2026 NAGARA Annual Conference

Post-Conference Tours

Optional experiences in Philadelphia (limited capacity).

Keep the momentum going after the conference with one of two optional, ticketed experiences. Space is limited and available on a first-paid, first-confirmed basis.

Registration
You’ll register once, then select Tour A or Tour B using radio buttons on the registration form (the price will update automatically).
Register for Post-Conference Activity
Note: Capacity is limited (Tour A: 50) (Tour B: 100).
Tour A: Standing Inches from History: A Private Vault Experience
$50 per attendee Limited to first 50 paid registrants

Register for this optional post-conference experience and step “behind the curtain” at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania for an exclusive, archivist-tailored journey into America’s documentary past.

Designed especially for NAGARA attendees, this private vault tour moves beyond traditional museum spaces and into secure collection areas, research environments, and preservation vaults rarely accessible to the public.

Highlights you may see
  • Martha Washington’s cookbook
  • The first plan of Philadelphia designed by William Penn
  • The architectural design of the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall)
  • The first printing of the Declaration of Independence
  • George Washington’s letter outlining his plan to cross the Delaware River
  • A first draft of the U.S. Constitution
  • A Lincoln-signed Emancipation Proclamation
  • The first photograph taken in the United States

To preserve the intimacy and security of the experience, smaller rotating groups will be led into restricted vault spaces (where environmental and security protocols limit capacity), while others engage with curated materials and specialized displays in the Society’s historic Reading Room (a visually stunning, book-lined research setting).

Curated specifically for NAGARA professionals, the experience highlights stewardship practices, preservation challenges, and the archival significance of these foundational records (a rare, immersive encounter with primary sources that shaped the nation).

Tour B: National Constitution Center Experience
$20 per attendee Limited to first 100 paid registrants

Join fellow NAGARA attendees for a guided experience at the National Constitution Center (an interactive museum located in historic Philadelphia, just steps from the Liberty Bell).

Guided experience includes
  • Freedom Rising (live theatrical performance in the Sidney Kimmel Theater) (introducing the story of the U.S. Constitution and the American quest for freedom)
  • Signers’ Hall (stand alongside 42 life-size bronze statues of the Founding Fathers who signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787)
  • Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality (explore the constitutional legacy of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and how they transformed the nation)
  • The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote (trace the constitutional struggle for women’s suffrage and the leaders who reshaped American democracy)

Designed to complement NAGARA’s professional focus, this guided museum experience offers a concentrated look at constitutional development, amendment history, and the evolving interpretation of rights and governance (space is limited to the first 100 paid registrants).