Causes: Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, Historical Organizations, History Museums, Youth Development - Citizenship

Mission: USCHS is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3)organization chartered by Congress to educate the public about the Capitol and the Congress. It does this through programs that focus on landmark legislation that has shaped our nation, on the remarkable art in the Capitol that is based on uniquely American images, on the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Congress, and on other topics that help bring our history and government alive.

Programs: This tour and classroom program teaches Washington, D. C. public school 8th grade students and teachers about the Constitution and their city. The tour educates students about the first three articles of the Constitution by visiting the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, the Lincoln Memorial, and finally the National Archives where students view the original documents, the Constitution and Bill of Rights, that they have spent the day discussing. Printed and on-line curriculum-based materials reinforce the tour lessons in the classroom, and a Challenge component involves schools actively in assessing the relevance of the Constitution.
WTP is endorsed by D. C. Public Schools as one of its major social studies initiatives. DCPS teachers, administrators and students have advised in all aspects of the program. Since 2005, we have reached 7,158 students and teachers from more than 30 public and charter schools. One teacher said: “The tours have literally made D. C. a school without walls for me and my students. ”

USCHS is the coordinating partner in a consortium of organizations that includes the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Park Service, the White House Historical Association, the Federal Courts, the Center for Civic Education, Children’s Concierge and Old Town Trolley Tours.