Ellis Island National Immigration History Museum

Ellis Island symbolizes the spirit of hope, renewal and opportunity we associate with immigration. To bring this spirit to visitors around the world, ESI has designed two distinct Ellis Island experiences.

Peopling of America Center
To make the experience relevant for families who did not immigrate through Ellis Island, ESI recently designed a new experience called the Peopling of America Center that invites visitors to understand immigration history in a broader context. Opened in October 2011, Phase I of the new Peopling of America Center introduces visitors to the story of migration and population in the United States from both historic and present-day perspectives. The exhibit provides visitors with a context and framework that enhances their exploration of the overall Ellis Island Experience with a theme familiar to everyone – a journey. Exhibits are arranged in a way that evokes a sense of movement – of uprooted lives, change, struggle, resilience and reconnection. Phase II of the Peopling of America Center will open in 2013.

American Family Immigration History Center
Opened in 2001, ESI’s core activity at the National Immigration Museum fulfills a dream long held by those whose ancestors immigrated through Ellis Island: to search over 22 million passenger records and 3.5 million digitized ship manifests for family members who arrived at the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924. At the museum and on the web, visitors quickly locate relatives, see the wealth of information collected from passengers at debarkation points, and print a copy of the manifest that bears a relative’s name and a photograph of the ship that carried him or her to Ellis Island. In collaboration with the National Park Service, ESI also designed the Center’s physical environment, which complements the historic building.

Visit the Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation website at www.ellisisland.org