July 4th commemorates the moment a new nation was born, based on ideals that each generation since has worked to bring to life: freedom, equality, justice, and opportunity. Juneteenth, celebrated just a few weeks earlier, reminds us of the struggles and hard-won victories in our ongoing journey to form a “more perfect union.” Civic Season unites our oldest federal holiday with our newest, mobilizing a movement to understand our past and shape our future.
Civic Season is a new tradition for self-discovery and civic upskilling, co-created by Gen Z and cultural institutions. This summer, no matter where you are, you can connect to stories, inspiration and tools to help you power our democracy, from a vast array of credible sources. Civic Season is the flagship program from Made By Us, a network of hundreds of museums, historic sites, libraries and archives unleashing access to history for younger generations who have the most at stake.
The Made By Us Board of Directors is composed of leaders from major history museums.
The 2025 Civic Season is co-designed by Fellows ages 18-30 across the United States.
Bringing Civic Season to life in communities and feeds near you.
History, civics and movement experts steer the design and roll-out of the 2025 Civic Season.
A small and mighty team from Made By Us is behind Civic Season.
Civic Season is made possible thanks to these generous supporters and more. Want to support Civic Season? Consider a gift to help us grow or get in touch about partnerships or sponsorship.
These organizations bring Civic Season to life through materials, activations, and amplification. Learn more about becoming a 2025 Champion here.
More than 500 organizations share events and resources during Civic Season:
Check out how we’re making headlines
This graphic represents the themes for the first Civic Season, in 2021, that were generated through a series of Socratic Dialogues. These guided conversations with students, historians and civic practitioners raised key questions and ideas around independence, celebration, and interdependence, forming a foundation for this emerging new tradition.
We began Civic Season in 2021 to build a movement to shape the ways in which we understand and commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Our story is complex and ever-evolving. How might we use a new holiday tradition as a springboard to face our past and shape our future? In 2024-2026, we'll build on Civic Season (and continue it!) with a suite of tools for institutions and Gen Z-ers, Youth250.
