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'Landing Zone' by John Wehrle is featured in Art of The American Soldier, involved in special Black History Month events. (Photo courtesy NCC)

Celebrate and experience black history at the National Constitution Center this February, as special events and exhibits highlight the role of African Americans in shaping American history and culture.

Through interactive programs and workshops, exhibition features, and a special film screening, guests can pay tribute to inspirational African Americans past and present. Visitors also can explore the history of African Americans in the U.S. military, in connection with the Center’s current feature exhibition Art of the American Soldier.

All events are FREE with museum admission.

The schedule of Black History month events includes:

• Film Screening of Inside Buffalo: Saturday, February 5th, 3-6 p.m. In collaboration with the International Opera Theater, the Center will host a film screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary Inside Buffalo with director Fred Kudjo Kuwornu. This compelling feature film tells the story of the 92nd Buffalo Division, the all-African American combat unit that fought with outstanding heroism in Italy during World War II.

• Breaking Barriers Show: Daily throughout February (Monday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.). Visitors can examine the lives of Thurgood Marshall, Bessie Coleman, Jackie Robinson and other extraordinary African Americans from the 1700s-1900s in order to learn more about the issues they faced and the rights they secured for all Americans.

For the rest of the Black History month schedule, see below.

• Decoding the Document: Emancipation Proclamation: Daily throughout February (Monday through Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.). Take a closer look at the Center’s rare printing of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln. Participants will take on the role of a museum curator, carefully examining high quality scans of the document and discovering the secrets of this almost 150-year-old artifact.

• The African American Soldier Experience: Daily throughout February (Monday through Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.). In connection with the Art of the American Soldier exhibition, guests can participate in an interactive program that explores the history of African Americans in the U.S. military, from the slaves who fought for their personal freedom during the American Revolution, to the thousands who fought in the Civil War, to the “Buffalo Soldiers” of the late 19th century, and World War II’s Tuskegee Airmen.

• Top Ten Black History Highlights in The Story of We the People: Daily throughout February. Visitors to the Center’s core exhibition, The Story of We the People, can take a self-guided tour of the “Top Ten” exhibition elements that feature African American contributions to our nation’s constitutional history. Highlights include a collection of Revolutionary-era archaeological artifacts unearthed on the site of the National Constitution Center between 2000 and 2003 when the museum was being built; a recruitment poster for African American soldiers in the Civil War, inviting them to join the Union Army; a Ku Klux Klan hood from the Reconstruction era; an invitation, ticket, and program from the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

• Giant Board Game: Daily throughout February. The Center’s giant board game, set up in the Grand Hall Lobby, will allow children and their families to test their knowledge about black history. Children serve as game pieces as they roll the giant dice, answer questions and work their way across the board to the finish line.

Black History Month at the National Constitution Center
Where: 525 Arch Street
When: February 1st–February 28th
Cost: FREE with admission (Adults $12, Seniors 65+ $11, Children 4-12 $8, Active military and children under 4 free)
More info: www.constitutioncenter.org