exhibition transforms an immense collection of historical records into an engaging, interactive experience that encourages visitors to discover the stories behind the documents.
Exhibition, Identity, and Art Direction
Cosmos Gallery
Chartering Freedom Gallery
Powered by AI, the exhibition offers visitors a different experience based on their individual interests. Rather than following a predetermined narrative, visitors chart their own paths through American history, creating connections between events, people, and ideas across generations. The exhibition draws from the National Archives' extensive holdings of letters, maps, photographs, films, and founding documents. These varied materials reveal the many ways Americans have governed, migrated, invented, struggled, and shaped the nation's identity.
Land & Home Gallery
C&G Partners collaborated closely with Cortina Productions to translate this vast civic repository into an accessible, engaging environment. Together, the teams developed an experience that makes complex historical information approachable while preserving the significance and authenticity of the original records. Upon entering the exhibition, visitors activate a ticket that becomes their personal connection to the galleries. This ticket can be used at interactive portals throughout the space, allowing individuals to shape their experience as they move from one area to another.
Lightbox and label design
A More Perfect Union Gallery
Upon entering the exhibition, visitors activate a ticket that becomes their personal connection to the galleries. This ticket can be used at interactive portals throughout the space, allowing individuals to shape their experience as they move from one area to another. Visitors encounter subjects ranging from civil rights and westward migration to technological innovation and popular culture. By selecting the topics and stories that interest them most, they uncover unexpected relationships across different periods of American history.
Crisis
Interactive touchscreens invite visitors to examine digitized artifacts in remarkable detail. Through these encounters, they discover personal accounts and individual perspectives that reveal the human experiences behind the historical record. The experience extends beyond the physical galleries. As visitors explore, the system assembles a personalized collection of the materials they encounter, creating an individual archive of discoveries that can be revisited after leaving the exhibition.
Art of Diplomacy Gallery
Wallpaper, signage, updated wall and glass mural
Immersive projections, photographic lightboxes, interactive media, and environmental graphics create a layered experience across a sequence of thematic galleries. These elements work at different scales, balancing moments of visual impact with opportunities for more intimate exploration. The exhibition’s graphic identity draws from American typographic traditions, using GT America, a contemporary typeface inspired by historic American Gothics such as Franklin Gothic, widely used in advertising, newspapers, signage, and political ephemera. This typographic foundation, combined with imagery and layered compositions, creates a flexible visual system that brings clarity and consistency to the galleries across both digital and physical applications.
Interpretive Panel
Patent Cases
America’s Spirit of Invention
Large-scale engraved wood panels introduce warmth and texture to the media-rich environment. Inspired by archival source materials and the billions of paper records held by the National Archives, these dimensional surfaces become architectural features that evoke the physical nature of recorded history.
Texture Wall(s)
Exterior signage and selfie moment
Landmark documents are given a distinct presence within the exhibition, emphasizing the importance of the authentic record as evidence, witness, and a foundation for truth. The experience ultimately presents the National Archives as a living resource where America's history remains open to exploration, interpretation, and understanding.
Discovery Center
Designed by C&G Partners in partnership with Cortina Productions, the Discovery Center at the National Archives Museum introduces children and families to American democracy through an interactive arcade. Combining entertainment with education, the experience explores how government works and how individuals can participate in shaping the nation, even before they are old enough to vote.
A collection of interactive games and puzzles makes the complexities of government more accessible to younger audiences. Through familiar arcade-style experiences, visitors explore civic responsibilities, individual rights, and the role of government in everyday life. The following games are just a few examples of the experiences offered throughout the Discovery Center.
Democracy Disco Station
In Plain Sight Station
The Discovery Center is organized into three areas: a space for tweens, an area for younger children, and a classroom for educational programs and school groups. Each arcade station features a custom logo and distinct visual style, ranging from illustrative to graphic approaches. From carpet patterns to lighting, every element was considered to create a cohesive and engaging educational arcade experience.
Drawing from historical footage preserved in the National Archives, “Democracy Disco” invites visitors to recreate dance moves from the past. Through movement and friendly competition, players engage with archival films in an unexpected way, connecting historical figures and moments with their own experiences.
Step Into History Gallery
Speak Out! Station
Inspired by actual Congressional hearings on comic book censorship in 1954, “Speak Out!” uses the visual style of an 8-bit arcade game to examine freedom of expression. Players consider different perspectives on the First Amendment while learning about their right to express opinions, think independently, and participate in democratic discussions.
“Clause of Power” challenges players to identify the responsibilities of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in a race against time. In “In Plain Sight,” visitors help community members address everyday challenges by matching their needs with the appropriate federal agencies, demonstrating how government functions in daily life.
History Hunt Station
History Hunt Station
The Discovery Center offers an engaging introduction to the principles of American democracy through experiences designed for visitors of all ages. By bringing together historical records, interactive technology, and playful challenges, the exhibition encourages children and families to recognize their ability to contribute to an evolving democracy in which every voice has a role.