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The Ellis Island Immigration Museum

© Judith Stock

Like a lighthouse beacon, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York Harbor have stood for more than a century to welcome immigrants to their new country. As a constant reminder of this nation's history, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum offers visitors the opportunity to understand the immigration experience.

Over 100 million people can trace their roots to ancestors who came through Ellis Island seeking better lives for their families. The newest permanent collection is The American Immigrant Wall of Honor that contains over 500,000 names, making it the largest wall of names in the world. Immigrants from the famous to the obscure, early settlers of this country, slaves, and American Indians are all memorialized in stone. If your ancestors' names are not on the wall, you have a second chance. For a contribution of $100, any family name you designate will be permanently engraved on the American Immigrant Wall of Honor.

In the 200,000 square feet of exhibit space at the museum, the collection includes:

 Two theaters both featuring a documentary film "Island of Hope, Island of Tears"

 The historic Great Hall, where millions waited to be processed through to this new homeland

 A collection of artifacts donated by descendants of former immigrants including religious articles, family photos, antique clothing and jewelry, and family heirlooms

 A graphic display of Peopling of America from Native Americans to present-day immigrants

 30 galleries filled with artifacts, maps, posters, historic photographs, and oral histories

 A 30-minute live theater production "Embracing Freedom: The Immigrant Journey to America" based on the immigrant experience

Scheduled for completion in 2001, The American Family Immigration History Center, a genealogy facility with state-of-the-art interactive computer technology where visitors can access family records. When finished the collection will include the digitized immigrant arrival records of more than 17 million people who migrated through the port of New York from 1892 to 1924, taken directly from the ships' passenger manifests that currently reside on microfilm at the National Archives and Records Administration.

There is an outside terrace for dining overlooking the vista of New York's skyline and the Statue of Liberty. The museum is self-guided but there are audio-tour guides for rent.

Even if you have no interest in genealogy, this museum is a treasure-trove of the rich history of our country, an experience not to be missed.

http://ellisisland.org/

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