Interpreting Jefferson and Monticello in the 21st Century

FAIN: MI-50080-07

Monticello (Charlottesville, VA 22902-0316)
Susan R. Stein (Project Director: January 2007 to December 2009)

Implementation of a permanent exhibition in a new visitor's center, including a film, a model of the plantation, a web site, publications, and four copies of a smaller panel exhibition, exploring how Jefferson applied Enlightenment ideas at Monticello.

To provide more comprehensive understanding of Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which owns and operates Monticello, plans to enhance its established interpretive programs with construction of a new Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center (TJVC). The TJVC is designed to educate and excite Monticello?s 450,000 annual visitors about Jefferson?s ideas--not only about Monticello but also about liberty. The new key components are an introductory film, an exhibition pavilion with four galleries, an expanded brochure, a touchable bronze model of the Monticello plantation, four classrooms for school groups, and a hands-on discovery room for families. TJF seeks support from NEH for a permanent exhibition, Jefferson?s American Experiment, the plantation model, the introductory film, the brochure, the Web site, and a traveling exhibition in order to share the ideas with a wider audience. This project was devised with support from an NEH consulting grant awarded in 2004.