The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of slavery in the US and challenging visitors to think about serious issues and historical events. The museum features interactive displays, a slave pen exhibit, and a theater showing slavery-related films. It also highlights modern-day slavery issues and the work of abolitionists around the world. Visitors can enter the museum from Tuesday to Sunday between 11:00 and 5:00.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in Cincinnati, Ohio dedicated to preserving the history of slavery in the United States. The museum also has rotating exhibits on modern day slavery issues. The aim of the museum is to stimulate reflection and discussion on the themes of freedom, slavery and heroism. Visitors can enter the museum from Tuesday to Sunday between 11:00 and 5:00, and special events are sometimes held even after hours.
This museum is one of a group of modern museums that emerged in the late 1990s that are sometimes collectively called “museums of conscience.” Rather than simply presenting historical information, these museums challenge visitors to think about serious issues and historical events. The Underground Railroad Freedom Center has a series of interactive displays that spark visitors to think about slavery and the conditions that made slavery possible, as well as the heroes who worked to end slavery.
The museum is named after the Underground Railroad, a secret network of abolitionists who helped escaped slaves to safety. These individuals felt slavery so strongly that they were willing to risk their lives and homes to help escaped slaves. Slaves may not have necessarily learned the names of the people who helped them, but when they achieved freedom in Canada or a free state, they gave thanks for all the people who helped them along the way, and the Underground Railroad Freedom Center commemorates these acts of courage.
The Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s prize exhibit is a slave pen from the 1830s. Slave pens were used to confine slaves until they could be sold or moved; the model on display at the museum is two-story, with an upper floor intended to confine male slaves and a lower floor for females. Museum visitors are often sober at the sight of this structure, which features grim reminders of its purpose such as small barred windows and chains bolted to the walls.
The Underground Railroad Freedom Center also has a theater that shows slavery-related films and has a number of artifacts on display along with informational displays. Although the museum references underground railroad heroes in its name, issues of modern day slavery are equally strongly emphasized throughout the facility. Visitors can see films about abolitionists working around the world today to end slavery and can learn more about what they do to help as individuals.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
