Ellis Island museum reopens with greater ambition

Ellis Island, New York. Image by Forsaken Fotos / CC BY 2.0

On Wednesday, the museum on Ellis Island in the New York harbour is reopening with a new name and a new mission. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum becomes the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, and will be attempting to tell the complete story of immigration in the United States, from the days when hopeful new arrivals were processed on the island, right up to the experience of modern day immigrants to the US. The new gallery named ‘The Journey: New Eras of Immigration’ covers the story of immigrants after Ellis Island closed in 1954 and mirrors the same structure of the rest of the museum with sections covering ‘Leaving,’ ‘Making the Trip,’ ‘Arrival,’ ‘Struggle and Survival,’ and ‘Building a Nation’.

Visitors can listen to recordings of modern day immigrants remembering their often difficult journeys: from a teenager from Guatemala to famous immigrants such as Ang Lee, the film-maker from Taiwan. Another new highlight is an illuminated globe in the main hall which represents the movement of human beings since the very beginnings of the species. Read more: nytimes.com