It’s easy to think the American experiment has deviated from the dignity expressed in The Declaration of Independence—just look at the U.F.C. cage fights on the South Lawn of the White House. But other institutions have elected to shine a light on that guiding artifact. In celebration of America’s semiquincentennial, New York’s oldest museum has opened the Tang Wing for American Democracy, its programming dedicated to safeguarding American history. Measuring over 71,000 square feet, the space holds the museum’s first document conservation lab, expanded classrooms, and a rare copy of The Declaration of Independence. New York—America’s first capital—now has its own wing in which to examine democracy, the Constitution, and civic engagement. —Maggie Turner