Ellis Island, The Future
The Peopling of America™ Center will expand upon the Ellis Island years of immigration to include the entire panorama of the American experience. How we became Americans, how we made and are still making the journey here, how we created and continue to influence our communities, and how this nation looks forward to building for the future.

The Center will fill an enormous gap in our understanding of the Peopling of America in our past, present and future. The Center will be the only place in this country dedicated to telling all of our stories, about being and becoming Americans, which is so central to the national experience.

Whether your family came to America in the 18th or 19th century or before, or arrived just a few years ago, you will learn more about that experience, and can bequeath it to your family’s future generations, in the Peopling of America™ Center. Its state-of-the-art design will be greeted enthusiastically by the millions of Americans who do not share the Ellis Island experience, and whose stories are told nowhere else in this country.

Today you are invited to participate in this great venture. Below, you will find artist’s renderings of the exciting exhibitry your contributions will help build. You can help make Ellis Island and the Peopling of America a future legacy for your children and the generations that will follow them.

The journey continues in the post-Ellis Island era. Exploring immigration from 1924 to the present, visitors discover that though migrants in the modern era experience changes in transportation, economics, and U.S. policies, their fears and hopes often mirror the feelings of those who came earlier.

Immigrants have changed the face of the American landscape. In “Towns Across America,” visitors choose a town and see successive waves of immigration reflected in the environment (stores, signs, architecture) and in the cultures of the people who have lived there.

A large, radiant globe sets the story of immigration to America within a wider, global context. Glowing strands of light pulse across the globe, illuminating the flow of migration across the continents throughout the course of human history.

Traditionally, radio has been one of America’s most popular and democratic media formats, enabling immigrant communities to use music, news, and discussion to keep ties to their homelands alive. “Sounds of America” invites visitors to listen to some of the diverse community radio programs across the country.

Over the centuries, the cost of travel and the time it takes to make a trip have changed drastically. In “The Pace of Change,” visitors select a port of embarkation and a U.S. destination, and then learn what the trip cost, how long it took, and what form of transportation it entailed in three different eras.

In the final exhibit, “The Threads of Migration,” visitors connect the story of their family’s journey to the larger story of migration to America. When they enter their names, residence, family’s countries of origin, they see lighted “threads” representing their family’s migration added to a large, dynamic map. Over time, the many threads added to the map will create a rich, beautiful American tapestry.